Gerry Turner is in search of a lover who will ‘accept’ him amid cancer diagnosis after Theresa Nist split

HUDSON, INDIANA: Gerry Turner is not giving up on finding the love of his life. 

The 73-year-old ‘Golden Bachelor’ alum is, in fact, “100% still looking for my person” after confirming separation from wife Theresa Nist amid his cancer diagnosis. 

Speaking to People, the TV personality opened up about his recently diagnosed bone marrow cancer and how the debilitating condition changed his plans for dating.

Gerry Turner is not giving up on love

During a recent interview, Gerry Turner revealed that he has been diagnosed with a slow-growing "bone marrow cancer" called Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia, which changes white blood cells into cancer cells in the bone marrow. 

Turner met his former wife Theresa Nist during the inaugural season of ‘Golden Bachelor’. The former couple tied the knot during a televised event in January earlier this year. 

However, they decided to separate three years after the public wedding, citing distance was causing havoc in their relationship. While Turner was based in Indiana, Theresa was maintaining her base in New Jersey. 

Nevertheless, Turner later revealed his cancer diagnosis also had a role to play in their divorce. 

Despite the setback, the reality TV star shared that he is not losing hope of finding his forever person who would “accept” him with his health condition. 

"I am absolutely, 100% still looking for my person," shared Turner, before adding, "If there is a message that came out of the show, it is that you're open to possibilities and that you have hearts and you have hope and you maintain humor in your life. I still want to find my person."

Turner, however, admitted, "It does become a little more difficult now.”

"If I meet someone and have strong feelings for them, I'm going to have to give them a conversation about my situation, and that would make acceptance much more difficult,” admitted the TV star before focusing on the positive aspect. 

He candidly shared, “I think it would also be a confirmation if a person accepts me in the situation that I'm in, it would be pretty terrific.”

While he was open to finding love, Turner confessed that he had still not made up his mind regarding marriage. 

The star said, "At the age of 73 and knowing all of the entanglements, the legal entanglements, I really don't know," before elaborating, "But I would entertain the conversation with someone who was the right person. If they felt strongly that they really wanted to be married, I would certainly consider that."

Following his unsuccessful union with Thersa, Turner has also chalked out an updated list of qualities he would be searching for in his next partner. 

"Because of the huge obstacle that I ran into with Theresa about geography and mileage, I'm really trying to focus on meeting someone that is a Midwest girl," says the Indiana native, before adding, "Someone close, someone that I can see on a daily basis to learn if they're the right person and them learn about me, if I'm their right person."

He added, "Other than that, the characteristics that I looked for [on the show], the humor, the ability to be a partner, the ability to read my emotions and me to read their emotions, all of those things are still there.”

Gerry Turner opens up about cancer diagnosis shaping his marriage

Gerry Turner, in another interview with People recently shared how his cancer diagnosis paved the way for the couple to call it quits. 

The retired restaurateur admitted, “There’s a topic I haven’t wanted to discuss until now,” before adding, "I think it's time, also because it probably will clear up a lot of mystery around what happened back in February, March and April. As Theresa and I were trying very hard to find our lifestyle and figure out where we would live, I was unfortunately diagnosed with cancer.”

He revealed that before announcing their split in April, he shared the news with Theresa in February, who was left a little awestruck. 

"Certainly, it was hard for me," Turner shared, and added, "But the conversation was brief and I think (she was) a little bit awestruck by the news. So understandable."

His priorities too shifted following the diagnosis, as he wished his life to function normally. “I wanted my life to continue as normal as possible,” shared Turner before adding that his priorities too shifted. He wanted to spend time with his daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren. 

"And the importance of finding the way with Theresa was still there, but it became less of a priority," shared Turner.

He explained, “When you are hit with that kind of news, you regroup and realize what’s important to you,” before noting, “That had a huge bearing on my decisions and, I think, probably Theresa’s as well.”

He further noted that the decision wasn’t a rash one, but rather a well-thought one. 

"Hopefully, people will look at things differently now," he said, and clarified, "This wasn't a rash, fast decision—it was a deeply personal one influenced by circumstances beyond our control."