Kevin Costner is no stranger to the Bachelor franchise. The Yellowstone actor shared his experiences with the iconic reality TV show after Joan Vassos, the first ever leading lady of the Golden Bachelorette, revealed her crush on him.
“You cannot not bump into that show. Even if you think you’re going to bypass it sometimes, you just stop and look and wonder,” Kevin, 69, told Entertainment Tonight of the franchise. “It’s really handsome people, beautiful women, and everybody’s trying to create a relationship in front of a billion people. I have a little experience with that.”
Kevin’s love life has been in the news following his divorce from his longtime wife, Christine Baumgartner. The couple announced their divorce in May 2023 after nearly 19 years of marriage. The former couple share kids Cayden, 16, Hayes, 14, and Grace, 13; he has four other kids from previous relationships.
More recently, the Rumor Has It star has been romantically linked to singer Jewel. However, he insisted they are “just friends” and have “never gone out.”
Kevin’s embrace of the ABC franchise is likely to delight Joan, 61, the inaugural star of The Golden Bachelorette. In a recent interview with ET, she revealed that her celebrity crushes were Kevin and Rob Lowe.
“I love Kevin Costner. Since Yellowstone, I just think he is the rugged, sexy guy,” she told the outlet. “Kind of opposite of Rob Lowe, who’s kind of polished. He is so darn handsome.”
Season 1 of Golden Bachelorette is set to debut on ABC on September 1. While Joan’s celebrity crushes are unlikely to make an appearance, she’s excited to meet the new group of men as she has a “long list” of what she’s looking for in a partner.
“Obviously [he needs to be] kind and a family man,” she said. “My father was the ultimate gentleman. He opened doors, carried everything, hopped up when a woman walked in the room, was always polite, never cussed, just was such a gentleman. I am looking for a gentleman. There is something about that that is so charming and endearing to me.”
Additionally, Joan wanted an adventure partner, a role she had envisioned sharing with her late husband, John, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 59 after battling pancreatic cancer.
“I worked my whole life getting to this place in life, and had planned on having all those adventures with John,” she continued. “When that all kind of vanished, I really missed that thought of planning a future with somebody and doing some fun things. I am ready for somebody that has a little sense of adventure and ready to have some fun. You only get to do this once. You only get to live once. It’s a big world and I’m ready to see it. I feel like I gotta get moving.”
As for her deal breakers, the Maryland native can’t stand someone rude to service workers. “You need to be nice to everyone. Be kind. Just be kind. It’s not that hard,” she concluded. “Dating out in the wild is very different than dating here, so it’s gonna be hard to have those things revealed. That’s gonna be a little bit more difficult, but I’m gonna be watching out.”
