WAR OF THE ROSES

‘Golden Bachelor’ Gerry Turner’s Ex Claims He Was a Gold-Plated Jerk

Gerry Turner’s rosy reputation largely stems from his claim that he hasn’t seriously dated since his late wife’s death. Now, an alleged ex claims that this is far from the truth.

Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner quickly worked his way into Bachelor Nation’s hearts with a very romantic, very sad story: He and his late wife, Toni, were high school sweethearts who were married for decades, and after her sudden death from an infection in 2017, he hadn’t seriously dated again.

This could not be further from the truth, however, according to Turner’s alleged ex. The woman told The Hollywood Reporter that they dated for three years, starting one month after Toni’s passing. The two even lived together in the “dream house” on the lake that Turner mentions on the show, she alleges—which required her to relocate from her home state, Iowa. The woman (pseudonymously called Carolyn) only did so, THR reports, after Gerry vowed to her mother that he planned to marry her.

ABC, Turner, and Warner Bros. are not commenting on the report.

THR reviewed text messages between Carolyn and Turner, as well as mail she’d received at Gerry’s lake house, and spoke with her friends. THR also reports that a background check listed the home as Carolyn’s primary residence for the period described.

According to THR, Turner and Carolyn (allegedly 14 yers his junior) first became friends through their work at a mental health center in Davenport, Iowa—where he reportedly worked as a maintenance man and she worked as a staff accountant. They began dating, THR reports, after they met up again in Davenport after Toni’s death while he was working on her estate. After dating for 10 months, the two reportedly moved in together and cohabitated for more than a year.

The relationship came to an end, Carolyn told THR, after Turner disinvited her from his high school reunion because she’d gained 10 pounds. She said he’d pointed to her body and said, “I’m not taking you to the reunion looking like that.”

Somehow, the story gets worse from there: Carolyn also claimed that while packing to move out, she fell down the stairs and incurred an injury that required foot surgery. At that point, she told THR, Turner accused her of doing so on purpose to stay in the house longer and, perhaps, sue him. One week before her two weeks’ notice at her new job had ended, Carolyn claims, Turner ousted her from the lake house and told her to find a hotel.

Turner’s finale will debut Thursday and, as always, promises to be a wild ride. By now, Turner has told both of his finalists that he loves them—a classic mistake many a young Bachelor has already made. During his Fantasy Suites week, he went so far as to tell one contestant, Leslie, that he thinks she’s “The One.” As the promos for this season’s finale have long suggested, this can only end one way—in tears.

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Laura BradleySenior Entertainment Reporter

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