Former The Bachelorette star Trista Sutter is weighing in on Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist’s divorce.
“I thought, personally — when they did announce that they were going to be getting married so quickly — I thought, well, good for them, because if they know they know, then just do it,” Trista, 51, shared during the “Almost Famous” podcast on Friday, April 12. “But now hindsight’s 20/20 and you’re like, maybe you should have taken a beat and lived in the same home for a while.”
Trista rose to fame as the first-ever Bachelorette in 2003, and her love story with husband Ryan Sutter has stood the test of time. The same cannot be said for Golden Bachelor stars Gerry, 72, and Theresa, 70, who announced their divorce on Friday only three months after getting married.
During Friday’s podcast episode — which was also hosted by fellow Bachelor Nation members Ashley Iaconetti and Bob Guiney — Trista admitted that one of Gerry’s two daughters had given her the former Golden Bachelor star’s number. So, she reached out.
“They both still love each other, but there’s only so much love can get over. So, if one person is living in one place and the other is living in another and they just can’t compromise, then there’s nothing to talk about,” Trista explained. “If you’re deciding to prioritize where you’re living currently, then I think it should have been discussed.”
Prior to the news of Gerry and Theresa’s divorce, a source told Us Weekly that the couple was still living apart. During Friday’s divorce announcement, the estranged couple admitted to looking at houses in South Carolina, but never pulling the trigger. While Gerry was living in his home state of Indiana, Theresa stayed in her New Jersey house.
“I do feel like if they were adamant that both of them were going to live where they live now, then that should have been discussed,” Trista continued. “I think that anyone in the future going on the show, even being part of a relationship, can learn from this that you really do need to talk about the realistic stuff. The logistics of a relationship, you should be in the same place. To make it work, you really do need, I feel like, to be in the same place.”
Trista — who attended the Golden Wedding with Ryan, 49, and their two children, Maxwell, 16, and Blakesley, 15 — further explained that she feels like “love can only conquer so much” in the end.
“If you truly are going to prioritize the love that you feel for each other, then you’ll make it work,” she added. “But I just don’t know if the timing was right, and I don’t know that they realized until after they had said their vows.”
