The Golden Bachelor winner Theresa Nist has spoken out after she and her husband of three months, Gerry Turner, announced their divorce.

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Gerry filed for divorce from Theresa in his hometown of Petersburg, Indiana on Friday, April 12, just hours after the pair had publicly announced their split and decision to get a divorce in a clip of their lengthy ABC Nightline interview that aired on Good Morning America.

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Theresa, 70, took to Instagram on Monday, April 15 and posted an image that read, "Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened. - Dr. Seuss."

Theresa wrote in the caption, "To everyone who has expressed love, support and kindness to me, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are all such wonderful human beings."

"It means the world to me that you took the time to reach out to me," she continued, "whether in person, on the phone, by text or by direct message. You are all so kind to do so."

But Theresa also took a jab at the haters out there amid backlash she and Gerry have thrown in the towel so quickly after enjoying a lavish televised wedding that cost ABC millions of dollars on January 4.

"For everyone else who is confused and angry and who does not understand, please try to find it in your heart to understand and to try a little kindness," Theresa wrote.

"Not just for me but for the world and for everyone you encounter.

Theresa called her relationship with Gerry, which began on The Golden Bachelor in 2023, "one of the most incredible experiences" of her life.

"[It was] something I never expected to happen at this point in my life and I truly thought it was going to last forever. It turns out, even at the age of 70, you don't know everything," Theresa admitted in the caption of her post.

Theresa and Gerry's engagement aired in late November, and the couple rushed down the aisle because they had claimed they were so in love.

"Sometimes things don't go the way you planned and that's okay," Theresa noted.

"I take so many positives away from this experience, most importantly and above all the incredible friends I now have in all of these amazing, wonderful women and in Angie and Jenny, Payton and Charlee, the producers, the production crew and so many of you."

The Golden Bachelor winner concluded, "I ask you to please stay open to all the experiences, opportunities, and love that may come your way. Keep smiling, keep laughing... I will. I love you all."

Gerry listed April 12 as the pair's date of separation in the divorce papers, although Theresa said they had been discussing their breakup for several weeks prior, according to Us Weekly.

Gerry reportedly cited an "irretrievable breakdown" of marriage as the cause of his split from Theresa.

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Theresa also confirmed on ABC Nightline that she and the retired restaurant owner had signed a prenuptial agreement.

"So many people wanted us to sign a prenup, and we do [have one]," Theresa revealed with a big smile. "We thought it would be best for our families."

Up until April 12, the couple had been putting on a united front.

Gerry and Theresa just recently walked the red carpet together and filmed an episode of Celebrity Family Feud, after which Gerry boasted about the couple's "blended family" reuniting on social media.

The couple's bombshell divorce announcement made headlines about two weeks after reports they were still living separately had surfaced.

During their interview with Juju Chang on ABC Nightline, Gerry and Theresa revealed they're divorcing because neither one of them was willing to relocate and move away from their adult children and families.

Gerry is still living at his lake house in Indiana, which is about 45 minutes away from his ageing father, Everett Turner.

Theresa, meanwhile, currently resides in her native New Jersey, where she works full-time in financial services and has a home of her own near several of her grandsons.

"The thing that strikes me the most, and in our conversations, is how dedicated both of us our to our families," Gerry said as Theresa nodded in agreement.

"So we look at these situations and I think we just feel like it's best for the happiness of each of us to live apart."

But Juju was openly skeptical of the couple's explanation, as many Bachelor Nation alums have been as well.

"I hear what you're saying... and yet throughout the process you said you were 100% committed to making it work," she said. "In November you told me you were thinking of moving to South Carolina to be together. How did it all fall apart?"

"Yeah, so that was the plan," Theresa replied.

"We looked at homes in South Carolina. We [also] considered New Jersey. We just looked at home after home but we never got to the point where we made that decision."

Sessions with a marriage counselor apparently helped Gerry and Theresa decide to move in the direction of divorce rather than trying to stay together.

However, the reality TV stars insisted they have not fallen out of love, despite their choice to part ways.

Gerry and Theresa also urged others to not give up on finding lasting love despite the briefness of their own marriage.

"Don't give up," Theresa said. "We say stay in it, stay hopeful because we are."

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During the ABC interview, Theresa also insisted a November 2023 media report that Gerry misrepresented his past throughout The Golden Bachelor's production and broadcast run and allegedly had a live-in girlfriend of nearly three years before he appeared on the show played no role in her decision to divorce.

"No, not for me," Theresa said. "Because Gerry had already discussed that with me, he had already explained that to me before the report was ever released -- so we  were good with that, that didn't play into it."

"No," Gerry shrugged.

The Golden Bachelor stars also shared that they plan to continuing looking for love in new relationships.

"Oh yeah," Gerry told Juju.

"Yes," Theresa acknowledged. "And we tell everyone else to continue looking for love."

After the couple got engaged on The Golden Bachelor last year, Gerry and Theresa had told multiple media outlets that they planned to have a fresh start by moving to South Carolina together.

"For the last couple of years, when my family gets together, I've talked about moving to South Carolina, and it's an idea I've toyed with. And then in conversation with Theresa, a private moment, she's saying, 'Well, yeah, my son lives near Charleston in South Carolina,'" Gerry told People in December 2023.

"And all of a sudden, it's like, there's a big problem that is gone. The issue of compromising on where to live and how to reconcile families and all of that is, it's no longer an issue."

Theresa had gushed at the time about how she wanted to build a big home with Gerry so their children and grandchildren could visit and have plenty of room to stay.

Afterward, Gerry drove 10 hours from Indiana with his dog to visit Theresa in New Jersey on January 9.

Gerry -- an Iowa native who has been living in Indiana since 2017 -- and Theresa tried new restaurants together, and they even recreated their first The Golden Bachelor date with a trip to a local diner.

Gerry and Theresa were asked if they were still planning to move to Charleston together during a January 16 appearance on the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast, which is co-hosted by Bachelor in Paradise spouses Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt.

Theresa shared at the time, "We're still going to look there, yeah, absolutely... We're going to consider New Jersey, but it's probably going to be outside of Charleston. So that's the plan!"

"The plan is that we're going to plan. We're going to sit down and plan, and all of a sudden, my wheels started spinning about our trip to Italy."

Theresa had said she and Gerry were thinking about going to Italy, a trip ABC had gifted them, in May or June of this year.

When the Los Angeles Times previously asked Gerry if he'd continue to seek stardom or just live a quiet life with Theresa post-show, Gerry had replied, "I don't think those two things are mutually exclusive."

"I can have a great, quiet life with Theresa and still look at the aspirations and ambitions that may be out there," he elaborated in December.

"But I will say this, I am absolutely going to savor every moment until I get to that altar and say my 'I do's.' I want every single moment to be as joyful for her as it is for me, and I never want to look back and feel I hurried through anything. We'll deal with the aspirations after that."

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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