Golden Bachelor's Gerry Turner made heartbreaking discovery about first wife in bathroom following her death

The Golden Bachelor star Gerry Turner has opened up about the tragic discovery he made in the wake of his first wife's death, who had been hiding an underlying health condition from him and other family members.

Turner recalled the tragic moment that he realized his wife 'didn't want anybody to know' about her diagnosis in his new tell-all memoir, Golden Years: What I've Learned from Love, Loss, and Reality TV.

The 74-year-old has released the book in the wake of his second marriage and first divorce, resulting from his time on the ABC senior matchmaking show. There, he met Theresa Nist while looking for a second chance at love, marrying her in front of the cameras in January 2024.

However, the couple split just months later.

Gerry Turner went on The Golden Bachelor in the hopes of a second shot at romance (Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images)

Then, in December, Turner revealed that he had sadly been diagnosed with a slow but incurable form of bone cancer, prompting him to share his love and life experience, both on and off the show.

Looking back at the tragic end to his first marriage in 2017, after his wife Toni died from a bacterial infection, Turner shared how he had 'started to go through' his wife's things in his devastation and loss.

It was only when he was clearing out the bathroom that he started to piece some parts of the puzzle together.

"Tucked away in the back of a bathroom drawer, in a clear sign that she didn't want anybody to uncover what was in there, I found evidence that she had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes," he wrote in Golden Years, People reports.

But his wife had not only hidden this diagnosis, but also failed to use the proper treatment for diabetes.

Turner continued: "There was literature, prescriptions, a blood glucose meter, and other supplies — all apparently untouched and unused.

"She'd never mentioned this big diagnosis to me or her daughters, and, as far as I could tell, she'd never followed through with treatment."

He opened up about the tragic discovery in his new memoir (Craig Sjodin/ABC via Getty Images)

This revelation left Turner with a bunch of useless hypotheticals after Toni's death, with the yet-to-be reality TV star wondering if he was responsible for her reticence to open about her diagnosis or seek treatment for her condition.

He wrote: "Had Toni had the means to live longer, but been undone in the end by the belief that any kind of whining was frivolous? Had I somehow contributed to this mentality? Why hadn't she felt comfortable confiding in me about something as important as having diabetes?

"The loss of any loved one is sad. But to think it might have been possible, no matter how remotely, for her to have lived longer or still be alive today, is even more painful."

Turner had two daughters with high school sweetheart Toni, who he had married in the 70s. They remained together until her death.

After living their whole adult lives together, Turner said the 'saddest' part of Toni's passing was that she 'didn't feel safe enough to tell anyone the truth of what was happening with her'.

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