The Bachelor’ news: ‘Golden’ couple announces breakup | CTV News
At 8:32 this morning, amidst the haze of morning chores—lunch preparations, unloading the dishwasher, and shepherding the child to school—I received a text that pierced through the routine: “Unexpected, isn’t it? The Golden Couple has called it quits already. I never expected them to last forever, but I imagined they’d endure a bit longer. But then again, it’s reality TV.”
The message hailed from Ann, a friend and mentor, who had been drawn into the Golden Bachelor saga on Slate’s recommendation (she even penned a compelling piece on navigating singlehood at 67 when the show’s finale aired last November). It took me a moment to register. Who was she referring to? Ah, Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist, the elderly lovebirds who emerged victorious at the culmination of Gerry’s stint as the septuagenarian Bachelor. Their love story had officially reached its end. As Scott Nover aptly put it in Slate on Friday, “the American public’s fascination with Gerry and Theresa’s short-lived romance had waned.”
Well, it seems I still have some space left in my personal sphere of interest because I spent the better part of the day pondering over why the headlines about the Golden Couple’s split were unsettling me. Yes, I confess, I followed their journey throughoutGolden Bachelor, separation, divorce drama, reality TV, breakup, the season. I even made peace with their union in the end. Yet, their televised wedding left me indifferent at best and slightly queasy at worst. And as they gave interviews about their future plans, I couldn’t help but wonder: were they truly going to uproot themselves from their grandchildren in Indiana and New Jersey and settle down in… Charleston, South Carolina, as they proclaimed?
Now we have the answer. As per their scripted announcement on Good Morning America, they’ve parted ways. But I refuse to label it as a divorce. At most, it’s a “divorce,” just as their relationship was a “marriage.” A divorce entails dividing assets, discussions about family holidays and child custody, decisions regarding finances and shared possessions. Divorce necessitates tough choices—chiefly, the decision to terminate a marriage! There’s simply no way Gerry and Theresa had enough time together to amass the complexities typically associated with divorce. And even if they had some serious discussions about parting ways—deciding to divorce can take some couples years! —how many conversations could they have had? They tied the knot in January!
Now, they might argue over the Golden Bachelor earnings, but I highly doubt it. That seems like something that would have been settled through heaps of paperwork with ABC months ago. Surely they didn’t merge their finances at the time of their marriage, so presumably, they each received their payment directly into their respective accounts—no fuss there!
By now, it should be evident—I speak from experience. I am a divorcee. And I might have one of the most unusual divorce tales you’ll ever hear, considering my ex-husband and I are incredibly close, dedicated co-parents, and lifelong allies. We have keys to each other’s homes, and we see each other regularly. Last weekend, our daughter stayed with my (second) husband while I attended a concert with my first husband. Confusing, isn’t it? It baffles people all the time!
But it wasn’t a simple journey. It was arduous because divorcing is inherently difficult! Even if, like us, you don’t have joint assets and the proceedings are relatively straightforward, untangling years of shared life, emotions, and belongings is no easy feat. In the best-case scenario, you might end up like us. However, often, the dissolution of a marriage unearths a plethora of emotions we’ve attempted to bury, leaving behind a mess that can never be completely cleaned up. Every divorced individual I know strives their hardest. Yet, there’s a distinct kind of enduring sorrow—and often, much worse—even in the most amicable of separations.
I don’t lament that Gerry and Theresa will be spared this lingering aftermath. But let’s call the conclusion of their “marriage” what it truly is: a breakup. They couldn’t agree on their future, and things didn’t work out. Legally, it may be a divorce, but in essence, it amounts to nothing more than a fleeting, failed engagement.
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