As The Golden Bachelorette season 1 nears its finale, Joan Vassos isn’t the only one eagerly anticipating the outcome. Her four children are just as ready for the conclusion of the show.
Speaking exclusively to Us Weekly at the taping of the Men Tell All episode in October, Joan, 61, shared how her family has handled her reality TV experience. “I think they’re ready for it,” she said. “They’re looking forward to it. It’s a lot, being the kid that has a parent on TV. I feel for kids who do it, this is their life.”
Joan’s children, Nicholas, Erica, Allison, and Luke, have been by her side through the highs and lows of her Golden Bachelorette journey. As the show’s first-ever lead, Joan has faced a unique set of challenges. Her family, while supportive, was initially concerned about her heart being broken on national television. “They also were worried that I was going to embarrass them,” Joan joked. “So, I think they’re kind of ready to not have to have that worry every day.”
Her kids have been very involved in the process, with one of her daughters providing weekly commentary on the show. “When they watch a show, one of my daughters critiques it every week and tells me how many men I kissed,” Joan said. “She calls me in the morning, tells me how much I embarrassed her. So, I think they’re ready to maybe have their life back to normal a little bit.”
Joan’s emotional journey on The Golden Bachelorette has been closely followed by Bachelor Nation. Though she initially formed a connection with Gerry Turner during The Golden Bachelor, she left early to support one of her daughters who had just given birth. In May, Joan was announced as the lead for The Golden Bachelorette season 1, where she quickly attracted attention for her authenticity and grace.
As the season unfolded, Joan developed romantic connections with multiple contestants, eventually narrowing her choices down to Chock Chapple, Pascal Ibgui, and Guy Gansert. In a shocking turn of events, Pascal, 69, self-eliminated ahead of their fantasy suite date in the October 30 episode, revealing he wasn’t ready for an engagement.
Joan, who had already faced numerous emotional challenges throughout the season, reflected on her fears in a tearful confessional. “I had 24 people here in the beginning and I’m down to the last three, and I might leave with nobody. It could happen,” she said, adding, “I was afraid coming into this, and then, my fears started getting better. And now, I’m afraid again.”
Throughout her journey, Joan has struggled to balance her search for new love with honoring the memory of her late husband, John, who passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2021. At the Men Tell All taping, Joan admitted that while she came into the show feeling confident, she quickly realized she wasn’t as ready as she thought. “I think when I came onto the show, I thought that I was really ready… but I wasn’t completely ready,” she confessed. “And I don’t think I could have realized that if I hadn’t come on the show because I needed to start having feelings for somebody. And that had not happened yet.”
Joan, who still holds John in her heart, shared that learning to make room for new love has been one of the most profound lessons of her journey. “It took me a long time to get through the thought that I could still be in love with John and still have another person that there’s room in my heart for that,” she explained. “So, I think that’s the biggest thing I learned about myself, that your heart is bigger than you realize.”
