Carly Waddell Dodges Bachelor Nation Drama by Opting for Silence Post-Breakup

Despite Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist presenting conflicting narratives regarding the breakdown of their rapid marriage, another familiar face from Bachelor Nation, Carly Waddell, intends to avoid repeating their experience.

“Many of you are inquiring about my dissolved engagement. This is one primary reason I'm choosing to remain silent,” Waddell, aged 40, stated in an Instagram Story video posted on Tuesday, November 11. “Have you witnessed the ongoing conflict between Gerry and Theresa, this 'he said, she said' scenario unfolding within Bachelor Nation? It appears quite unseemly.”

Last month, Waddell verified that she had concluded her engagement to attorney Todd Allen Tressler, opting not to disclose the reasons behind her choice. (Waddell had been married before to Evan Bass, whom she encountered during Bachelor in Paradise season 2, between 2017 and 2020.)

“In this situation, both parties are discussing the other, regardless. That’s simply not my approach,” Waddell clarified on Tuesday. “Frankly, I haven't ever spoken ill of my former partner, so this isn't characteristic of me. I find it distasteful.”

Theresa from The Golden Bachelor Addresses Gerry's Claim of Feeling ‘Confined’ Prior to Their Nuptials

She added, “Everyone possesses their own version of events regardless. In my opinion, it simply doesn't present well.”

Turner, at 74, and Nist, 72, became engaged during the first season of The Golden Bachelor in 2023, exchanging vows within a year. The couple eventually revealed their divorce in April 2024, following just three months of matrimony.

Although Turner and Nist initially attributed their divorce to geographical separation, both have since departed from a decorous approach due to Turner’s recently published memoir.

“Certain impressions existed that I wished to rectify,” Turner disclosed exclusively to Us Weekly in an October feature regarding his book, My Golden Years. “The recurring inquiry was, ‘Why are they divorcing so swiftly?’ And I felt, in my opinion, I was being portrayed as the antagonist.”

He added, “Just before Theresa and I appeared on Good Morning America to declare our divorce, we had a mutual understanding to safeguard one another, and I don’t believe that agreement was upheld. I sensed I was bearing the majority of the blame. And my thought was, ‘Hold on, that’s unfair. It should be equally shared.’”

The Golden Bachelor's Gerry and Theresa's Divorce: Various Separation Hypotheses Unpacked

Within his book, Turner additionally alleged that Nist possessed a winning strategy for The Golden Bachelor and that he experienced a sense of being “cornered” leading up to their wedding. (Both Turner and Nist had prior marriages to their high school sweethearts, who passed away several decades before the Bachelor Nation spin-off began.)

Nist, conversely, refuted every assertion made by Turner in his memoir.

“It causes me profound sadness to consider that he felt hollow and constrained,” she communicated to Us in an October declaration. “I regret that he didn't express his feelings and simply conclude things. However, now I at least comprehend why he acted so hurtfully towards me on numerous occasions. And I must state this: people who live in glass houses should not cast stones. I sincerely wish him every success.”

Several weeks thereafter, Nist provided further details regarding her perspective during a November interview on the “Dear Shandy” podcast.

“My sole desire is for tranquility, happiness, and positive experiences in my life,” she stated earlier in the month. “I have been profoundly distressed. Whenever I discuss something I've read that he claimed about our interactions, I instinctively think, ‘That is not an accurate portrayal.”

Disclosures from Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist's Concluding Interview as a Married Pair

Nist additionally claimed that Turner, at one point, even made a jest about taking her life and concealing her remains in an outbuilding on his land.

“He wasn't smiling. I remarked, ‘If this was his concept of humor, it was quite morbid,’” she asserted. “I simply sensed an implicit antagonism within that declaration. As if, perhaps, he wished he could somehow eliminate me. I don’t believe he would have actually harmed me. No, I don’t think that was factual. It's not true, but it conveyed an underlying sentiment regarding me.”

Turner has not yet publicly responded to Nist’s allegations. Us Weekly sought a statement.

Regarding Waddell, she mentioned in her October statement concerning the breakup that she felt “quite content” with her choice and relocated her family — she has two children with Bass — to a different community in Tennessee.

“We genuinely moved from Lebanon, frankly, to escape and embrace a fresh beginning. We had only resided there for a few months,” she stated on Tuesday. “Truthfully, I had already departed the home we moved into approximately three times before my final departure. Consequently, [my children, Bella and Charlie] were required to switch schools. The initial day of school change was incredibly challenging; honestly, it was the most difficult experience I've ever endured. They were both clutching me. It was dreadful, horrible, but currently they are thriving.”

She concluded, “They adore their new educational environment and are flourishing. Children, as you know, are highly adaptable, and candidly, their primary desire is simply to be with me.”