Welcome Bachelor Nation to the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelorette! Our first golden girl is Joan Vassos! Joan quickly became a fan favorite during her time on the first season of The Golden Bachelor, though she was only on a few episodes.
Joan’s journey with Gerry ended when she self-eliminated to return home to help her daughter in her postpartum journey. This only helps Joan’s image in the community and showcases her strong family values and her selfless nature!
So here’s a quick background on our Golden Bachelorette. Joan is 61 years old and is from Maryland. She has 4 children and 3 grandkids. On Gerry’s season of The Golden Bachelor, she and Gerry have an initial bond over spousal loss. Her husband, John, died of Pancreatic cancer. But now she is ready to find love again.
So let’s get into the episode! We start with Joan getting ready and “Rainbow” by Kacey Musgraves is playing in the background. (Always a good sign). She gives the audience a further look into her past and the death of her husband. She talks about how she sees Hawks as a symbol for him (I thought this was an interesting note because Kelsey Anderson says she always saw her late mom in butterflies while on Joey’s season of The Bachelor. And they’re engaged now, so viewers will have to keep an eye out for hawks in the backgrounds of dates). She arrives at the Bachelor Mansion and is greeted by host, Jesse Palmer. Her journey has officially started.
Joan will now meet 24 men:
Pascal (69): From Illinois, but grew up in Paris, France. Unknown past relationship, but has a son.
Chock (60) from Kansas
Kim (69): from Washington. He has been divorced, remarried and now is a widow.
Jonathan (61) from Iowa. He is divorced.
Jordan (61) from Illinois. He has 3 daughters
Micheal (65) from North Carolina
Thomas (62) from New York
Gary (65) from California. We know he has at least 1 daughter and grandson.
Gregg (64) from Florida
Pablo (63) from Maryland
Bob (66) from California
Jack (68) from Illinois. He has a super thick Chicago accent and is hilarious
Charles L. (66) from Pennsylvania. He has 2 daughters
Guy (66) from Nevada
Charles K (62) California
Ken (60) from Massachacuts
Dan (64) from Florida
Christopher (64) from New York
RJ (66) from California
Gil (60) from California
Bill (68) from Oregon
David (68) from Texas
Keith (62) from California. He is a divorced single father and a self-proclaimed “Girl dad”
Mark (57) is from Louisiana. Kelsey Anderson’s dad!
We don’t see a ton of crazy entrances on the Golden Bachelor/Bachelorette franchises, but here are some highlights:
Christopher brings a shot of prune juice for him and Joan.
Keith drives a station wagon with a bunch of luggage strapped on top.
Charles K hobbles out with a cane then proceeds to fall and do multiple push-ups.
Jack walks out singing “My Way” by Frank Sinatra.
Mark is introduced by his daughter Kelsey.
David rides a horse. After discounting the horse trots away and a producer is seen chasing after it
Instantly the men all get along and are basically best friends before Joan meets with them one on one. This is what’s so refreshing about the Golden Bachelor franchise. They tend to be less focused on petty drama and more on wholesome romance and friendship. Pascal steals Joan to talk to her first, and no one seems bothered by them (This action would be a huge deal in the regular Bachelor franchise and would probably cause some tension in the mansion).
One-on-one time:
Pascal is the first to talk to Joan. He has a letter from his son and he reads it to Joan. He talks about how he grew up in Paris and then moved to Chicago for a job. He still lives there today! He’s very sure of himself but doesn’t seem too snobby and has a good sense of humor. Next up is Dan. Dan has 2 daughters. One is adopted. She says he has been a single father of 14 years. Gregg brings Joan to a little “beach” setup. Gil has a little mini golf set up. Charles K and Joan race on mobility scooters. Gary writes his phone number on his hand and he and Joan have a pretend phone date.
Next is Jordan, who gets a decent amount of screen time. Jordan has 3 daughters and has a gift for Joan. He’s from Chicago and got Joan’s grandbaby a sweatshirt with a Chicago-style hot dog and deep-dish pizza on it. It’s very cute, he’s super nervous. And then they play pickleball, because of what they do.
Somehow the other guys find out about pickleball and like it’s a siren call run outside and all 24 men are knowingly playing pickleball with 10 different balls, and they’re all just hitting it back and forth.
Jack is quickly becoming my favorite. He hasn’t even talked to Joan yet, but he’s giving himself his own “Architectural Digest” tour of the mansion and HE IS VERY IMPRESSED. He’s hilarious! He’s also wearing a pink jacket which I think is worth mentioning. Charles L is also becoming my favorite. He is just so cute! He is also exploring the mansion and is in love with the kitchen.
Kim is talking to Joan next and they bond over their strong family values. Bob shares he was struck by lightning and was dead for 12 minutes?! (that’s insane lore to drop on a first date). Guy and Mark talk to her. Jonathan tells Joan he has had a crush on her since she read the poem on Gerry’s season– and he has written his own poem. It’s very cute, she loves it.
Jesse Palmer shows up with the FIRST IMPRESSION ROSE. Half the guys have no idea what this is which I find very funny. Now if you don’t know what it is, don’t worry. The first impression rose is the first rose of the night and is given to the man who made the best impression on Joan. They go into the rose ceremony knowing they are safe from elimination. My personal prediction is Kieth, Jonathan, or Jordan because they have all had a lot of screen time.
Now, you may be wondering what Jack is doing right now. We haven’t heard from him in a while and he must be getting into some sort of trouble. He’s cooking a tenderloin in the kitchen of course. It is 2 am in the morning, but he says the only 2 things he’s good at are cooking and singing, and he already sang to Joan so now he has to impress her with a meal. And guess who’s hanging out and his sous chef? CHARLES L, my man! Such an unexpected duo, but I am here for it. After Jack gives Joan his freshly cooked meal, Charles gives her a tea ceremony.
Keith and Joan play bags together. They bond on a lot of things, but both want to move to the beach, they both love their families, etc. I’m getting a big “Bob Duncan (from Good Luck Charlie) Energy” from Keith. He’s adorable. They have instant chemistry. He gets the First Impression Rose!
Before the Rose Ceremony, Jesse brings out a surprise for the guys. A video of all their kids and families telling their dads they love them and wishing them luck on this journey. It’s very cute and the guys all love it.
But the sweet movement is over! It’s time to get real, Joan has to send home some of these men tonight! She is stressing out, She hardly knows them, and they all seem nice! Joan has a really hard time with this and feels really bad about sending home these guys. Ultimately she’ll send home Pablo, Bill, Christopher, David, Ken, RJ, and Thomas.
I’m excited to see Joan’s journey. She was my favorite of mine from Gerry’s season, and I predicted she was going to be the Golden Bachelorette. She seems incredibly kind and mature. Here are my initial thoughts!
I love Jack (if you couldn’t tell). I think he will for sure be a comedic relief. I don’t see him ending up with Joan but never say never. My front runners are Jordan, Jonathan, and Keith. I also love Charles L. and Mark (Kelsey’s dad), but again I’m not 100% certain of the chances of them winning. I believe they may be grooming Mark to be the next Golden Bachelor (the people are calling for it), so we’ll have to see!
I did think it was interesting that there weren’t a lot of guys from Maryland! Golden Bachelor and Teresa (his season’s winner) got divorced after only a few months of marriage, and many speculate it is because he wanted to stay in Indiana, while she wanted to stay with her family in Connecticut. Many thought that casting was going to consider hometowns/proximity when casting Joan’s men. The one and only guy from Maryland got sent home. This season we have a lot from Illinois (all from Chicago), Florida, and California. There are a few men from around the East Coast, but none of them are my personal front runners. We also have a pretty big age range this season. Joan is 61. The oldest men are 69 (Pascal and Kim) and the youngest is Mark (57). Jonathan is the only contestant who is Joan’s same age.
I can’t wait to watch more of this season! She has a great group of guys and I can’t wait to see how her second chance at love unfolds!