“The Bachelorette” is back, but with a new twist in the first-ever season of “The Golden Bachelorette.” “The Golden Bachelorette” and “Golden Bachelor” follow the same premise as “The Bachelor” and “Bachelorette,” but, instead of young singles finding love with the eligible bachelor or bachelorette, it is single seniors searching for a second chance at love.
Starting Sep. 18, a new journey begins for the first-ever golden bachelorette, Joan Vassos. Vassos is a 61-year-old school administrator from Rockville, Maryland. Vassos was previously seen on the inaugural season of “The Golden Bachelor” with Gerry Turner. Vassos was a top contender for Gerry’s heart, but her journey was cut short when she left the show due to a family emergency.
Now Vassos is getting another chance at love during her own season. Vassos enters her journey with 24 single men vying for her heart, all above the age of 55. This season is important not only because it is the first ever season of “The Golden Bachelorette,” but also because of the last highly controversial season of “The Bachelorette,” starring Jenn Tran.
Tran is a 26-year-old physician assistant student from Miami, Florida. She made history in the Bachelor franchise as the first Asian-American lead. Tran was previously seen on Joey Grazadei’s season, where she was sent home right before the hometown dates, where the contestants take the bachelor to their hometown to meet their family. While Tran was well-liked in Grazadei’s season, she was not an insanely popular fan favorite like Maria Georgas and Daisy Kent, who both landed in the final four of his season. Both Georgas and Kent were expected to be offered the role of “The Bachelorette,” and it surprised viewers everywhere when Tran was announced as the Bachelorette.
This announcement was made after the male contestants had already been cast for the show. As the men were announced, fans began to speculate these men had been cast with Georgas or Kent in mind for the lead. To make things worse, Georgas went on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast with Alex Cooper and confirmed she was given the role of the bachelorette, but ultimately backed out at the last minute and the role was given to Tran. While fans noticed the marketing for Tran’s season seemed rushed and not personal to Tran, the season began just like any other, with 25 men vying for Tran’s heart.
Allegations of sexual assault and abuse against contestant Marcus Shoberg surfaced on the Bachelorette subreddit almost immediately. Fans called out the producers for not doing proper background checks on the contestants. However, the backlash was pretty quiet as most chatter about “The Bachelorette” was overshadowed by the popularity of “Love Island USA.”
The season ran as normal but took a dramatic turn in the finale. Tran’s finalists were the aforementioned Shoberg, who had sexual assault allegations, and Devin Strader. Strader fought hard for Tran’s heart from the very first episode. His dedication and upfront personality towards Tran ultimately caused tension with other men on the show as they believed Strader was not genuine in his intentions. In the Bachelor franchise, the finale has two components: the prerecorded final dates and proposal, and then a live interview portion with the host, Jesse Palmer.
After the prerecorded portion of Shoberg deciding he was not ready for marriage and leaving, instead of going to the prerecorded proposal between Tran and Strader, the camera cut to live footage of Tran sobbing in front of the live studio audience. Tran explained to the audience that she and Strader are no longer together. She communicated the pain she felt as a result of their relationship ending. While Tran is clearly uncomfortable and in pain, Palmer brings Strader onto the stage and makes the couple watch the prerecorded footage of their engagement while Tran sobs in front of her ex-fiancee as well as the entire audience.
This caused upset and outrage amongst viewers, saying they were uncomfortable with the producers making Tran relive her pain on live television for everyone to see. The situation only worsened after the footage played and Tran and Strader discussed their relationship. Tran confronted Strader about the end of their relationship, bringing up his switch in behavior after filming ended. Tran claimed that Strader had said he no longer loved her a couple of months after filming ended. She also shocked the audience by revealing that not only had he ended their engagement over the phone, but just the next day, he began to follow other girls on Instagram as soon as he had ended the engagement. Notably, he followed Georgas, seeming to confirm rumors that he had applied to be on the show for her.
The audience was shocked by what they had witnessed. Many fans expressed disgust and disappointment with the producers on social media. They also expressed disappointment with the way the whole season was handled. Tran was the first ever Asian-American lead in The Bachelor franchise, and instead of casting men who wanted to be there for her, they built the whole season with a cast of men who were there for two other white women. This season was a massive letdown for Tran and fans of Bachelor Nation everywhere.
Fans made the situation worse for producers when they did some online research. They discovered that Strader had been arrested and had a restraining order previously filed against him by an ex-girlfriend. This information was public and accessible on the internet. The producers of the show fell under more fire as viewers once again accused them of not adequately vetting contestants on the show, and actively putting Tran in danger as well as emotional distress.
Currently, Tran is thriving as a contestant on “Dancing With The Stars.” She also reconnected with Jonathon Johnson, the contestant who placed third in her season, and relationship rumors are swirling around. But the Bachelor producers are in trouble. The franchise has lost not just viewers, but also the people’s respect and trust. They have a lot to prove with the new season of “The Golden Bachelorette.”
Time will only tell as the season continues, whether the producers will handle this season with grace and respect, unlike Tran’s. I will continue to tune into the “Golden Bachelor” and continue to shout from the rooftops for the rest of my life: #JusticeforJenn!