When Joan Vassos appeared on Golden Bachelor Last year, while trying to win the heart of Jerry Turner before leaving the show early due to a family emergency, she said something that resonated deeply with many viewers: “As you get older, you become less visible. People don't see you anymore. You're not as important as you were when you were young.”
Now that Vassos, 61, is starring in the inaugural season of the ABC series The Golden Bachelorette She knows that sentiment not only struck a chord with female viewers of a certain age, but her words also resonated with some of the men who attended Bachelor Mansion this season. During a one-on-one conversation with Jonathan, a 61-year-old shipping consultant from Iowa, Vasos told her he was touched by her vulnerability. He, too, empathizes with feeling invisible at his age.
“It was very surprising when he said that, because he's a tall, handsome, good-looking man,” Vassos says. Rolling Stone“He looks so young, he looks like he’s in his 40s. I was shocked when I heard that he felt that way. I thought I was the only person who felt that way, and I said it in the limo as I was leaving the mansion. I had a lot of people DM me and say, ‘You’ve expressed the way I’ve felt forever.’ And when Jonathan said that, he was just another person who reinforced that.”
The Golden Bachelorette It premiered Wednesday night, following in the footsteps of Golden Bachelorwhich viewers quickly embraced after it premiered in September 2023. That first episode garnered 4.4 million viewers, and more than 6 million people watched Turner's show in the season finale — making it the most-watched. Bachelor's Episode since 2021. Golden Bachelor This episode offered something new, not just for reality show fans, but for reality show fans in general: a man and a group of women, all in their 60s, who seem to really want to find love in this next phase of their lives. After Turner proposes to Teresa Nest, a golden wedding is televised.
But some of that magic faded when Hollywood Reporter Vassos published a report on Turner's past, alleging that the inaugural Golden Bachelor had misrepresented his romantic history and professional dealings. Then, just three months after their marriage, Turner and Nest announced that they were divorcing. Vassos did not miss the point that given the success and controversy that Golden BachelorThere's a lot riding on her moment in the spotlight.
“As if dating on national television wasn’t enough. I felt an extra layer of pressure, honestly,” Vassos says. “Jerry did a really good job of being open and vulnerable and encouraging women to do the same. He formed strong relationships with people and fell in love. I witnessed that. They got married like some older people do because they said, ‘We don’t want to waste any time,’ and then it didn’t work out and that’s real life.” Vassos adds that the public “should give them some forgiveness” for putting themselves in that position and also for ending the relationship if it’s in their best interest.
while Golden Bachelor She was able to cast a group of attractive older women who were willing to appear on TV, and some fans were skeptical about that. The Golden Bachelorette She would be able to find a strong group of men – including Vasos. She says she had “no idea” what to expect.
“I was a little worried that maybe men wouldn’t apply for this position,” she says. “I was thinking about men at that age and thinking, ‘I’m going to go with my friends. I’m fine. I don’t need a woman,’ or, ‘I’m not going to put myself on this huge national stage to do this.’ So I wasn’t sure we were going to get a lot of great applicants.”
In Wednesday night's premiere, we see the Vassos make a brilliant entrance into the classics. Bachelor's Fashion, getting out of limousines and approaching them with the best seductive phrases or hints. It was a full-fledged moment for Vassos.
“I remembered how terrified I felt when I was in the limo,” Vasos says. “I questioned why I was there, so I felt so empathetic to the guys every time the limo showed up. I think about older guys and how vulnerable they are when it comes to their emotions. They’re putting themselves out there in such a big way and I was really aware that they were going to get hurt. I just wanted them to do their best and I wanted them to feel really good about themselves when this was all played out on national television.”
Despite her nervousness, Vassos says she felt reassured when she met this group of men: It didn't take long for her to learn that they were fun to be around, had “great personalities,” and had impressive personal histories.
“They all have really touching stories and you can see how they’ve been through it and how they’ve come out of it,” Vassos says. “And they’re really good friends with each other. It happens on the first night. They’re bonding in the mansion and supporting each other on their emotional journeys. They cry together, they laugh together, they make fun of each other, they cook in the kitchen together. They’re the story, honestly. I’m a side note.”
After meeting all the men, the first rose Vassos left in his mind went to Keith, a 62-year-old California man who describes himself as a “girl dad.” Vassos says it wasn’t easy for her to send people home after the first rose ceremony, given the sacrifices the men made to be there. But from Vassos’ perspective, even taking the step of showing up at the Bachelor Mansion and throwing their hats into the ring is a step closer to being less invisible in a world that doesn’t always prioritize people in their golden years.
When Jonathan said that [in our one-on-one]“I felt like every person who came to the show was doing something to make themselves visible again,” Vassos says. “They’re trying so hard. They’ve put in this huge effort to leave their families and their friends and their jobs and everything else, their dogs, to come to the show and live there for just one night or one day, and it’s not enough.”
But, Vassos adds, even for those who have already returned home, “they have won in a way, because they have shown the world how brave they are and they have become visible because they have done this big thing. I think we all need to make an effort to be seen and shown, to do things that make us important again, and not accept being insignificant.”
