This just in: Gerry Turner is totally here for his ex, Joan Vassos, becoming the first Golden Bachelorette. The inaugural Golden Bachelor sent well wishes to Joan on Instagram, writing, “Dear Joan, congratulations on being named the first ever Golden Bachelorette. You will be phenomenal as the new representative of a generation.” He ended his message with a solid piece of advice: “From one golden to another, relax, breathe and enjoy. Gerry.”
Joan was introduced to Bachelor Nation as one of Gerry’s contestants, but she self-eliminated during the third week of the competition when her daughter faced a medical emergency.
ABC initially announced the new Golden Bachelorette on Instagram, and Joan also penned a sweet post reacting to her historical gig.
“The first Golden Bachelorette… I truly can’t believe it! I’m positively overwhelmed by the love and support you are all sending my way. Thank you @abc for picking me and @bachelornation for rooting for me!” she wrote on May 15. “As I embark on this journey, I hope to make you all proud, follow my heart, and have a lot of fun along the way. I’m honored to represent all of the golden ladies out there, turns out we aren’t invisible after all. ✨🌹”
Gerry found love with Theresa Nist on The Golden Bachelor, and after a televised wedding and three months of marriage, they ended their relationship in April 2024. “Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations,” Gerry announced on Good Morning America alongside Theresa. “We’ve looked closely at our situation, our living situation, so forth and—and we’ve kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it’s probably time for us to—dissolve our marriage.”
In an unprecedented move, ABC revealed Jenn’s men pretty much immediately.
During an interview with CNN, Joan weighed in on the end of Gerry and Theresa’s marriage, saying, “I was surprised. I loved watching their journey. I saw them fall in love. I believed, just like they did, that they were the perfect couple. And I applaud that they jumped into this process with both feet and they were ready to find love. And they knew what true love was. They both had it in their previous lives.”
She added, “So I applaud them for doing that. And I also applaud them that when they discovered it wasn’t perfect, that they called it quits, and it’s not the end of the world. And we have to let them live their journey and follow their hearts and it wasn’t right for them, so they split up.”
