When I first started watching reality television religiously, I got into tons of different shows. From dating to competitions to The Housewives, I could watch and get into almost anything — except The Bachelor franchise and any spin-off related to it. I guess I have just never seen the appeal of Bachelor nation shows.
I have watched a season here and there if I genuinely enjoyed the lead role, such as Joey Graziadei’s season, because it was obvious that he was there for the right reasons. Certain lead roles in The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are obviously there to become full-time influencers. However, I did give The Golden Bachelor a chance given that they are older and more experienced. The thing that stuck out to me the most was the women.
‘The Golden Bachelor’ Has What ‘The Bachelor’ Lacks
The contestants on the first season of The Golden Bachelor gave me a reason to love and respect this spin-off. They are experienced and dedicated mothers who made it very clear that their family and children came first. They joined the show for the right reasons, because they are not in their prime years anymore. They are not hoping to become the next big thing on social media, like how Jenn Tran, the Bachelorette from Season 21, or Nick Viall, from Season 21 of The Bachelor. These are women hoping for another shot at love, while also not being afraid to speak up and making it very clear from the jump that they have children, and that their families will always come before themselves and before the show.
I think I adored this so much because it is not seen quite often throughout The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. This is not something fans of these franchises are used to watching, because a lot of the leading roles and contestants that attend are young with no children. There is a different kind of selflessness seen throughout The Golden Bachelor. While watching, I realized that I enjoyed one season of this show compared to the multiple other seasons of The Bachelor because this selflessness of putting family over finding love is something that The Bachelor lacks.
‘The Golden Bachelor’ Contestants Were Selfless
When I first decided to watch Gerry Turner’s season of The Golden Bachelor, I grew to love the leading lady of the first season of The Golden Bachelorette, Joan Vassos. Early into the season, Joan had to leave unexpectedly due to her daughter having complications after giving birth. In my opinion, although it was still fairly early, I thought Gerry and Joan had great chemistry and an awesome group date. When Joan announced that she was going to be self-eliminating due to wanting to be there for her daughter, Gerry was visibly upset and even voiced his disappointment. Gerry Turner said, “I understand, I get it. But I can’t tell you how disappointed I am. I was so excited this morning. I was out of bed dancing. I was thrilled that we had a conversation like we did and there’s a moral compass that we both share and sometimes the right thing to do is the hardest.”
While watching that moment, I was thinking to myself, “Wow, Joan is an awesome mother.” She joined The Golden Bachelor in hopes of finding love again after her husband passed away. In my opinion, it seemed that she and Gerry Turner were on a straight path to potential love, but she pointed out that duty calls, and that she had to go and be the awesome mother that she is to her daughter who suffered post having a C-section birth. After that episode had finally aired, Joan shared a message on Instagram. “A huge thank you to everyone expressing their concern for my family. It’s a privilege to be a mom to four amazing kids and a grandmother to two beautiful grandchildren. But once a mom, always a mom and sometimes the timing doesn’t work out with finding love.”
I even noticed that, during her time as the leading lady on The Golden Bachelorette, Joan voiced her concerns to Nancy Hulkower, from Gerry’s season. Joan was worried that she was being selfish while trying to honor her late husband. She was not being selfish, but she was thinking like any mother would. Watching The Golden Bachelor and The Golden Bachelorette has opened my eyes to the realization that these women are selflessly looking for love, while still putting family first, and that is something not seen or talked about enough on The Bachelor. The Golden Bachelor is available to stream on Prime Video in the US.
