Former Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner Reveals Identity of New Girlfriend

Former Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner is unveiling the identity of his new girlfriend.

Gerry, 73, told TMZ on Thursday, April 24, that he and his new love, Lana, met when she slid into his DMs. While Gerry ignored her first message, her second attempt got his attention when she shared that he grew up in an Indiana town 20 minutes from him.

The Bachelor Nation alum took Lana to a restaurant in March for their first date and have since continued their romance including meeting each other’s kids — and her parents.

Gerry noted that Lana is a retired teacher in her mid-50s and former part-owner of a video production company who is family-oriented.

Gerry revealed on an April 15 episode of the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast that he is “dating someone” after his stint as the Golden Bachelor.

“I think at this point it’s going well. But I don’t want to say too much and jinx it and I’m trying to respectfully get to a point where there’s an acceptable amount of time from my divorce,” he said. “Maybe that’s an old fashioned thought — maybe it doesn’t matter as much as I think it does, but to be respectful, I kind of want to slow roll this.”

Gerry, who revealed in December 2024 that he was diagnosed with an incurable cancer, shared that he and his girlfriend have bonded over parenthood.

“I think the fun part there is she has daughters that I really relate to, and she relates well to my daughters,” he said. “So we’ve been around each other briefly. It’s been fun. It’s been a very enjoyable encounter.”

He also gushed that she brings out an adventurous side to him. “The person I’m dating will say, ‘Do you want to go do?’ And before she gets out the rest of the sentence I will say, ‘Yes,’” Turner said, adding that Lana’s life experiences have included “a lot of travel.”

Gerry, who was previously married to winner Theresa Nist, noted that he told his ex-wife about his love life update after seeking advice from Golden Bachelor exes Joan Vassos and Leslie Fhima. (Gerry and Theresa announced their divorce in 2024 after a few months of marriage.)

“I said, ‘To be respectful and to do the right thing, when should I talk to Theresa about this and let her know?’ And their advice was to talk to her soon. So on the car ride from the hotel to the airport [After the Final Rose] the next day, I called Theresa,” he recalled, referring to the end of former Bachelor Grant Ellis’ season, which he was at. “We had a really nice conversation, and, you know, I let her know.”

In Gerry’s perspective, he had a connection with Lana right off the bat. “I hate to say it because I know I’m going to get baseballs thrown at me. It was almost the first time I saw her. It was the look that she gave me. It was like, all of a sudden, I was consumed by this look and I had this actual physical feeling and I pushed it off. I go, ‘That was silly, that’s ridiculous.’ And with every encounter that feeling has instantly come back with her look and it’s like, ‘Damn, this is pretty awesome,’” he said.

When asked whether he had those feelings with any women on his season, Gerry shared, “I think the closest to that was when Faith [Martin] played the guitar and sang to me on I think it was the first night she got the first impression rose. That would be the closest to it.”