After two months, The Golden Bachelor finally came to a close on November 30, and it is safe to say that Gerry Turner, the 72-year-old restaurant owner from Indiana, found his perfect match in the one and only Theresa Nist, the 70-year-old financial services professional from New Jersey, deeming her to be the woman whom he “cannot live without” during the finale of the inaugural season.
Losing his wife and high school sweetheart to illness after being married for 43 years, Gerry signed on to be the lead of the first-ever season of The Golden Bachelor, all in an attempt to find love for the second time (or maybe even the third time). Since beginning his journey on September 28, Gerry Turner was forced to let go of dozens of wonderful women week after week until he was down to just one, proposing to Theresa Nist at the end of the tear-jerking finale, as well as offering her his final rose — how sweet is that?
Also during said finale, host Jesse Palmer teased an announcement over and over again that would leave all of Bachelor Nation “stunned,” revealing that Gerry and Theresa would be getting married on live television during the “After The Final Rose” segment of the episode.
With ABC calling it The Golden Wedding, Gerry and Theresa’s special day will grace our screens on January 4 from 8pm to 10pm ET/PT on the network, with next-day streaming on Hulu and Disney Plus. Needless to say, The Golden Bachelor fans are thrilled, taking to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share their excitement.
“Alright they got me, a televised golden wedding IS pretty exciting. #GoldenBachelor,” one fan wrote.
“I cannot believe we are about to have a LIVE Golden Bachelor Wedding. I am PLEASED. #TheGoldenBachelor #GoldenBachelor,” another gushed.
“I’ve been Team Theresa since their first date at the diner. I’m so happy for her and Gerry. And I’m so excited to see their wedding! #GoldenBachelor,” dished a third.
Given that Gerry and Theresa will get married in just one month and some change, the duo has already been preparing for the big day. Keep scrolling to see the plans that they have in place thus far, as revealed in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE…
Fortunately for Gerry and Theresa, their respective families are extremely involved in the wedding planning process (specifically Theresa’s daughter, Jen), helping with all of the nitty gritty details ever since their engagement back in August.
“We have daughters who are so involved,” Theresa shared with Dana Rose Falcone at PEOPLE. “My daughter, she’s seen a million weddings and she is incredible. She’s put together the vision board. She’s asking me, ‘Do you like this? Do you like this?’ And I go, ‘Wow, okay! I don’t even have to do this. This is awesome.’ She’s handling it pretty much.”
Watching Theresa’s daughter light up about their special day has been extremely heartwarming for the soon-to-be newlywed couple, with Gerry sharing his thoughts as well.
“I can just hear the joy in her voice when I talk to her and she’s talking about whether it’s a dress or a cake or flowers or whatever it is,” he gushed in the same interview. “It makes me so happy that she’s having this much of a good time with it. It’s like, what could be more fun?”
While their respective families have been a huge help, of course Gerry and Theresa have some thoughts of their own, with the former requesting that he wear a blue suit at the wedding, and the latter having a very specific idea of what she wants her gown and veil to look like (as well as the cake).
They even have plans to do a choreographed dance, which is sure to knock the socks off of all attendees, as well as viewers at home.
While Gerry and Theresa are still working out the last few details of their big day, “I haven’t seen anything that wouldn’t work. It’s going to be spectacular,” the Golden Bachelor himself dished, and we seriously cannot contain our excitement.
While we all anxiously await The Golden Wedding that is to come next month, to relive the engagement between Gerry and Theresa, you can stream the finale of The Golden Bachelor now via Hulu.
