'Golden Bachelor' Star Maria Trice Seemingly Hints America Didn't See The 'Real' Gerry Turner

'The Golden Bachelor' star Maria Trice has hinted that the real Gerry Turner came out after filming ended and that she "dodged a bullet." She also claims Theresa Nist, whom Turner just announced his divorce from, can "do better."

Controversy has surrounded the 'Golden Bachelor' lead for months, including inconsistencies with his work background and his dating history.

After America fell in love with Gerry Turner on ABC's reality show, speculation surrounding the 72-year-old Indiana native surfaced.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, his LinkedIn profile has many discrepancies with what Turner said of his work history on the show. Throughout 'The Golden Bachelor,' Turner was referred to as a “retired restaurateur,” who retired at the young age of 55. But, according to his profile on LinkedIn, he last owned a restaurant in 1985. If he retired at 55, it would have been 2006.

In addition to his questionable work history, a woman came forward claiming she had a nearly three-year relationship with Turner, which began one month after his wife’s death. This does not add up with Turner's claims of having a lack of a love life since his wife passed.

Another source told the U.S. Sun that in the past six years, “He dated a couple of women. They weren’t all long-term, but they … weren’t short-term either. … He was with a [few] women for a decent amount of time, but it just didn’t work out.”

During 'The Golden Bachelor' finale, Turner got down on one knee and proposed to the show winner, Theresa Nist. The couple got married in a televised ceremony in January; however, the two announced their divorce just three months later, raising questions amongst Bachelor Nation.

After the news broke, another contestant from the show, who briefly dated Turner, dropped a bombshell statement regarding the 72-year-old.

"I think I dodged a bullet," she told PEOPLE about possibly spending her life with Turner. "The interesting part about being at this stage and this age is people have stuff. Even if they do their due diligence of finding out as much as they can about everyone, I think other stuff just comes up. Men in particular."

"I hope Teresa is happy," Trice added.

The 'Golden Bachelor' alum went on to explain how "at first everyone is showing their inner ambassador and batting their eyes," but eventually, "when the covers come off," the real reality sets in, and sometimes, after getting to know the person, they may ask themselves, "I’m not really sure this is who I want for the rest of my life."

"I’ve had a lot of love in my life, real love. [Nist] can do it again, and she can do it better," Trice stated. "The biggest love you can have is loving yourself, and that attracts all sorts of things."

According to Trice, Turner lives "in the boondocks far, far away," and Nist lives in New Jersey.

"When I first met him, I was like, he’s not for me. [Nist] was so excited. I was like, he’s nice, he’s handsome. I didn’t feel a spark. She did and definitely wanted him, and she got him," Trice said of Nist. "After three months, they must know it’s for the best [not to] be together."

And while Trice says Turner "seemed to be a nice guy," she added, "But how well can you know someone after that short period of my time? Once the excitement wore off and reality kicked in, I was like we’ll see [if they last]. When you do something really fast like that it takes at least three to six months before all the shine is off, and you’re dealing with that person raw."

Another fellow contestant, Faith Martin, also spoke to PEOPLE, telling the outlet that her "heart goes out to both of them."

“It's a very difficult situation, and I think it is important to realize that on a show like this, it's so important to be so transparent and so much yourself filled with honesty and truth and ask those right questions,” she said following the news of Turner and Nist's divorce.

She added, “That's why it's such a serious thing. You got to ask the right questions to see if things could really, really work, and perhaps they just did not have enough time for that.”