Joan Vassos, star of The Golden Bachelorette, says her children are just as excited for the show’s finale as she is—though it hasn’t been easy for them. “I think they’re ready for it,” Joan, 61, shared with Us Weekly during the taping of the Men Tell All episode in October. “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 supported their mom throughout her journey on the ABC reality series. But the experience hasn’t been without its challenges. “They were always a little worried I’d get my heart broken,” Joan explained. “They were also worried that I was going to embarrass them.” Laughing, she added, “So, I think they’re kind of ready to not have to have that worry every day.”
Joan’s late husband, John Vassos, passed away in 2021 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Since then, her children have witnessed their mother’s journey to find new love on The Golden Bachelorette. Joan revealed that while watching the show, one of her daughters often critiques it, calling her every week to tally the number of kisses Joan shared with the men. “She tells me how much I embarrassed her and how much she embarrassed me,” Joan said with a smile. “So, I think they’re ready to maybe have their life back to normal a little bit.”
Since the premiere of The Golden Bachelorette in September, fans have watched Joan develop connections with multiple contestants, eventually narrowing it down to her final three: Chock Chapple, Pascal Ibgui, and Guy Gansert. But Joan has faced emotional ups and downs along the way.
“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,” Joan tearfully confessed in a confessional. “I was afraid coming into this, and then my fears started getting better. And now, I’m afraid again.”
Joan’s journey hasn’t just been about finding love but also about healing from the loss of her late husband. She admitted that while she initially thought she was ready to move on, the process revealed that she wasn’t as prepared as she thought. “When I came onto the show, I thought I was really ready, but I wasn’t completely ready,” she explained. “I didn’t realize that until I started having feelings for somebody. And that hadn’t happened yet.”
Despite her efforts to move forward, Joan remains deeply in love with John. “It took me a long time to get through the thought that I could still be in love with John and still have room in my heart for someone else,” she said. “That’s the biggest thing I learned about myself—that your heart is bigger than you realize.”
Fans can look forward to the season finale of The Golden Bachelorette on ABC, airing Wednesday, November 13, at 8 p.m. ET, to see how Joan’s journey ends and whether she finds love again.
