Gerry Turner Says He's Looking for Love with Someone Who 'Accepts Me' After Cancer Diagnosis (Exclusive)

Gerry Turner hasn't given up on finding his forever person.

In an exclusive sit down with PEOPLE, the Golden Bachelor alum, 73, opens up about his romantic life after his stint on the ABC show and how his recent cancer diagnosis has changed dating.

On Dec. 11, Turner told PEOPLE that he was diagnosed with a slow-growing "bone marrow cancer" called Waldenström's macroglobulinemia. The disease changes white blood cells into cancer cells and builds up in the bone marrow, the spongy material inside the bones where blood cells are made, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Related: Golden Bachelor's Gerry Turner Diagnosed with Cancer Weeks Before Theresa Nist Split: 'Huge Bearing on My Decisions' (Exclusive)

Turner and his ex-wife Theresa Nist met on the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor. After tying the knot during a live televised wedding special in January, the former couple announced their decision to divorce after just three months of marriage.

At the time Turner, who lives three states away in Indiana from Nist's New Jersey, said that the distance had proved to be a problem and the two couldn't settle on a place to live together. He later revealed that his diagnosis had become a factor in his decision to part ways.

Despite the circumstances of his cancer and divorce, Turner tells PEOPLE he hasn't given up hope on finding a partner.

Related: Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist's Relationship Timeline, from Golden Bachelor to Divorce

"I am absolutely, 100% still looking for my person," he says with a smile. "If there is a message that came out of the show, it is that you're open to possibilities and that you have hearts and you have hope and you maintain humor in your life. I still want to find my person."

"It does become a little more difficult now," he says of dating new people. "If I meet someone and have strong feelings for them, I'm going to have to give them a conversation about my situation, and that would make acceptance much more difficult."

However, Turner says he's looking at the silver lining.

"I think it would also be a confirmation if a person accepts me in the situation that I'm in, it would be pretty terrific," he adds.

Related: Gerry Turner Marks His 'Favorite Time of the Year' in First Instagram Post Since Divorce News

When it comes to marriage, the reality star admits he doesn't know if he'll tie the knot for the third time.

"At the age of 73 and knowing all of the entanglements, the legal entanglements, I really don't know," he explains. "But I would entertain the conversation with someone who was the right person. If they felt strongly that they really wanted to be married, I would certainly consider that."

Turner also tells PEOPLE that he has an updated list of qualities that he's looking for in his next partner.

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"Because of the huge obstacle that I ran into with Theresa about geography and mileage, I'm really trying to focus on meeting someone that is a Midwest girl," he says. "Someone close, someone that I can see on a daily basis to learn if they're the right person and them learn about me, if I'm their right person."

"Other than that, the characteristics that I looked for [on the show], the humor, the ability to be a partner, the ability to read my emotions and me to read their emotions, all of those things are still there," he adds.

Read the original article on People