The Bachelor franchise has taken the reality television audience by storm. A bachelor or bachelorette lives with a series of eligible contestants who all compete for their affection. At the end, the bachelor or bachelorette in question must choose one special person they want to spend the rest of their life with.
A concept of this nature might go against societal norms when it comes to natural courtship. However, it has become extremely popular regardless. Still, older folks felt they were being left out of the fun. Hence, the birth of the new Golden Bachelor franchise. The idea to take the same concept but replace the cast with older people might be fairly new, but it has been well-received. There are already some famous faces rumored to be joining the cast.
Several Famous Faces Have Been Questioned About Appearing In The Golden Bachelor Franchise
Since The Golden Bachelor franchise has already been seeing success, A-list stars have already begun looking for a shot at the series. Martha Stewart and Andrew Stewart ended their marriage in 1990. In an October 2024 appearance on Watch What Happens Live, the famous entrepreneur told host Andy Cohen that she would “absolutely not” be interested in being part of the cast.
“$1,000,000 an episode, Martha?” Andy asked, to which Martha answered, “No, the guys aren’t hot enough.” Snoop Dogg then defended his co-host, saying, “It ain’t about money, it’s about how hot the guys are.”
Gerry Turner became the first Golden Bachelor in 2023, and he ended the season by getting engaged to Theresa Nist. The two got married in 2024, but split up mere months later. Joan Vassos would later become the first Golden Bachelorette that same year. She ended her season by getting engaged to Chock Chapple.
During a February 2024 episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, Ross Mathews discussed several famous faces he would like to see on the series. “Well, Meryl Streep is single! Diane Keaton, Sharon Stone… there are so many hot women of that age that would be so… I would love that,” Ross said. Rachel Smith of Entertainment Tonight said, “Oh, I’m so into that. Meryl, is your calendar available?” Drew then added, “Start that rumor right here is all I can say!”
On another daytime talk show, Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager asked Kathy Lee Gifford if she would consider being on the show. While she admitted she wouldn’t be opposed to it, they reportedly haven’t approached her. “I can’t do it. They haven’t offered it to me,” she said during an appearance on Today in March 2024. “Well, we’ve talked about it.” Kathy Lee didn’t elaborate on who she meant by “we.”
Susan Lucci, however, said that she was in talks about being on the cast. “I believe that they contacted my publicist and it wasn’t for me,” Susan revealed to People that May. “I watched The Golden Bachelor. I really enjoyed watching The Golden Bachelor. This is a new addiction for me.”
Susan claimed that ABC contacted her publicist “to see if [she] would be interested,” but the actress “didn’t pursue” the opportunity. “It wasn’t for me, but I do love watching,” she added. “I’m a fan. I love watching.”People also reported at that time that, despite her claims, ABC never formally offered the role to Susan.
During a February 2025 appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show, Jesse Palmer said he would like to see George Lopez on The Golden Bachelor. “I think it would be amazing,” Jesse said. “Already, I can tell you, he would have the best hair of any Bachelor ever.”
The Golden Bachelor Franchise Has Already Had Its Share Of Controversy
Guy Gansert was a contestant on the first season of The Golden Bachelorette. In 2021, his ex-wife filed for a temporary protection order against him before withdrawing the application three weeks later.E! News reported the story in October 2024.
“This was an unfortunate situation that occurred during an incredibly stressful time for me and my former spouse and was ultimately resolved when she voluntarily dismissed her request for a protective order,” Guy posted on his Instagram. “Together we crafted a resolution that was agreeable to both parties.”
Guy said that he and his ex asked the court to seal the TPO application because they had “hoped to maintain privacy for our family.” He added, “But, I know that with being in the public eye comes responsibility.”
Joan did choose Guy to move on to the next round, but still had some thoughts about the way his marriage ended.
“My ex-wife and I were married for 34 years and in that time had four children who we raised together and deeply love. They are my greatest accomplishment,” he said. “My divorce was extremely difficult for me and led me to a very low point in my life and as a result I acted in a way that does not represent who I am.”
Guy continued, “The past few years have caused me to conduct a deep personal evaluation, and I will always continue to work to improve myself. I am so appreciative of The Golden Bachelorette and Bachelor Nation as well as my family, who have been exceptionally supportive during the most difficult times in my life. I am eternally grateful for them.”
People obtained an emergency motion in which Guy’s ex-wife alleged that he sent her text messages “trying to reconcile then flipping to anger,” and that he went on to “physically tried to threaten” her. People also reported that Guy’s ex accused him of placing something under her tire after running into her and then allegedly “motioned like he was going to shoot me with his hand shaped like a pistol.” She claims this incident took place on the day she filed for the order, which wasn’t put in place prior to it being dismissed.
A source close to the production told E! News that they “learned from Mr. Gansert during our vetting process that an application for a Temporary Protective Order was filed against him from his ex-wife after a disagreement but confirmed that it was never granted, as Mr. Gansert’s ex-wife voluntarily dismissed the application shortly after the filing. Therefore, he was cleared to continue through the casting process.”
Surprisingly, There Have Been Other Golden Bachelorette Contestants With A Similar Scandal
Since The Golden Bachelor franchise is fairly new, one would likely believe that another scandal wouldn’t come so soon. However, those people would be proven wrong. In fact, Guy’s scandal wasn’t even the first of the franchise. It was revealed that a woman had filed for a temporary domestic violence restraining order against former contestant Gil Ramirez three weeks prior to Guy’s scandal coming out. The woman in question claimed that she was in a relationship with Gil and that he emotionally harassed her.
Today obtained documents where the woman listed the need for a restraining order as “harassment — emotional.” The woman wrote, “Despite telling him to not contact me, come to my house — he made repeated unwanted contact with me, family members and friends.”
The woman also claimed there were “25 attempts daily via phone, texts, video. Although lives an hour away — showed up at places I frequent to confront me on a daily basis.” When it came to a time period, the woman alleged the harassment took place for a “two week period thus far.”
The papers were filed just days before The Golden Bachelorette’s first season entered production in June 2024. While the restraining order was granted at first, it was dismissed a month later due to lack of prosecution.
“This filing occurred in the brief period between completion of our thorough background investigation and exhaustive vetting process, and the beginning of production,” a source close to the production told E! News. “As a result of this newly confirmed information, we have further edited his already limited screen time and minimized him in promotional assets moving forward.”
