ABC Gerry Turner
Text messages sent by Gerry Turner to a former girlfriend have upended the “Golden Bachelor” finale as fans grapple with whether the show told the entire truth about its lead.
Fan-favorite Turner has endured anger in social media groups and Reddit threads since The Hollywood Reporter published the account of an ex-girlfriend they called only “Carolyn.” She was 14 years younger than Turner, she lived with him for a time, and she started dating him only a month after his wife, Toni, died, according to the report.
To document the reporting, THR’s story says the magazine reviewed text messages sent by Turner to Carolyn, dating back to 2017.
Turner is scheduled to choose between the two finalists, Theresa Nist and Leslie Fhima, in the final rose episode, which airs on November 30, 2023.
Here’s what you need to know:
Carolyn Told the Hollywood Reporter That Gerry Turner’s Text Messages Are Similar to Things He’s Telling Women on the Show
Heavy/ABCGerry Turner is engaged to Theresa Nist.
The woman given the name of “Carolyn” told THR that Turner said things to her in the text messages that mirrored comments he said to women on “The Golden Bachelor.”
On the show, Turner has been freely showing his emotions, and he told three contestants that he loved them, which has caused some criticism among fan groups. Those contests are Nist and Fhima, as well as the third-place contestant, Faith Martin.
In short, on the show, Turner seems to fall in love fast.
The Gerry Turner text messages “Carolyn” shared with THR say:
“I got LUCKY when you first said you would go to dinner with me two weeks ago. I mean how often does an old geezer get the beautiful girl?”
“You are the right woman for me. No need to look further.”
“Damn, I go to bed at night thinking of you and wake up in the morning thinking of you.”
The latter message was texted to “Carolyn” on Sept. 2, 2017, “less than three months after Toni’s death,” THR reported.
Gerry Turner’s Ex-Girlfriend Says His Text Messages ‘Had Turned Hot & Heavy So Relatively Soon’
Heavy/ABC“The Golden Bachelor” Gerry Turner admits to dating failures after his wife died.
Turner’s ex told THR that, looking back on it, his text messages escalated quickly.
“The idea that I’d go out with a recent widower just mortifies me,” Carolyn told the magazine. “I just really didn’t see it. Until I went back and looked at my text messages, I never realized Gerry’s texts had turned hot and heavy so relatively soon.”
The article also details a number of other accusations from the woman against Turner; for example, she says that they broke up because he was so concerned about her 10-pound weight gain that he wouldn’t take her to his high school reunion. She also accused him of charging her $850 for rent and never paying the full tab when they went out to eat. She told THR she would give him her half before dinner so he could pretend he was paying the bill.
Altogether, the new accusations don’t fully square with the image Turner has presented to the public on the show, as a grieving widower who is now ready to find his soulmate after years of trying to get over his wife Toni’s death.
After the new accusations, People Magazine ran an interview with Turner in which he talked about previous dating “failures.”
“I’ve dated a number of times since Toni’s passed, more recently than back closer to when she’s passed,” Turner told PEOPLE. “For one reason or another, the attempts didn’t work out. I could give you a wide range of reasons, but it doesn’t really matter.”
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