Theresa Nist is getting candid about watching the drama unfold as she and 21 ladies vie for Gerry Turner ‘s heart.
In a post shared to Instagram following last Thursday’s episode of The Golden Bachelor, Theresa, 70, opened up about how challenging it was to watch the series back with her family and friends, knowing she was “involved in drama” with her fellow hopeful Kathy Swarts.
“This past episode was a bit hard for me to watch,” she wrote in the post. “Never in a million years did I think that I was going to find myself involved in drama. That is so not who I am. I just thought that I was able to be open and honest with a new friend about how I was feeling.”
Last week, Theresa gushed to Kathy, 70, about her connection with Gerry before the cocktail party and recalled their “off the charts” date, sharing, “It was amazing. We didn’t stop talking. We were smiling the whole time. He was talking about the future.”
However, Kathy — who had her own concerns about getting a rose — wasn’t a fan of Theresa’s boastful attitude, explaining in a confessional, “I don’t want to hear that. I think she thinks she’s got this.”
Though she ended up receiving a rose, Kathy wasn’t over her drama with Theresa. When Theresa pulled her aside to chat, Kathy ended up telling her, “I feel like you’re dismissing me, like, ‘He and I are going off into the sunset. Go pack because you’re going home.’ That’s how you’ve made me feel sometimes.”
Though Theresa was completely surprised by the revelation and apologized to her costar, Kathy insisted that her previous comments were “possessive” and “territorial.” In turn, Theresa responded that she was trying to be “open and honest” but Kathy said she wasn’t “buying that.”
On Instagram, alongside a group photo of her loved ones gathered around for their Golden Bachelor watch party, Theresa addressed their feud, saying, “As you saw, I acknowledged that everyone felt a connection to Gerry, and I welcomed that. We were all on a journey to see who was the best fit for Gerry.”
The financial services professional then recalled the piece of advice she received from the Golden Bachelor.
“Gerry said to me ‘If you, in your heart, don’t believe that you were boastful, you don’t believe that you were doing anything to hurt someone, then I think you should let it go.’ I never ever intended to make Kathy or anyone feel less than,” she wrote.
Quoting her fellow costar Edith Aguirre, Theresa added, “As Edith said, ‘It’s the tension that we’re dating just one man.’ Of course!”
Theresa concluded her post by thanking her fans for their “kind messages” and for seeing her “good intentions.”
“I felt absolutely terrible when I realized I had hurt Kathy’s feelings,” she wrote. “Thank you to my friends and family that know me and know that I would never mean to make someone else feel bad in any way, and to my new friends that can already see that in me as well. Love to all!”
The Golden Bachelor airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
