‘the golden bachelor’: gerry and theresa tell all about wedding plans

WHAT WAS THE LULL IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP, AND WHAT MADE IT GO AWAY? GERRY: I don’t know what you’re referring to. THERESA: It’s because we had the first date. And then he went on to other

dates. He was concentrating on other women, which absolutely had to happen, and he did great. It’s not like in real life, where we had such a fantastic date that normally you’d just go on

another date immediately. We would have; this wasn’t real life. John Fleenor/ABC IS THERE ANYTHING YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR FIRST MARRIAGES THAT RELATE TO YOUR SECOND GO AT HAPPINESS? GERRY: We

both recognize in the other the skills that they possess to maintain a long-term relationship. It’s not easy to stay married 42 years, 43 years. It takes work. WHAT WAS IT THAT DIDN’T WORK

OUT WITH THE PEOPLE YOU EACH DATED AFTER BEING WIDOWED, BEFORE THE SHOW? THERESA: Yeah, we both did date — I dated a lot. And it never clicked for me. I was immediately attracted to Gerry,

and then the more I learned about him, the more I liked him and then loved him. I was looking for a man of integrity, with high moral values, a family man who was kind, good-hearted. And

Gerry was all of those things, and smart. So, yeah, he had the whole package for me. GERRY: I had several things that that I really needed in a partner. Among them was a good sense of humor.

Secondly, the ability to make me calm, and probably third is the ability to make me a better person. And Theresa does all of those things for me. John Fleenor/Disney WHAT DID YOU LEARN IN

THE COURSE OF THE SHOW? THERESA: I really had a hard time being myself on camera. I have so many men in my life — six grandsons, a son, son-in-law, a brother — and so I was kind of not very

comfortable being myself. It wasn’t until that last date, right before the Fantasy Suite, that he asked me the question about my career. It was a great conversation, and I started coming out

of my shell. And then I welcomed being in the Fantasy Suite so we could really be ourselves. I mean, we could really talk, and we connected on a much deeper level. GERRY: I didn’t feel

self-conscious at any point. I wasn’t nervous in front of the cameras. I kind of just mentally blocked it out. And I tried to be myself and talk to people as if I was talking to them in any

other setting. THERESA: I didn’t have a great ability to forget that the cameras were there. So I kind of censored myself a lot. ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE SOMETHING OLD, NEW, BORROWED AND BLUE?

THERESA: Oh, gosh, I didn’t even think of that. Good idea! GERRY: That’s an old tradition that we should probably honor.