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Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist‘s divorce may have come as a shock to The Golden Bachelor fans, but Turner’s daughter Angie Turner says that is not a reason to send them hate.
Warner weighed in on the drama with a statement shared on Instagram Wednesday (April 24).
“I love how invested people were in the show, what an experience to have you along for the ride!” she wrote. “What has been disheartening is the level of rage and cruelty that our family has been met with.”
Her post continued, “My Dad and Theresa are kind, good people that made this decision for them, no one else. I kindly urge everyone to remember that behind every story, there are real people with real feelings.”
She then thanked the supportive Bachelor fans for their well wishes. “To all those that have chosen to show my dad, Theresa and our family love and compassion…Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” she wrote.
Former Bachelorette alum Tyler Cameron was among those criticizing the lovebirds for their separation, publicly criticizing them for putting “a stain” on the franchise.
Turner and Nist announced their divorce on Good Morning America April 12 after just three months of marriage. The pair tied the knot in early January in an ABC special titled The Golden Wedding.
During the broadcast, Turner said, “Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations, and we’ve looked closely at our situation, our living situation, so forth and we’ve kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it’s probably time for us to dissolve our marriage.”
Despite the separation, he maintained that he still has feelings for her.
“There’s no doubt in my mind. I’m still in love with her. I root for her every day,” he said.
Nist released a statement on social media shortly after, addressing fans directly as she said, “Everyone else who is confused and angry and who does not understand, please try to find it in your heart to understand and to try a little kindness.”
She wrote that starring on the reality television series was “one of the most incredible experiences of [her] life, something [she] never expected to happen at this point in [her] life and [she] truly thought it was going to last forever.”
She added, “It turns out, even at the age of 70, you don’t know everything.”
The Golden Bachelor Season 1 was a major success at ABC and has already spawned a Golden Bachelorette spinoff. Perhaps this separation means that Nist can be considered to lead the new series.
