Turner asked Nist to marry him on Thursday’s “The Golden Bachelor” finale with a custom princess cut ring made by Neil Lane, the franchise’s go-to jeweler.
Theresa Nist,70, said a resounding “yes” to Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner’s proposal in Thursday’s season finale. Turner proposed to Nist with a stunning Neil Lane ring that symbolized their remarkable journey of finding love again after losing their spouses.
“It was like, the minute she slipped it on again, it was like, ‘Oh, my god, this is that joyful happiness that I want to feel, that I want everyone to see.'” Turner tells PEOPLE exclusively, “The symbolism of it is so important.”
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Turner selected a handcrafted and hand-signed 3.15 carat princess cut diamond ring, accented with two baguette cut diamonds, and further set with 128 small round brilliant cut diamonds. Lane told people why designing this ring felt so different from the engagement rings he had previously made for Bachelor Nation winners.
With its candid portrayal of a later-life romance, The Golden Bachelor has “brought a lot of people closer together,” according to the renowned celebrity jeweler. This made Lane’s work on Nist’ s ring even more meaningful.
“It is more profound in a way… maybe it is a different profoundness,” he says. “I think maybe we were losing the significance of a ring for a while, and now we have two people that really… that significance of the ring, even though it is a small little jewel, embodies their affection, their future, and their lives together.”
Turner and Nist’s relationship seemed to be ideally suited for the princess cut ring, with its square stone and complicated layers.
Lane claims that Turner was drawn in by the “brilliance” of the “vintage-inspired” ring because it made him think of Nist.
“The design, the elegance—it is not simple, but when you hold it to the side, you see how complex it gets,” Lane tells people. “On the top, it looks very elegantly simple.”
He goes on, “The diamonds sparkle all over. Turner said that is how he saw Theresa. Elegant, not simple, but easy. But when you get closer, you see such warmth, depth, and detail—so much in the ring, so much in her life, so much attention to detail. I think that is what drew him in, the attention to detail”
Nist is thrilled to be able to wear her engagement ring at last, especially now that America is aware that she earned the last rose. She is in love with her jewelry.
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As her husband was getting ready to leave for the Vietnam War, Nist’s childhood sweetheart, Billy, gave her a plain gold band as a wedding present in 1972. She continues, “There was no diamond ring. There was a gold wedding band, which I have. So yeah, there was no diamond ring. So this is brand new and amazing.” This makes Nist’s ring especially special.
When Turner told Fhima and Faith Martin he loved them, he meant it, but he also knew there was only one woman he could not live without after telling Nist he loved her in the fantasy suite. “The first time that I seriously told her that I loved her. It was almost an announcement of excitement,” he shares. “I said it three times in a row, ‘Theresa, I love you. I love you, I love you.’ And I go, ‘And I am going to ask you to marry me. I do not know if I can not live without her.”