Theresa Nist’s ‘Golden Bachelor’ Experience Left Her ‘Horrified’: She ‘Wasn’t Prepared’

Heavy/ABC "The Golden Bachelor" Theresa Nist got real about the experience.

Theresa Nist received Gerry Turner’s final rose, and a proposal, at the end of the debut season of “The Golden Bachelor.” She has been all smiles in her public appearances with her fiance by her side, but she recently admitted the experience wasn’t without its difficult moments.

During a screening and panel in New York for “The Golden Bachelor,” Nist admitted she shed some tears and felt horrified at moments as the episodes aired. In addition, she shared that while Turner prepared her for what she might see as best he could, some things still caught her off guard.

Here’s what you need to know:

Gerry Turner Tried to Prepare Theresa Nist

Us Weekly shared tidbits shared by Nist and Turner during a screening and Q&A panel on December 11. During the “For Your Consideration” event at Times Center in New York City, Nist admitted she wound up “horrified” at times as she watched “The Golden Bachelor” episodes.

As Cosmopolitan noted, Nist said during the Q&A panel, “Gerry and I were talking on the phone all the time, so he prepared me for things.”

No matter how much he tried to prepare her, though, “There’s some things I had to just… I cried over a few things,” Nist admitted. She explained, “There’s some things he just couldn’t prepare me for.”

Nist previously revealed she cried over Faith Martin’s heartbreaking elimination. The two women were good friends during filming, and have remained close. “The Golden Bachelor” winner did not share specifics on other moments she watched that prompted tears.

Theresa Nist Wanted Gerry Turner to Find the Right Person

“The Golden Bachelor” star discovered she is quite “open-minded” thanks to her experience doing the show. “I learned how I could really take a step back and allow him to explore it with every other woman and to really cheer them on and say, ‘Great. I want you to go on that date.'”

Nist further explained that while she hoped to be his final rose recipient, she was able to think beyond that. “I really wanted Gerry to find the right person, and I only wanted it to be me if it was right for it to be me.”

“I learned that I could do that and allow that process to happen,” Nist shared. She added, “I think that’s important too when going into a process like this. It’s difficult, but necessary.”

During the Q&A panel, Turner admitted he struggled watching parts of “The Golden Bachelor” back, too. Watching the elimination ceremonies were “soul-crushing,” he noted.

“You form good friendships, good relationships, good connections, and you work really hard to do it because you want to be open to every possibility that’s in front of you,” Turner shared of his approach with the women.

Turner noted that the rose ceremonies were “without a doubt” the most difficult part of doing “The Golden Bachelor.” He revealed, “It had a lot of tears — I’ll admit to that — but it was awesome. It was wonderful.” Looking back, he feels he maybe cried “too much.”

Both Turner and Nist will probably shed more tears, as will “The Golden Bachelor” fans, when the two get married in a live televised special on January 4, 2024.