“The Golden Bachelor” stars Gerry Turner and fiancée Theresa Nist are just days away from saying “I do” in front of family, friends and fans after finding love on the hit reality show.
The 72-year-old retired restaurateur and the 70-year-old financial services professional are set to tie the knot on Jan. 4 during a live, televised ceremony on ABC. In a joint interview with Fox News Digital, Turner and Nist shared exclusive details about the first-ever “Golden Wedding.”
“This is going to be a family event,” Turner said.
“The Golden Bachelor” star Gerry Turner and his fiancee Theresa Nist shared details about their wedding ahead of tying the knot. (Getty)
He continued, “My son-in-law will be best man. We are going to have as many of the family members involved as we possibly can.”
“I think, every family member,” Nist added. “Really, seriously, I mean, every family member.”
WATCH: ‘GOLDEN BACHELOR’ STARS GERRY TURNER AND THERESA NIST SHARE HOW THEIR WEDDING IS A ‘FAMILY EVENT’
Both Turner and Nist are getting a second chance at love after the losses of their longtime spouses. Turner’s wife of 43 years, Toni, died in 2017 following a bacterial infection. Nist was married to her husband, William, for 42 years before he died from kidney failure.
Turner and Nist will marry in the “Bachelor” franchise’s first live televised nuptials in a decade. (Craig Sjodin/ABC via Getty Images)
Nist shared son Tommy and daughter Jen with William. Tommy and his wife Amanda are parents to three sons, Brandon, Brody and Braxton. Jen and her husband Matt Woolston share sons Dempsey, Leo and Henry, who met Turner when he visited Nist’s hometown.
Turner also shared two children, daughters Angie Warner and Jenny Young, with Toni. He is grandfather to Young’s daughters Payton, 21, and Charlee, 16, whom she shares with her husband Jon.
During their interview with Fox News Digital, the pair confirmed that their wedding party will include their children and grandchildren. Nist became emotional as she revealed that her son Tommy will be walking her down the aisle.
WATCH: ‘GOLDEN BACHELOR’ WINNER THERESA NIST REVEALS WHO WILL GIVE HER AWAY TO GERRY TURNER AT THE ‘GOLDEN WEDDING’
“That’s really going to be such a really special moment for me,” Nist said.
“Oh, God, it’s going to make me cry,” she continued. “I’m so close with both my children. But of course, Tommy, I mean, you know, he’s my heart and so there was no other choice for me. It was such an easy decision that it would always be Tommy.”
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Nist added that Turner’s daughters Angie and Jenny would be among her bridesmaids, noting, “They’re so excited about it!”
The couple also told Fox News Digital that they plan to write their own marriage vows.
“I think we’ve both thought about it a bit,” Turner said. “And pretty soon here, it’ll be time to start writing them down and committing to memory.”
“Now, of course, he’ll just be able to just say it off the top of his head,” Nist said with a laugh. “He just always knows what to say. Mr. Charming.”
The couple explained that their family members will be a big part of their wedding. (John Fleenor/ABC via Getty Images)
As for the wedding reception playlist, Nist noted that Turner had already given fans a glimpse at his song selection. On Dec. 8, Turner shared a photo of a handwritten list of potential wedding tunes on his Instagram page.
“Could this be the start of a WEDDING playlist…..” he wrote in the caption.
Under the title “Gerry Playlist,” Turner listed 11 artists, including Dua Lipa, Latto, Pink, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Pit Bull, Doja Cat, Teddy Swims, and Adele.
Potential songs that Turner jotted down included “Houdini,” “Big Energy,” “Trust Fall,” “Never Gonna Not Dance Again,” “Just Give Me a Reason,” “Used to Be Young,” “Calm Down,” “Anti-Hero,” “Lil Boo Thang,” “Time of Our Lives,” “Give Me Everything,” “Vegas,” “The Door” and “Set Fire to the Rain.”
Turner also shared two song options for his first dance with Nist, including Celine Dion’s “The Power of Love” and Whitney’s Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.”
Turner gave his Instagram followers a glimpse at his wedding playlist. (Gerry Turner Instagram)
While Turner’s list was fairly concise, Nist told Fox News Digital that she was having a hard time narrowing down her own song choices.
“When they asked me, they said 20 songs and I came up with about 120,” she said. “And I still have more. Music is so important to me.”
However, Nist joked that Turner was sometimes unfamiliar with her favorite musicians.
“I’ll say, ‘Do you know who that artist was? And he goes, ’Theresa, I don’t know who that is,'” Nist recalled while laughing.
“That might be,” Turner said with a smile. “But he’s going to know either way,” Nist added.
WATCH: ‘GOLDEN BACHELOR’ STARS GERRY TURNER AND THERESA NIST RECALL OFF-SCREEN MOMENT THAT CHANGED THEIR RELATIONSHIP
Nist said her favorite artists include Van Morrison and Counting Crows. While many of Turner’s Instagram followers expressed surprise at his modern picks, Nist told Fox News Digital she is more fond of the classics.
“I like old songs. I mean, go to the playlist of ‘The Big Chill,’” Nist said, referring to the 1983 comedy-drama movie.
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She continued, “So there are two different types of songs. Songs, you know, that are slow and thoughtful and wonderful. And then there’s the dance songs. I’ll give you an example of a slow song. Ray Charles singing ‘My Song For You.’ And then a fast song, ‘To Be Real’ by Cheryl Lynn.”
“You know, ‘To be real. It’s got to be real,'” Nist sang before laughing along with Turner.
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Ahead of their big day, Turner and Nist reflected on the moment from their time on “The Golden Bachelor” that had the most significant impact on their relationship.
“If you watched the show and watched the last dinner that Teresa and I had, it was leading up to more substantial conversation,” Turner said.
He continued, “I mean, the question I asked is, ‘Tell me about what you do for a living.’ Well, I knew what she did for a living. I wanted to open it up to more conversation. And that was continued into the Fantasy Suites.”
“That was where I think my decision was made in those moments in the Fantasy Suite with Theresa.”
“I would say the Fantasy Suite was everything,” Nist agreed. “You know, I really did have a difficult time being myself in front of the cameras. So being away from the cameras and being able to be myself completely was just everything. And for the conversation, we just started talking on a much deeper level. And it just clicked. Just yeah, it just worked.”
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Though both Turner and Nist were raised Catholic, the couple said that religion hasn’t played a large part in their discussions.
“There are fundamental Christian beliefs,” Turner said. “It almost goes unspoken. We just know they’re there.”
“Yeah, just to be a good person,” Nist said.
“Be a good person. Do the right thing,” Turner said.
“The Golden Wedding” will air Jan 4 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. (Gerry Turner Instagram)
Turner and Nist’s wedding will be a milestone event for the “Bachelor” franchise as the first televised live nuptials in a decade. Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici were the last “Bachelor” couple to tie the knot in front of the cameras in January 2014.
The couple also set a record for the long-running franchise’s shortest engagement period. Turner proposed to Nist during the show’s season finale, which aired in November.
Though many of the Bachelor Nation romances have eventually fizzled out after the cameras stopped rolling, Turner and Nist told Fox News Digital that they are confident their relationship will survive the test of time.
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“We are older and wiser and we understand what it takes to make a relationship last,” Nist said. “We’ve both done this. And so we think we’ve learned so many lessons from life and from the relationships we were in.”
“I was married 43 years,” Turmer said. “It just proves how trainable I am.”
“Theresa will have a very easy time breaking me in,” he quipped.
“Because he’s just going to listen to everything I say,” Nist added with a laugh. “That’s all.”
