The Golden Bachelor’s Gerry & Theresa Spent Christmas Apart

The 2023 holiday season marks Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist’s first as engaged couple. Just more than a week ahead of their Golden Bachelor wedding, however, they revealed that they spent Christmas apart.

“Gerry and I are celebrating with our own families but will be back together in just a few more days,” Theresa captioned a Dec. 24 Instagram post, also wishing her followers a “Very Merry (Gerry) Christmas.”

How Theresa Celebrated The Holidays

Ahead of ABC’s The Golden Wedding, which airs live on Jan. 4, Theresa shared some small glimpses of her New Jersey holiday celebration with her siblings, Charlotte, Mary, and Vinny, via her Instagram Stories.

“My sisters and I think Christmas isn’t Christmas if we don’t sing,” she captioned a Dec. 25 video of her family performing “Deck the Halls” while clearing their holiday feast. “If only our mom and dad (who could really sing) were still around to lead us...”

A subsequent photo showed Theresa posing in front of a Christmas tree with her “wonderful sisters and brother.” She wrote, “Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!”

Though her new fiancé was nowhere in sight, Theresa previously posted a similar photo on Dec. 11, calling Gerry the “best Christmas present ever.”

A Very Gerry Christmas

Meanwhile, Indiana-based Gerry began sharing Instagram photos from his Christmas celebrations on Dec. 23.

“What a great day with my pickleball friends! Good games in the morning. Bowling in the afternoon and an evening Christmas party,” he captioned the shot.

When one commenter asked why he tagged Theresa, Faith Martin, Susan Noles, and Joan Vassos (who were not in the photo), Gerry replied, “Why not? We are friends!”

The following day, Gerry also posted a photo of his daughters, Jenny and Angie, and granddaughters, Payton and Charlee, who appeared in the Golden Bachelor finale, wearing matching pajamas. “Twas the night before Christmas......” he wrote.

Earlier, Gerry hinted at his gift for Theresa, posting a Dec. 21 photo of himself jewelry shopping for his “sweetheart” in Indiana.

Christmas 2024 Down South?

Though Gerry and Theresa currently live in different states, they’ve already shared their plans to start their life as a married couple in South Carolina, presumably where they’ll start their own traditions together next holiday season.

“In conversations near the end of my journey, Theresa talked about having a son and three grandsons in the Charleston area,” Gerry explained to the Los Angeles Times after the Nov. 30 Golden Bachelor finale.

“All of a sudden, the possible obstacle of geography melted away. Maybe it’s fate that really helped us in that department, but it really lifted a burden off both of us on what that compromise would be.”