Allegations Against the Golden Bachelor: Is He Really a Nice, Naive Guy?
On the premier episode of the show, Turner talked about his wife, Toni, who he was married to for 42 years. Tragically, she died from an infection just one month after moving to what Turner called their dream home. His story of being a widower who hasn’t dated since his wife died was moving, but it was also sweet to see him interact with the ladies on the show.
Now, The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Turner’s past might actually be quite different than what he claimed on the show. While he told Entertainment Tonight, “I haven’t dated in 45 years,” The Hollywood Reporter claims that he actually started dating just one month after his wife died. The woman he dated was 14 years younger than him, and their relationship lasted for almost 3 years. They dated for 10 months before she moved in with him, and they lived together for 1 year 10 months.
The woman thought Turner would eventually marry her, but when she gained 10 pounds due to stress, their relationship fizzled. He refused to take her to his high school reunion “looking like that.” He eventually paid for the U-Haul to move her stuff out of his house.
It gets worse. She was so upset about the breakup that, while packing, she tripped and fell down the stairs. She had to go to the ER, and her foot required surgery. Turner had no compassion and insisted that she still move out as quickly as originally planned even with a broken foot, even with a walker, even in the winter.
While Turner didn’t do anything wrong by dating after his wife died, he did lie about his dating history on “The Golden Bachelor,” and he did break the heart of a woman who loved him. While he acts on the show like he doesn’t want to break the contestants’ hearts, it seems he has experience in this, and that’s not the only thing he, and the show, lied about.
The show claims that Turner retired at age 55. He owned a restaurant and was able to retire early. Again, not entirely true. It turns out that he did own and sell a restaurant, but it would be an exaggeration to claim that he retired afterwards. Actually, he went on to work multiple other jobs, including installing hot tubs, and according to his LinkedIn profile, there’s no end date to his work history. It’s possible he hasn’t actually retired at all.
Watch the video below for more details The Hollywood Reporter has dug up about Turner’s past.