The inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor was great, but The Golden Bachelorette is certain to be even better, and there are several reasons for that. The Golden Bachelor premiered in September 2023, and was instantly a big hit with an aging television audience hungry for stories about themselves. When 72-year-old retired restaurateur Gerry Turner was announced as the first lead of the Bachelor spin-off, the excitement was palpable, and older single women from across the country hurried to apply to appear on the show. After dating 22 highly eligible older bachelorettes, Gerry married 70-year-old Theresa Nist. The marriage only lasted three months, but the show was popular enough to warrant a female-led version of the baby boomer dating show.
Gerry rejected 21 amazing women on the way to marrying Theresa, and there were many excellent candidates to lead The Golden Bachelorette season 1. Fans had their favorites, from 65-year-old Golden Bachelor runner-up Leslie Fhima to 61-year-old folk-singing motorcycle enthusiast Faith Martin, but in the end, producers chose 60-year-old private school administrator Joan Vassos to be the first Golden Bachelorette. Joan was a mystery as she left Gerry’s season early because of a family emergency. Though she only appeared in the first three episodes of the season, Joan was memorable enough to leave a mark. Based on what we know so far about The Golden Bachelorette, it’s certain to be even better than The Golden Bachelor, and here are eight reasons why.
8. Joan Seems Like A Genuine Person
She Knows Who She Is
Joan set herself apart from the other women of The Golden Bachelor season 1 during a group date with Gerry. The date included a talent show element, and each woman was expected to go up there and show off a talent. The woman with the best performance would get to go to dinner with Gerry. Joan wanted time alone with Gerry, but she was nervous, feeling as if she didn’t have a talent and wasn’t as outgoing as the other women. While the other women put on a show, a shy Joan read a poem that connected with Gerry.
To her surprise, Joan was crowned the winner of the talent show, and she didn’t have to pretend to be someone she wasn’t.
Her poem wasn’t the most entertaining performance of the talent show, but it was authentic and heartfelt. There’s no doubt that Joan will bring her thoughtful authenticity to The Golden Bachelorette.
7. A Female Lead Is Always Better
Reversing Gender Roles Is More Interesting
Though some may disagree, Bachelor Nation shows with female leads are generally more entertaining than their male-led counterparts. The Bachelor and The Golden Bachelor each feature a man in the leading role, which fits more handily into expected gender roles. Meanwhile, The Bachelorette and The Golden Bachelorette put the respective female leads in control. This turns expected gender norms on their head, making for a more entertaining experience.
Recent episodes of The Bachelorette season 21, which stars Jenn Tran, offer up great examples of the awkward dynamics between men fighting over the same woman. Contestant Devin Strader has made a name for himself due to getting in trouble with his fellow contestants for being too aggressive and pushy. By contrast, during Joey’s season of The Bachelor, women were way less aggressive, which just isn’t as entertaining.
6. Joan Knows What She’s Looking For
She Knows What Love Is
Years before appearing in The Golden Bachelor, Joan was married to John Nicholas Vassos for 32 years. According to John’s obituary, as per Tribute Archive, he was born on November 27, 1961, in Washington, DC., and he passed away on January 18, 2021, “after a hard-fought two-year battle with pancreatic cancer.” In a January 2024 Instagram post, Joan shared a family photo of her, John, and their adult children posing on a dock together. She wrote that it had been three years since she lost John and that she continues to be deeply shaken by the loss of her husband. It is clear from the post that Joan loved her late husband very much and was devoted to him. Knowing true love once can help Joan to recognize it the second time around.
Joan’s bittersweet Instagram post garnered 3.6K likes.
5. The Guys Seem Like Great Matches For Joan
She’s Got Many Great Options
ABC recently announced the cast of The Golden Bachelorette season 1, and Joan has a lot of great men to choose from, including a fire chief, rancher, and emergency room doctor. Among the 24 men who will be competing for Joan’s heart is another familiar face. Mark Anderson, a 57-year-old retired Army veteran, made his television debut during The Bachelor season 28, when his daughter, Kelsey Anderson, brought her now fiancé, Joey Graziadei, home to Louisiana for a family visit. Mark, a tall, attractive widower, became an instant fan favorite, and there was even some talk that he might be cast as the next Golden Bachelor lead. Therefore, it’s no surprise that he was cast in The Golden Bachelorette.
Bachelor Nation fans are understandably excited about the possibility of Joan falling in love with Kelsey’s dad.
4. Joan WIll Likely Have More Success Than Gerry
She Can Save The Show
Gerry and Theresa’s short-lived marriage really hurt the credibility of The Golden Bachelor brand, and Joan has a chance to save the reputation of the unscripted series. It’s not just the fact that Gerry and Theresa didn’t last, it’s the fact that they rushed into the marriage, only to then rush out of it. In hindsight, rushing into marriage before getting to know each other was a mistake, but they got carried away by the massive success of the show and the sky-high expectations. Though Joan was only in three episodes of The Golden Bachelor, she appeared to be more grounded than Gerry and less impulsive.
Judging by the way Joan handled herself during those episodes, and based on the way she left the show early to care for her daughter, she has her priorities straight. She’s ready to find real love.
3. Producers Learned From The Mistakes With The Golden Bachelor
They Won’t Rush Another Wedding
Gerry and Theresa weren’t the only ones getting carried away during The Golden Bachelor season 1. ABC and the show’s producers were soaring on the good vibes, intoxicated by the show’s success, and wanting to give fans more of what they liked. Knowing it would be a while before they could produce and air The Golden Bachelorette, they decided to capitalize on the show’s success by televising a wedding instead. Gerry and Theresa’s Golden Bachelor wedding was a lavish event attended by the who’s who of Bachelor Nation. It was a dream wedding, and no expense was spared. It aired on ABC in January, just a few weeks after the final rose episode had aired.
When Gerry and Theresa’s marriage fell apart only three months later, it hopefully taught producers a lesson about the perils of forcing a manufactured love story.
2. Joan Has Been Through This Before
She Has Experience
Her appearance on Gerry’s season of The Golden Bachelor was a great experience for Joan, and it’ll put her in a better position to lead The Golden Bachelorette season 1. Going from being a private person to a public personality must be a shock to the system. Joan probably needed time to adjust when she made her television debut during Gerry’s season.
Having gone through the process before will give Joan some idea of what she can expect, and of what it takes to be a good Bachelor lead.
Joan is an intelligent and creative person, so she’s certain to have learned a great deal from her first experience. She can take that knowledge into her new televised venture. Having been through the process before will give Joan a whole new level of empathy for the 24 men who find themselves standing where she stood not that long ago.
1. Joan Is Ready For Love Again
Will She Find It?
Joan walked away from Gerry’s season of The Golden Bachelor to be with her daughter, who had just had a baby and was struggling with post-partum depression. Though Joan was attracted to Gerry, and they had just had an incredible date, she put her family first and walked away from the show.
They say that everything happens for a reason, and maybe Joan went home early because her true love was still out there waiting for her.
Joan had been widowed since 2021, and she is finally ready for a second chance to build a special connection with a new man. The Golden Bachelorette season 1 has a much higher chance of resulting in an ideal match because Joan is a more honest lead than Gerry was. Gerry may have had the best of intentions, but he hasn’t always handled himself in the most effective way. He even bragged about his love life after his divorce from Theresa. Joan is more mature than Gerry, and has a better chance at finding love again.
