Gerry Turner's daughter criticizes fans' response to 'Golden Bachelor' divorce: 'Disheartening'

The news of Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist's divorce hit many people by surprise, and Turner's daughter Angie has taken to Instagram to weigh in on the backlash her family has received since the couple announced their divorce on "Good Morning America" earlier this month.

"It's no surprise the news of my Dad and Theresa choosing to split has sparked a range of emotions and opinions," she wrote on Instagram. "I love how invested people were in the show, what an experience to have you along for the ride!"

"What has been disheartening is the level of rage and cruelty that our family has been met with. My Dad and Theresa are kind, good people that made this decision for them, on one else," Angie wrote. "I kindly urge everyone to remember that behind every story, there are real people with real feelings."

The couple participated in the first season of "The Golden Bachelor" and were married on live television in January with the season's other contestants in attendance.

"Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations, and we've looked closely at our situation, our living situation, so forth and − and we've kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it's probably time for us to dissolve our marriage," Turner told Juju Chang on "GMA" on April 12.

"We have received so much love and support from so many people who watched 'The Golden Bachelor,' and I don't think we can tell you how many people told us that it gave them so much hope," Nist said at the time. "We want none of that to change for anybody."

The former couple noted that deciding where to settle down contributed to their decision to split.

"We looked at homes in South Carolina, we considered New Jersey, and we just looked at homes after home, but we never got to the point where we made that decision," Nist told Chang on "GMA."

While holding hands, the pair emphasized they had not fallen out of love.

"I still love this person," Turner said. "There's no doubt in my mind, I still am in love with her. I root for her every day."

"Yeah, I still love him," Nist added.

Turner was married to his wife Toni Turner for 43 years before she died in 2017, while Nist was married to husband Billy Nist for 42 years before he died the same year.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.