<p id=”par-1_137″>Gerry Turner met and married Theresa Nist during a whirlwind romance thanks to ratings juggernaut, <em>The Golden Bachelor</em>. Nine months after they first met, they had already <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/theresa-nist-not-filed-response-gerry-turners-divorce-petition.html/”>filed for divorce.</a> You would have thought that would be the end of it. Many Bachelor Nation couples call it quits shortly after the end of their seasons. They often fade into obscurity. Fans largely assume the same would be true for the goldens. That has not been the case. Gerry Turner absolutely eviscerated his ex-wife in the pages of the memoir. In multiple sections, the Indiana native claims that Nist was not the right woman for him, and we can’t say we disagree. Still, we are left wondering which of the 25 contestants who competed for his heart was really the one he wanted. There are a few options.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-leslie-fhima-was-the-one-he-suggested-was-the-one-until-the-final-moments”>Leslie Fhima was the one he suggested was “the one” until the final moments</h2>
<p id=”par-2_65″>There are several major themes throughout Gerry Turner’s memoir. For example, he focuses pretty heavily on how much he regretted choosing Theresa Nist over Leslie Fhima. In the book, Turner argues that he felt the strongest connection to Fhima, but changed his mind in the final moments of the show, when he began looking at things “logically.” Turner claims<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/gerry-turner-said-leslie-fhima-past-marriages-red-flags.html/”> Fhima’s two divorces</a> gave him pause.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” fetchpriority=”high” width=”1500″ height=”1000″ src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/The-Golden-Bachelor-Leslie-Fhima-Gerry-Turner.jpg?strip=all&quality=89″ alt=”‘The Golden Bachelor’ stars Leslie Fhima and Gerry Turner sitting across from each other at the After the Final Rose special” class=”wp-image-3594865″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>‘The Golden Bachelor’ stars Leslie Fhima and Gerry Turner | Disney/John Fleenor</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-3_86″>So, was Leslie Fhima the right choice for him? Probably not. Fhima’s location, personality, and overall lifestyle don’t seem like they would have been a fit for Turner either. Fhima, based in Minnesota, was unlikely to leave her children and grandchildren to live with Turner in Indiana or South Carolina, for that matter. While Turner claims there was chemistry, we just never really saw it. Sure, he seemed to like her, and she claimed to have feelings for him, but the vibes weren’t there for us.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-theresa-nist-thinks-gerry-turner-really-had-eyes-for-a-self-eliminating-contestant”>Theresa Nist thinks Gerry Turner really had eyes for a self-eliminating contestant</h2>
<p id=”par-4_57″>While Gerry Turner spoke a lot about his feelings for Leslie Fhima in his book, Theresa Nist thought there was someone else he had his eye on. She noted that he seemed to have a connection with Joan Vassos during the brief period she was on the show. Nist mentioned it during her interview on <a href=”https://www.youtube.com/@dearshandy”>Dear Shandy.</a></p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-2″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Joan-Vassos-the-golden-bachelorette-first-impression-rose.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Joan Vassos holds a rose during ‘The Golden Bachelorette'” class=”wp-image-3715895″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Joan Vassos on ‘The Golden Bachelorette’ | Disney/Gilles Mingasson
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<p id=”par-5_68″>Vassos self-eliminated partway through the competition because of a medical emergency at home. Turner was hopeful that Vasso would return, but it was not meant to be. While he didn’t speak about her extensively in the memoir, he did appear on her season of <em>The Bachelorette. </em>While he never came right out and said it, it felt like he was <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/joan-vassos-refuses-to-comment-on-theory-that-gerry-turner-wanted-another-shot-at-love-with-her.html/”>making a play for her</a>. She rebuffed him.</p>
<p id=”par-6_103″>While we agree with Nist’s assessment, we don’t think Turner would have been any happier with Joan Vassos in the long run. Much like Nist, Vassos was still working when she signed up for the dating competition and felt compelled to stay close to home, where her children and grandchildren lived. While Vassos is in a relationship with a man she met on her season of <em>The Bachelorette</em>, their romance is <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/joan-vassos-and-chock-chapple-take-separate-vacations.html/”>a bit more unconventional</a>, allowing them a lot of space from each other. We can’t see Turner being OK with the setup that seems to work for Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-he-s-found-love-with-someone-not-involved-in-the-series-nbsp”>He’s found love with someone not involved in the series </h2>
<p id=”par-7_56″>While Joan Vassos and Leslie Fhima are the two names that come up often when considering who would have been a better romantic fit for Gerry Tuner than Theresa Nit, neither of them was “the one” either. While he briefly dated another woman he met on the show, he eventually found love outside of Bachelor Nation.</p>
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<iframe title=”Golden Bachelor’s Gerry Turner Engaged to Lana Sutton | E! News” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/kpOgIryO0z0?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
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<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/murder-jokes-bedtimes-theresa-nist-chronicles-behavior-ex-gerry-turner.html/”>
Murder Jokes and Bedtimes: Theresa Nist Chronicles Wild Behavior by Ex, Gerry Turner </a>
</p>
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<p id=”par-8_73″>Several months before his book was published, he introduced the world to the woman he was seeing. The announcement that he was seriously dating a woman named Lana Sutton came in March 2025. In October, Turner and Sutton<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/the-golden-bachelor-star-gerry-turner-announces-his-engagement.html/”> announced their engagement</a>. The proposal happened in North Carolina while the pair were on vacation. Sutton is substantially younger than Turner. She has yet to comment on anything Nist has said about her future husband.</p>