REVEALED: Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner, 72, who pulled on viewers' heartstrings with tale about not finding love since his wife Toni's 2017 death, has a secret past that includes three-year romance - and 'dumped his girlfriend for gaining 10lbs'

The Golden Bachelor star Gerry Turner has a secret past that includes a three-year relationship after the death of his wife and various blue-collar jobs, a new report has revealed.

The 72-year-old pulled on the hearts of millions as he was presented as a loving retired restaurateur who had not had a single date since his wife of 45 years suddenly passed away from an infection in 2017.

But a new investigation by The Hollywood Reporter has uncovered Turner has a professional and personal history that does not match with the persona of a grieving man who hadn't gone on a first date in 40 years.  

Turner reportedly had a three-year relationship with a woman who claims she was dumped because she gained 10 pounds. The woman, who goes by Carolyn and is 14 years younger than Turner, said she lived with him for over a year at his Indiana lake house.

While Turner was introduced as a 'retired restaurateur' on the show, his LinkedIn profile shows he has not owned a restaurant since 1985, when he sold his Mr Quick hamburger franchise in Iowa, where had worked his way up since high school.

Since then, he has worked various sales and management jobs in the meat industry, per his resume on the website. Despite the show claiming he has been retired for decades, after selling his restaurant Turner worked installing hot tubs and as a maintenance man in Iowa.

It was during his time as a maintenance man at the Vera French Mental Health Center in Davenport that he met Carolyn, but the two did not get together until two months after his wife died.

Carolyn told The Hollywood Reporter the two began dating after Turner called her after his wife Toni's death to ask for help donating some clothes to charity. 

She claimed she quit her job to move in with Turner in July 2018, but things soon went south, as his demands began to emerge. For example, he soon informed Carolyn she would have to pay about $1,000 a month for her share of expenses, which she managed to negotiate down to $850.

The image of Turner painted by Carolyn is a far cry from the man presented on the show, who won over millions with his emotional awareness and wholesomeness. 

Turner was reportedly so concerned with dividing costs that Carolyn would pay for her meals at restaurants beforehand so when the check game Turner could pretend he was paying the whole tab. 

The reality star was also allegedly obsessed with cleanliness and demanded Carolyn make the bed every morning before they had breakfast. 

The romance ended in late 2019, when, according to Carolyn, Turner said he would not be taking her to his high school reunion because of her weight.

The Golden Bachelor allegedly said: 'I’m not taking you to the reunion looking like that.'

Turner then told Carolyn she had to be out of the house by January 1, 2020, according to THR, which reviewed emails and texts between the former couple and spoke to people who witnessed the relationship.

Carolyn fell down the stairs while she packed and required emergency surgery but says Turner accused her of using the fall as an excuse to extend her stay at his home and claimed she was planning on suing him over it.

Turner wouldn't even let Carolyn stay at the home until she finished the two weeks of notice she had to give at her new job in Indiana, forcing her to stay at a hotel, she claimed.

The bombshell report comes after The U.S. Sun previously reported that Turner's claim that he had not dated since his wife's death may not have been accurate.

The outlet spoke to a friend of Turner, Heather Lanning-Adams, who said he had dated a couple of women over the last six years. 

The report also comes just a day before The Golden Bachelor is set choose between finalists Leslie, 64, and Theresa, 70, on Thursday's finale.

Turner spent the night with both Leslie and Theresa on the Fantasy Suites episode that was filmed at Springs Resort & Spa in Costa Rica.

In the Fantasy Suite, Gerry told Leslie, a fitness instructor from Minneapolis, Minnesota, that he thought she was 'the one'.

Theresa, a securities professional from Shrewsbury, New Jersey, also spent the night in the Fantasy Suite with Gerry after declaring that she loved him.

DailyMail.com has reached out to ABC for comment on this story.