Joan Vassos, star of The Golden Bachelor and the upcoming Golden Bachelorette, has shared unsettling details about the unsolicited and inappropriate messages she received after her appearance on the hit reality show. Among the troubling interactions were explicit photos and bizarre requests, leaving the 61-year-old mother and grandmother shocked.
Vassos first appeared on The Golden Bachelor last fall but left during the third episode due to a family medical emergency. Since then, her Instagram DMs have been flooded with messages from strangers, ranging from harmless admiration to outright disturbing propositions.
“I live in Maryland, and most of those people were from different states,” Vassos told Entertainment Weekly. “I didn’t respond much. Sometimes I’d have cute little conversations, like, ‘Thank you, that’s so flattering.’ But none of them felt like something I could take seriously. Then there were the really weird ones.”
Vassos revealed that she received unsolicited explicit images, messages from individuals with foot fetishes, and even offers to buy the shoes she wore on The Golden Bachelor. “One person wanted me to send pictures of my feet and offered to pay me for it,” she explained. “My kids stepped in and said, ‘Mom, give us your phone. We’re blocking all of this.’”
These uncomfortable experiences aren’t unique to Vassos. Fellow contestant April Kirkwood, 66, also encountered unsettling propositions. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Kirkwood shared her shock after a man’s wife messaged her, proposing a threesome. “I was shocked. They wanted to include me,” she said.
Leslie Fhima, another contestant, recounted her own strange interactions, including a man offering to become her sugar daddy. “He itemized everything he’d pay for,” she revealed. “I’ve been hit on by far more young men than those my age.”
Despite these challenges, Vassos is looking forward to her next chapter as The Golden Bachelorette. Announced in May, she will star as the lead of the spin-off’s inaugural season, joined by 24 contestants hoping to win her heart.
According to her official bio, Vassos embodies resilience and grace as a widowed mother of four and grandmother of three. When she’s not spending time with her family, she enjoys listening to Elton John, cooking, and relaxing with her dog. As she steps into the spotlight once again, Vassos envisions a future filled with love, family, and moments by the beach.
The highly anticipated premiere of The Golden Bachelorette airs on Wednesday, September 18, at 8 PM ET on ABC, with new episodes releasing weekly. Fans are eager to see Vassos navigate this new chapter in her life, proving that love and adventure are timeless.
