“Golden Bachelor” star Gerry Turner believed he’d found “the one” in Theresa Nist — but just three months after saying “I do,” the fairy-tale romance came crashing down.

The 74-year-old Indiana widower made history as the first senior star of ABC’s hit dating series “The Golden Bachelor,” where he met Nist, also a widow. After a whirlwind courtship, they married live on TV in January 2024, only to announce their split that April. Now, Turner is reflecting on his search for a happily ever after in his new memoir, “Golden Years.”

‘GOLDEN BACHELOR’ GERRY TURNER WARNS EX-WIFE THERESA NIST ‘SHOULD BE WORRIED’ ABOUT HIS UPCOMING MEMOIR

Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist married on Jan. 4, 2024. The ceremony was chronicled in a special titled “The Golden Wedding.” (John & Joseph Photography/Disney via Getty Images)

“Well, I do admit that it was a monumental mistake, but it’s always easy to have 20/20 hindsight,” Turner told Fox News Digital. “I think that I hurt Theresa, I hurt my family. There were a lot of things that I was so imperfect about. … There was no one flash-bang moment where I realized the marriage was over. It was a gradual march toward the end.”

WATCH: ‘GOLDEN BACHELOR’ GERRY TURNER OPENS UP ABOUT SPLIT FROM THERESA NIST

In his memoir, Turner admits it was hard to accept how quickly things fell apart. He wrote that he’d “rushed into a wedding [he] didn’t believe in” and later found himself “in a very dark place.”

“I was already low from filing for divorce,” wrote Gerry Turner. “It’s hard to admit to yourself that you’ve made such a monumentally bad decision. For months, I could not shake my bitter resentment toward Theresa and the show. Nor could I rid myself of the feeling that I was a disappointment. I didn’t read people nearly as well as I thought I did. I’d rushed into a wedding that I didn’t believe in.” (Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to Nist, 72, for comment. Ahead of the book’s publication, she told Us Weekly: “It makes me very sad to think that he felt empty and trapped. I wish he had said something and just ended it. But at least now I understand why he was so hurtful to me so many times. And I will say this. Those in glass houses should not throw stones. I do wish him all the best.”

Turner, a retired restaurateur, had found love before. He married his high school sweetheart, Toni, in 1974. Their union lasted until Toni died in 2017, six weeks after she retired and fell ill, People magazine reported. Their two daughters later encouraged Turner to join the show. The Midwesterner was hesitant but wondered if he could find love again.