Last September, Bachelor Nation and reality TV fans who had never previously been interested in ABC’s “Bachelor” shows tuned in to watch the most creative spin-off the franchise has released yet: “The Golden Bachelor.”
And now, it’s time for another “first” for the “Bachelor” franchise — “The Golden Bachelorette” is officially one week away.
The hope of finding true love twice in a lifetime kept viewers on the edge of their seats a year ago, as ABC’s first “Golden Bachelor,” Gerry Turner, looked for a wife to spend his “golden” years with on national television.
The show was such a success that ABC also televised Turner and then-wife Theresa Nist’s wedding in January. ABC later confirmed in February that the “highly anticipated” spinoff series “The Golden Bachelorette” would be coming to the network in the fall.
“The debut season of ‘The Golden Bachelor’ reached 43.4 million total viewers after 35 days of viewing across linear and streaming platforms and ranks as the No. 1 new unscripted series this season among adults ages 18 through 49,” According to ABC’s February “Golden Bachelorette” announcement.
Here’s who was chosen to be the very first “Golden Bachelorette” on ABC, how to watch or stream the premiere and the list of men she will be dating — including two men from Florida and one that is the dad of a former “Bachelor” fan-favorite.
Was ‘The Golden Bachelorette’ on ‘The Golden Bachelor?’ Meet ABC’s first ‘Golden Bachelorette’ Joan Vassos
Joan Vassos wasn’t who fans predicted would take the role as the very first “Golden Bachelorette,” because she left “The Golden Bachelor” early to be with her daughter, who was experiencing postpartum depression after giving birth.
“Vassos is from Rockland, Md. She earned her bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Maryland, per her LinkedIn bio, she works in alumni relations at the Landon School in her home state and has been in the role since 2021,” according to People Magazine.
She and her late husband, John Vassos, who died of pancreatic cancer in January of 2021, had four children together and she has two grandchildren.
Joan will start her search for a second chance at love in one week, on Wednesday, September 18.
How old is Joan from ‘The Golden Bachelor?’
Vassos is 61-years-old.
Are there any men from Florida competing on ‘The Golden Bachelorette?’
There will be two men from the Sunshine State competing for Vassos’ heart this season.
Here’s what ABC has shared about both men:
Dan, 64, from Naples
Occupation: Private investor
Hobbies/interests Picnicking at the beach and reading historical biographies.
Fun facts: Loves to sing, just not in public.
Gregg, 64, from Longboat Key
Occupation: Retired university vice president
Hobbies/interests: Gregg enjoys spending time with his three daughters, and they love watching Bachelor Nation shows as a family. He has a dog FlipFlop.
Fun facts: Greggwears flip-flops 90% of the time, loves root beer floats and recently traveled to Rwanda to hike with gorillas.
Who is Mark on ‘The Golden Bachelorette?’
Mark Anderson is the father of “Bachelor Nation” fan-favorite Kelsey Anderson, who won Joey Graziadei’s heart and proposal at the end of the last season of “The Bachelor.”
Since Mark Anderson’s first appearance on “The Bachelor” during Kelsey’s hometown visit, “Bachelor Nation” has been pleading for his appearance on “The Golden Bachelorette,” dubbing the widower a “hot dad.”
And ABC delivered on that request in an August trailer for the show, where fans watched Kelsey step out of the limo and introduce her dad to Joan.
Who are the other men on ‘The Golden Bachelorette?’
Here’s ABC’s full list of the 24 men who will appear on this season of “The Golden Bachelorette:”
William “Bill,” 68, a retired videographer from Portland, Oregon
Robert “Bob,” 66, a chiropractor from Marina Del Ray, California
Charles K., 62, a portfolio manager from Rancho Palos Verdes, California
Charles L., 66, a retired financial analyst from Philadelphia
Charles “Chock,” 60, an insurance executive from Wichita, Kansas
Christopher, 64, a contractor from West Babylon, New York
Daniel “Dan,” 64, a private investor from Naples, Florida
David, 68, a rancher from Austin, Texas.
Gary, 65, a retired finance executive from Palm Desert, California
Gil, 60, an educator from Mission Viejo, California
Gregg, 64, a retired university VP from Longboat Key, Florida
Guy, 66, an ER doctor from Reno, Nevada
John “Jack,” 68, a caterer from Chicago.
Jonathan, 61, a shipping consultant from Oakland, Iowa
Jordan, 61, a sales manager from Chicago
Keith, 62, a girl dad from San Jose, California
Kenneth “Ken,” 60, a property management treasurer from Peabody, Massachusetts
Kim, 69, a retired navy captain from Seattle
Michael, 65, a retired banking CEO from Denver, North Carolina
Pablo, 63, a retired UN agency director from Cambridge, Maryland
Pascal, 69, a salon owner from Chicago
Ralph “RJ,” 66, a financial advisor from Irvine, California
Thomas, 62, a fire department chief from New York
Has ‘The Golden Bachelorette’ started yet?
“The Golden Bachelorette” will premiere in one week, on Sept. 18, slotted for Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET. Episodes have a 90-minute timeslot, 30 minutes longer than the first season of the “The Golden Bachelor.”
Where can I stream ‘The Golden Bachelorette?’
Episodes of “The Golden Bachelorette” will be available to stream on Hulu the Thursday after they air.
What happened with Theresa and Gerry from the ‘Golden Bachelor?’
Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist finalized their divorce five months after their televised Bachelor Nation wedding in January.
Audiences watched as the pair fell in love on the inaugural season of the “Golden Bachelor’ in fall 2023, with Nist snagging the first one-on-one date. On the finale episode, Turner had an emotional proposal for Nist, saying she was the “person that (he) can’t live without.”
The couple later shocked fans when they announced the news of their divorce during an April 12 appearance on “Good Morning America.”
“Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations, and we’ve looked closely at our situation, our living situation, so forth and — and we’ve kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it’s probably time for us to dissolve our marriage,” Turner told GMA correspondent Juju Chang on “GMA.”
