Gerry Turner has responded to allegations he misrepresented his career before going on The Golden Bachelor.
When Turner, 72, was cast as the inaugural Golden Bachelor, his career was listed as retired. Prior, he claimed to have worked as a restaurateur and owned multiple eateries.
“The business I owned was very much like the Cadillac Diner that Theresa [Nist] and I went to on the very first date,” Turner told Katie Couric Media in an interview published on Friday, December 1, referencing the first one-on-one date he shared with now-fiancé Nist, 70. “I sold burgers and fries and shakes, and it was a very profitable business.”
He continued: “And the comments about what I did later in life, I did those after I retired. I retired at 55, and I was very happy giving back to the community and doing things that were worth something to other people.”
The Hollywood Reporter published a bombshell exposé earlier this month, claiming that Turner’s LinkedIn bio “does not match up” with his story. Per the article, Turner sold his Mr. Quick drive-in franchise in Iowa in 1985 before retiring. Since then, he allegedly had various sales and management positions within the meat industry, but no end date is listed on LinkedIn. THR claimed that the dates don’t align since retiring at 55 would have been in 2006 for Turner. The magazine also did not know how his post-retirement gigs of installing hot tubs and various maintenance work factored into the timeline.
“I mean, jeez, I didn’t work as a handyman for the money. I did it because I knew I was doing something good for people who needed help,” he told Katie Couric Media. “There’s just enough truth in [the exposé]. But I have so many positives to think about that I haven’t really given that article a whole lot of thought.”
Turner’s Golden Bachelor journey concluded on Thursday, November 30, when fans watched him propose to Nist, and thus, dump fellow finalist Leslie Fhima. Turner and Nist, both of whom are widowed, announced during After the Final Rose that they will be getting married on January 4, 2024, in a live televised ceremony.
The newlyweds will then relocate to Charleston, South Carolina, to start their new life together. (Turner retired to Indiana while Nist is based in New Jersey.)
“This was one of the conversations we had in the fantasy suites that was really important, where I saw fate take hold of us,” Turner said on Friday. “I had talked about living in the Charleston, South Carolina, area for two years with my kids, and Theresa and I are in there having our conversation. Lo and behold, I learned that Theresa has a son, daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren about an hour and a half away from Charleston. And so it was like, ‘Oh, my goodness, there’s a good area for compromise.’ So that’s the first place we’re going to look for a house.”
