Gerry Turner Said Leslie Fhima’s Past Marriages Were ‘Red Flags’

Gerry Turner’s memoir Golden Years: What I’ve Learned From Love, Loss, and Reality TV was released on November 4. It has proven to be just as slanderous towards Theresa Nist, Turner’s one-time wife and the winner of season 1 of The Golden Bachelor, as he promised.  While Turner spent much of the memoir lambasting the woman he chose at his season’s end, she’s not the only one he got some digs in against. Turner wrote a great deal about what led him to choose Nist over Leslie Fhima. What he had to say about his runner-up was pretty mean-spirited, too. She didn’t get away unscathed, despite doing nothing wrong.

Gerry Turner regretted sending Leslie Fhima home

Gerry Turner shocked viewers when he picked Theresa Nist as the winner of The Golden Bachelor season 1. As it turns out, he surprised Nist, too. She recently revealed that she thought Turner was set on Leslie Fhima and Faith Martin as his final two contestants. Fhima was certainly heartbroken and surprised that she wasn’t the winner. While Turner had his “reasons” for choosing Nist over Fhima, he made it pretty clear in his memoir, Golden Years, that he regretted his decision.

In his book, Turner noted that Fhima seemed like the right choice for him throughout much of the series. He admits he felt that way even down to the last few nights of the competition. However, things changed inside the fantasy suites, leading him in a different direction. Turner even explained what led him away from Fhima. In an odd, accusatory way, he basically blames Fhima’s past for his misstep with Nist.

Turner claimed Fhima had a ‘red flag’ he couldn’t ignore

Gerry Turner might now regret sending Leslie Fhima home and choosing Theresa Nist, but he insists he had a good reason to pick Nist over Fhima. The Indiana-based retiree wrote that choosing Nist was the “logical” decision. He claimed Fhima had a red flag he could not ignore. Turner claimed Fhima’s two divorces proved they had “fundamental differences in our definitions of commitment.” The way Turner speaks about Fhima in the book suggests that he believes she was at fault for not staying in her failing marriages. Turner’s words, especially years after the fact, feel unnecessarily cruel.

Fhima was open about her divorces and the reason her marriages ended during The Golden Bachelor. She revealed that her first marriage ended because she and her then-spouse had grown into different people. The fitness instructor noted they were rather young when they tied the knot and remained amicable following the split. She said her second marriage, to a chef, was marred by her husband’s infidelity. She said that while she tried to keep her family together, she simply couldn’t ignore cheating.