“Extra” was exclusively with new Golden Bachelorette Joan Vassos as she shot a top-secret new promo for her upcoming season! The stunning 61-year-old gushed about beginning her journey.
Vassos shared, “It’s crazy! I’m here in L.A., finally. I’ve been anticipating this for about a month since I got announced and I’m finally here. We’re doing wardrobe fittings and I’m going to meet a bunch of handsome men in a couple of days!”
She said of getting glam for her Golden Bachelorette duties, “This is like being spoiled every morning instead of me having to put my makeup on and try to cover my wrinkles, someone else is doing it for me. I look way better than I do on a daily basis.”
Joan was married for 32 years to her husband John, who passed away from cancer in January 2021. The school administrator said she is still shocked she’s getting a second chance at love.
She explained, “I can’t believe they chose me, honestly. I mean, the first-ever Golden Bachelorette. I remember when Trista was chosen as the Bachelorette and she’s like an icon, so she’s big shoes to step into, but I hope I do as well as she did and I hope I find love like she did. I’ve met her several times at other Bachelor events, and she and I have really connected. In fact, she talked to me about the reason I left the ‘Golden Bachelor’ and said that she related so much to it as a mom, so we kind of bonded.”
Fans of “The Golden Bachelor” watched the concerned mom abruptly quit the show… leaving Gerry Turner right after their first date.
She recalled, “My daughter had just had a baby. I left when the baby was just 8 days old and she was having a tough time. She sent me a text message saying ‘I need my mom’ and there wasn’t a question in my mind if she said she needed me then I needed to leave, so I did. And it happened to be the morning after I had a date with Gerry. We had had a good connection, and we were happy about our date. We both had a really good time and both woke up kind of feeling really happy about where it was going, and then it was done. I left. It was not a question in my mind that I did feel like I needed to leave, but I did feel like I had kind of unfinished business.”
And while Gerry went on to marry Theresa Nist, their short marriage ended in divorce. Joan, however, is not concerned.
“I have to say, I learned a lot from them,” she said. “I think they both dove into the process with both feet, and I really respect that. At this age, that’s kind of scary to do. They thought they had found their true love and when they found out it wasn’t perfect, they decided to call it off. Both those things I respect, but I still believe in the process. I see a lot of successful Bachelor couples and I thought they were going to be one and because it didn’t work is not changing the way I feel about things.”
Joan has four grown kids who are rooting for their mom, but who don’t want any of those steamy televised make-out sessions!
Vassos said, “Nick and Ali are totally supportive. They want me to find love, but all of them — including the other two who are a little cringey about me doing this on TV — are all very nervous about the fantasy suites and even, like, me just kissing men on TV. They’ve never seen me kiss anybody but their father, and they don’t want their friends to see me kissing anybody on TV. But they’ll be alright. I will do it in a dignified way as much as I can!”
This class act will meet her suitors within days and possibly the guy who will change her life forever. The blonde bombshell is trusting the show’s producers will deliver her type!
“Tall, dark, and handsome — that’s what I was married to before,” she said with a laugh, adding, “Energetic, kind, generous, loves kids, loves their family like I love my family. I know that is a tall order but that is what I’m looking for and I’m not going to settle.”
Joan’s biggest concern? She revealed, “Not being able to remember their names. There’s going to be a lot of guys coming out of those limousines. I don’t know how people do this!”
But first this glammy grandma has priorities. The reality star said, “The stylist has like 30 racks of clothes for me to try on, which sounds like work, but it sounds like a whole lotta fun to me, so I can’t wait to try on the evening gowns. It’ll be super fun. It’s been so much fun — I feel like Cinderella.”
