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Golden Bachelor <\/span><\/i><\/a>alum Theresa Nist<\/a> <\/strong>broke her silence on ex-husband Gerry Turner<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s cancer battle hours after the reality star shared his diagnosis.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s devastating news, really. I was extremely upset,\u201d Theresa, 71, told <\/span>People <\/span><\/i><\/a>in an interview published on Wednesday, December 11, adding that Gerry, 72, broke the news to her \u201cwhen [she] visited Gerry in Indiana [some time in March].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She added, \u201cHe\u2019s a very positive person and I am too, and I know that he will do the best that he can to make this a positive experience. And I have every faith that is going to work out that way, that it\u2019s going to be the type of cancer that will not affect his life and that he\u2019ll live to be a very healthy old age.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The New Jersey native\u2019s comments come just hours after news broke of Gerry\u2019s cancer diagnosis<\/a>, which he claimed played a role in his decision to divorce<\/a> Theresa.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAs Theresa and I were trying very hard to find our lifestyle and where we were going to live and how we were going to make our life work, I was unfortunately diagnosed with cancer,\u201d he told <\/span>People<\/span><\/i><\/a>. \u201cI wanted my life to continue on as normal as possible, and that led me to believing that as normal as possible more meant spending time with my family, my two daughters, my two sons-in-law, my granddaughter. And the importance of finding the way with Theresa was still there, but it became less of a priority.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n According to Gerry, Theresa was \u201ca little bit awestruck by the news.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen you are hit with that kind of news and the shock wears off after a few days or a few weeks and you regroup and you realize what\u2019s important to you, that\u2019s where you start to move forward,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Gerry was diagnosed with Waldenstr\u00f6m\u2019s macroglobulinemia, which the Mayo Clinic<\/a> says is a \u201ctype of cancer that begins in the white blood cells\u201d and \u201cis considered a type of non-Hodgkin\u2019s lymphoma. It\u2019s sometimes called lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n While the former restaurateur said \u201cthere\u2019s no cure for\u201d for his form of cancer<\/a>, Theresa claimed, \u201cHe told me though, that it was the type of cancer that he would most likely outlive.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Theresa and Gerry tied the knot on January 4 in a televised ceremony after getting engaged during the season 1 finale of <\/span>The Golden Bachelor. <\/span><\/i>She later explained that their rush down the aisle was largely due to a \u201ca time constraint on the offer\u201d for a lavish wedding. The couple called it quits<\/a> just three months later, claiming their indecision on where to live as newlyweds led to their split.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it\u2019s probably time for us to dissolve our marriage. The thing that strikes me the most and in our conversations, it\u2019s been how dedicated both of us are to our families,\u201d Gerry said during an appearance on <\/span>Good Morning America<\/span><\/i>. \u201cSo, we look at these situations and I think we just feel like it\u2019s best for the happiness of each of us to live apart.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n