The Bachelorette alum Tyler Cameron feels strongly about The Golden Bachelor stars Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist’s split.
“They have put a true stain on love in the Bachelor world,” Tyler, 31, who was the runner-up during Hannah Brown’s season of The Bachelorette in 2019, said during a Wednesday, April 17, appearance on SiriusXM’s The Happy Hour.
“Three months? They make all my relationships seem very long,” he continued. “I’m a dating expert compared to them. They put a stain on love and Bachelor Nation because it was the most wholesome — like it brought so much joy back to The Bachelor.”
Gerry, 72, and Theresa, 70, announced their separation during a Friday, April 12, appearance on Good Morning America.
“Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations and we’ve looked closely at our situation — our living situation — and we’ve kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it’s time for us to dissolve our marriage,” Gerry said on the morning talk show.
That same day, Us Weekly confirmed that Gerry filed for divorce citing “irreconcilable differences.”
The former couple met on the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor, which premiered in September 2023. They tied the knot during a live televised wedding ceremony in January. Tyler said on Wednesday that Gerry and Theresa’s love story was refreshing compared to “people who wanted to go on [Bachelor Nation shows] just to be influencers.”
He continued: “Then they just pulled the rug right out from under us [like], ‘Nope. We don’t wanna live near each other.’ Crazy.”
Gerry, who lives in Indiana, and Theresa, who lives in New Jersey, didn’t move in together after their nuptials. During a joint appearance on the “Dear Shandy” podcast in March, which was their last interview as a couple, Gerry and Theresa opened up about their conflict over where to settle down.
“Right now, it’s a long-distance relationship, essentially. [When] we decide on a place to really live, then I can really make a big decision to say, ‘OK, we’re going to live in this place or that place,’” Theresa said. “Originally, it was South Carolina. We’re still not sure if that’s what it is.”
Gerry chimed in to share his feelings about Theresa continuing to work.
“I guess the difficult part is I went on to the show to find my partner, and I’ve been retired for a long time. I wanted fun [and] adventure. I wanted to go do [things],” he explained. “So, that is the crux of it right now is, when does that start? I think the living arrangement is really secondary to the freedom of being able to go and enjoy life and do.”
Tyler, for his part, has a “theory” about why Gerry and Theresa were unable to compromise on lifestyle and location. He compared the twosome to his “single” dad who has become “set in his ways” as he ages.
“He can’t find anyone that wants to deal with the stuff he does,” Tyler said of his father. “He doesn’t want to change much either. I imagine Gerry and Teresa … don’t want to change their ways. … It’s just two stubborn old people, and when you get older, you get more stubborn.”
Tyler is not alone in his disappointment about Gerry and Theresa’s breakup. Bachelor Nation fans took to social media after the split announcement to express their shock at the brevity of the marriage.
“I still have milk in the fridge from when this was on,” one fan joked.
Another chimed in: “They never even lived in the same state, did they? These shows are so creepy.”
Theresa took to Instagram on Monday, April 15, to urge those who are “confused and angry” about her and Gerry’s split to “try a little kindness.” She added that she “truly thought” the marriage was “going to last forever” and deemed it “one of the most incredible experiences” of her life.
“It turns out, even at the age of 70, you don’t know everything,” she added. “Sometimes things don’t go the way you planned and that’s OK.”