Theresa Nist and Gerry Turner.Photo:John Fleenor/Disney via Getty
John Fleenor/Disney via Getty
Theresa Nist, who got engaged toGerry Turnerin last month’sGolden Bachelor finale, said on Monday that she watched the show back with herdaughter, son-in-law and her three grandsons.
“And I was horrified every time. ’Oh my God, what do I look like?’ But I would get over that, and the next night I would watch it alone,” Nist, 70, said during a For Your Consideration panel — which also included her fiancé and executive producers Bennett Graebner, Claire Freeland and Jason Ehrlich — at The Times Center in New York City.
Anthony Behar courtesy of ABC
The financial services professional also touched base with Turner, 72, throughout the season.
“Gerry and I were talking on the phone all the time, so he prepared me for things, but there’s some things he just couldn’t prepare me for,” Nist said. “There’s some things I had to just… I cried over a few things, but no, not that I didn’t know anything that was going to happen, but yes, a little hard sometimes.”
Nist said she considers herself “a very open-minded person,” but the show taught her “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 a date.’”
She continued, “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. And so yeah, I learned that I could do that and allow that process to happen, and I think that’s important too when going into a process like this. It’s difficult, but necessary.”
Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist on a ‘Golden Bachelor group date.John Fleenor/DISNEY via Getty
John Fleenor/DISNEY via Getty
The New Jersey resident said she “loved” her fellow contestants, which made seeing their hearts break throughout the season difficult. “I loved all of them and still do,” she said.
While previously speaking to PEOPLE, Nist said she found watchingFaith Martinleave after hometownsparticularly upsetting.
“It wasn’t easy watching Faith cry,” Nist said. “That was really hard for both of us. We really love her and we want her to be so happy. She was one of my best friends in the house, so that was difficult.”
Still, “I really wanted him to go through the entire journey and explore it,” Nist told PEOPLE.“I understood the process. I knew that’s what he had to do. I was in a process where he was going to be with other women. I get it.”
Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist.John Fleenor/ABC via Getty
John Fleenor/ABC via Getty
Since she’d formed strong friendships with her castmates, Nist expressed genuine happiness for them when they went on dates with Turner throughout the season — which confused the retired restaurateur.
“I was very happy for Ellen when she had her date. Over the moon, jumping for joy when Leslie did and the same for Faith. I really was truly happy for them,” Nist said. “When he saw the episodes back and he saw how incredibly happy I really was on film, he said, ‘Wow, you really were happy for them. Why would you be when you wanted me for yourself?’”
It would all worked out in the end for Nist, but even going into proposal day, she didn’t know where she stood in the process.
“Not once did I think I was the only person,” Nist said of finalistLeslie Fhimabeing eliminated before the last day of filming. “I didn’t find out until later.”
“When you’re in your 20s and you put something off for a year, it’s a very small percentage of your life,” Turnertold PEOPLE. “In your 70s, the clock ticks faster. And I’m 100 percent certain I found the right girl for me. So it’s like, why not?
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The Golden Bachelorcan be streamed on Hulu andThe Golden Weddingwill air Jan. 4 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
source: people.com
