'Golden Bachelor' after that proposal: Gerry and Theresa talk finale drama, 'naughty' outing

LOS ANGELES — The world learned Thursday night that Gerry Turner is not only engaged to Theresa Nist on the "Golden Bachelor" finale, but they're getting married on live TV Jan. 4.

Yet the newly revealed couple, forced to keep their relationship secret until now, are still learning big things about each other. Nist recently corrected Gerry (pronounced Gary) on the proper way to say her name.

"He kept calling me Treesa," Nist, 70, tells USA TODAY, holding Turner's hands and giggling. "He's learned."

Turner has also just discovered that his future wife is a very light sleeper. "It's going to be hard to sleep together," says Turner, 72. "I get up and go to the bathroom and wake her. And the cycle goes on. It will take time."

But time is what the first Golden Couple have after Turner chose Nist from among 22 Bachelor Mansion hopefuls, and got down on one knee for the Costa Rican finale proposal — a reveal that left fellow finalist Leslie Fhima, 64, devastated.

Nist was also shocked, but happily, when Turner pulled out the 3.15-carat princess-cut diamond platinum engagement ring.

The 'Golden Bachelor' finaleGerry Turner puts a ring on it. Who gets his final rose?

"I had a million things going through my mind: Is he going to ask me to marry him? Is he going to ask Leslie? Will he ask no one?" says Nist. "It was nerve-wracking. So I was completely surprised."

Turner says his feelings for Nist and his decision to propose, were cemented after off-camera discussions the two had during the Fantasy Suites week, which aired Nov. 16.

"We were able to talk without the witness of the whole country: No camera, no microphones," says Turner. "I saw the real Theresa. All of a sudden it was like, I thought something was here. Now I know it's here. I told her, 'I'm going to ask you to marry me. I don't know if you will or not. But I'm going to ask.'"

Of course, when the question did come, Nist was ecstatic, while the Minneapolis-based Fhima lamented in an emotional "After the Final Rose" reunion with Turner that she felt "blindsided" after he told her "I think you're the one" during Fantasy Suites week.

Turner says he understands Fhima's reaction. "It's obvious and expected that (she) still felt hurt, perhaps even betrayed. I just wanted to give her an opportunity to open up and have some closure."

While it was a "tough" exchange, and Turner has faced criticism for his treatment to Fhima, he insists he was as honest as possible.

"With Leslie, I believed she was the woman for me until I knew she wasn't," says Turner. "There was a moment of clarity with Theresa, where I knew she was the one. But I gave 100% with each woman when I was with them. And if I say, 'I love you' I own it. I won't backpedal."

Turner also dealt with outcry following a Nov. 29 Hollywood Reporter expose which claimed the widower, whose wife Toni died in 2017, deceived viewers and other contestants by not revealing romantic relationships that followed.

Turner declines to discuss specifics, but insists viewers saw his true self. "I would like to think there's enough of me out there, that people can draw their own conclusions," says Turner. "But my biggest concern would be candor with Theresa."

Nist has watched each Golden Bachelor episode twice and admits it was difficult to see Turner being romantic with others. "It was always shocking. You never knew what you were going to see on the screen," says Nist. "I'd have to watch it the second time by myself just to absorb it."

But she believed Turner when he said "I love you" to her, despite repeating it to two other contestants, "because I was there when he said that; it was real and undeniable."

After the Thursday reveal, the couple stepped out for dinner at Burbank's Smokehouse restaurant, their first public outing. "We went in holding hands," says Turner. "It felt naughty. But it was awesome."

The two have even discussed a possible compromise location between Turner's Indiana home and Nist's New Jersey digs. Nist, a widow, has a grown son who lives in Charleston, South Carolina, an appealing location for Turner. "So that's going to make life pretty easy; we'll start looking in that area," he says.

First comes the Jan. 4 wedding, which Nist is planning with daughter Jenny in the Palm Springs, Florida, area. The ABC special will feature many Golden Bachelor contestants as guests. Even Kathy, who famously feuded with Nist on the show, reunited with hugs at the finale.

"It's great with Kathy; we want her at the wedding," says Nist.

Turner says the wedding couldn't come soon enough, despite the couple's brief courtship.

"I'm 1000% committed to this; I wouldn't have asked Theresa to marry me if I wasn't," says Turner. "When you're older, the clock ticks faster. If you love someone, say it. If you believe you're with the right person and want to be married forever, do that. You don't wait."