The Golden Wedding: Gerry Turner, 72, and Theresa Nist, 70, exchange vows during live televised ceremony on ABC
Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist got married during a live televised wedding ceremony on ABC after getting engaged on The Golden Bachelor spin-off series.
The 72-year-old retired restaurateur and widow from Hudson, Indiana, and 70-year-old Theresa, a financial services professional from Shrewsbury, New Jersey, exchanged vows at the exclusive La Quinta Resort and Club in La Quinta, California, during a special two-hour episode titled The Golden Wedding.
The Golden Bachelor concluded on November 30 with Gerry choosing Theresa over runner-up Leslie Fhima, 64, a fitness instructor from Golden Valley, Minnesota, after spending overnight dates with both of them in the Fantasy Suites.
Susan Noles, 66, a wedding officiant from Aston, Pennsylvania, officiated the wedding after being a contestant on the show and displayed her funny side with a few well-timed jokes.
‘Gerry, I went on the Golden Bachelor open to meeting the man of my dreams but I never expected it to happen,’ Theresa said during their vows exchange. ‘I walked out of the limo, hoping I wouldn’t trip and fall on those cobblestones and I would convince you that I was naked underneath that robe.Admit it. I almost had you.’
You did,’ Gerry said.
‘Then I stood in front of you and started feeling something I didn’t expect to feel,’ Theresa said. ‘As if I’d know you all my life and I moved in for a kiss as if to say ”goodbye darling I’ll see you later when you get home.”
Theresa said that their first date was magical and how she started to believe there could be something between them and that she later grew to love him.
‘I love your heart and your soul,’ Theresa said.
Theresa promised to stick by his side and ‘most of all to have fun for the rest of the days that we have left on this earth which could be another hour.’ Theresa told him that she could not wait to be his wife.
Gerry, his eyes welled up with tears, shared his vows next.
‘Theresa when I think of all the decisions that we have made to be here in this position tonight, I know the hand of God and the winds of fate have ordained this moment,’ Gerry said. ‘From our first sip of chocolate shake to the last taste of Costa Rican coffee, I have learned that you are the woman I can’t live without. I learned that you make me calm with the touch of your hand. I’ve learned that you make me laugh with the easy comfort of a long lost friend.’
Gerry said he knew he found a full partner and promised her that he would ‘make her the happiest woman on earth.’
