Former Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner has been open about his health ups and downs after announcing his diagnosis with an incurable cancer.
“As Theresa [Nist] and I were trying very hard to find our lifestyle and where we were going to live and how we were going to make our life work, I was unfortunately diagnosed with cancer,” Turner told People in December 2024 while reflecting on his divorce from The Golden Bachelor season 1 winner.
Turner explained to the outlet that he had a shoulder injury three years prior but did not go to the orthopedic surgeon at the time. When he ultimately went to the doctor, the orthopedic surgeon discovered that Turner had “unusual blood markers.”
“And so an orthopedic surgeon went to my family doctor, my family doctor referred me to an oncologist, and now I’m working with a hematology-oncology group in Fort Wayne,” Turner said.
Turner was diagnosed with a slow-growing “bone marrow cancer” with a “really long name” called Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia.
“Unfortunately, there’s no cure for it. So that weighs heavily in every decision I make,” he said. “It was like 10 tons of concrete were just dropped on me. And I was a bit in denial for a while, I didn’t want to admit to it.”
Scroll down to see Turner’s candid quotes about his cancer journey:
Turner shared insight into his mindset following his diagnosis. “I wanted my life to continue on as normal as possible, and that led me to believing that as normal as possible more meant spending time with my family, my two daughters, my two son-in-laws, my granddaughters,” he told People in December 2024. “And the importance of finding the way with Theresa was still there, but it became less of a priority.”
Turner noted that the “judgements” made about his divorce from Nist, which occurred just months after their January 2024 wedding, were “unfair.”
“When you are hit with that kind of news and the shock wears off after a few days or a few weeks and you regroup and you realize what’s important to you, that’s where you start to move forward,” he said. “And I hope that people understand in retrospect now that that had a huge bearing on my decisions and I think probably Theresa’s as well.”
By disclosing his health battle, Turner said he hopes fans will “look at things a little bit differently, that maybe it wasn’t quite a rash, fast decision that people thought. That there was something else going on.”
Not Saying ‘No to Anything’Turner shared with People in December 2024 that he planned to embrace Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You’re Dying” message and had no intention of saying “no to anything.”
“I’m going to pack as much fun as I possibly can into my life and enjoy every moment,” he said. “And when I’m gone, I’m gone, but I’m not going to have regrets.”
Months after sharing his diagnosis, Turner gave an update on his health battle. “I feel great. Until I have any symptoms, there’s no treatment. So I go frequently for blood tests,” he said on an April 2025 episode of the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast.
He continued, “I’m on a six-month schedule now, and I feel optimistic because the doctor has said, ‘Well, when you turn 75, we’re going to have to do three-month increments.’ So it’s telling me that at least he expects me to live another couple of years to get to that. But the bottom line is I feel really good.”
In Turner’s perspective, it’s a “privilege to live like you’re dying.” He added, “I don’t turn down anything. I feel like I’m more open to emotions. I’m more open to experiences.”
Receiving Support From Loved OnesShortly before debuting their romance, Turner noted that his girlfriend, Lana, has been by his side through his health journey.
“The person I’m dating will say, ‘Do you want to go do …’ And before she even gets out the rest of the sentence, I will say yes. So I’m in on everything,” he said on the April 2025 podcast episode. “And it makes life exciting because you kind of in the back of your head feel like you’ve got a lot of living to do and you don’t know how long you have to do it, so don’t turn down anything. And so, in a way, it’s really a good thing.”
