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Gerry Turner is the senior gentleman hoping to find love again as the lead for “The Golden Bachelor”. Fans have gotten to know a bit about him since ABC announced he would be handing out roses this fall, and everybody will get to know him much better when his season finally debuts on September 28.
Turner was married once before, but his wife died several years ago. Now, at the age of 72, he has decided he was ready to try to find love once more. Who was his first wife and what happened to her?
Here’s what you need to know:
Gerry Turner Married His High School Sweetheart
During an appearance on “Good Morning America,” Turner talked about his previous marriage. The couple had been married for 43 years when, in 2017, she unexpectedly became sick and died soon after.
Turner opened up about the loss when he took the stage during “The Bachelorette” finale for Charity Lawson’s season. The couple wed in 1972 and raised two daughters together.
“We had a real typical but beautiful life full of love, full of activity,” Turner shared. He explained that he eventually retired from his job and had a plan with his wife about what would come next.
“The Golden Bachelor” detailed, “We had an idea of what our dream house was going to be, so when Toni retired [at] the end of May in 2017, we bought our dream house.” Turner noted the couple closed on their new home on June 6 of that year, but “from June 6th on, it didn’t go according to plan at all.”
His wife became sick, and “her situation got worse over a couple of weeks.” Turner took his wife to the emergency room on July 7, and they learned it was a bacterial infection that was driving her illness.
The infection impacted both her liver and kidneys, and sadly, Toni died on July 15.
Turner’s Daughters Support Him
After Toni’s death, “The Golden Bachelor” star had a difficult time living in the new home they had just purchased. “Every time I look at that lake, I go, ‘This is her dream. This is what she deserves. Why am I standing here alone?'”
While Turner is opening himself up to finding love again, he acknowledges, “No one’s ever going to replace Toni. But the love of my daughters and my granddaughters pulled me out of a dark spot.”
Turner’s daughters were the ones who nudged him to apply for “The Golden Bachelor.” As they opened up about doing the show, with their dad beside him, one said, “This isn’t to replace her, but to just find somebody that makes you happy.”
She added, “My dad is just such a fun guy, so personable and lovable. He’s so kind and he has so much to give. He just deserves to find that in somebody else.”
Fans will not know until the end of the season if Turner found lasting love again, but “The Golden Bachelor” spoilers suggest his journey was a successful one. According to spoiler king Reality Steve, Turner is with someone from the show now and has found love once more.
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