Joan Vassos is happier than ever after getting a second chance at love in the first season of “The Golden Bachelorette.”
Joan, 61, joined the “Bachelor” franchise when she appeared on the first season of “The Golden Bachelor” with Gerry Turner in 2023. Joan and Gerry got off to a promising start, bonding over widowhood (her husband John died of pancreatic cancer in 2021). But after bonding with Gerry on their one-on-one date in week three, she left the show to spend time with her daughter, who postpartum depression back home.
Now Joan is setting new priorities on The Golden Bachelorette and it seems like it has worked to her advantage.
“I came out a much happier person than I went in,” Joan told Business Insider before the series premiere. “And I didn’t realize I wasn’t happy before.”
Since the season has just begun, here’s what we can gather about whether Joan will get engaged at the end of The Golden Bachelorette.
Joan described her season as emotional, adventurous and fun
Joan Vassos at the series premiere of “The Golden Bachelorette”. Gilles Mingasson/Disney
Being the Golden Bachelorette brought its own set of challenges for Joan. She previously said that her experience with Gerry on The Golden Bachelor opened her heart to the possibility of a future with another man.
“Emotional” was the first word that came to mind when asked how she would describe her season.
“We all discovered things about ourselves that we didn’t know we were going through. We went through these journeys together and came out so good in the end,” Joan told BI.
Although there will certainly be serious moments in the season, fans can expect Joan and her admirers to have fun too.
“We went on some really fun dates that we probably never would have done on our own,” she said. “Usually you go on the vacations that you feel comfortable with, or you go on trips with friends that you’ve done before. So we were able to do some really adventurous things.”
This sense of adventure fits with Joan’s overall message to fans.
“I want everyone to know that dating is fun,” she said.
“We just had a really good time together because we enjoyed each other’s company,” she added. “When you’re that age and you’ve been through a lot, you let go of the little things and it’s just about making each other happy.”
Reality Steve has already shared major spoilers for Joan’s season of The Golden Bachelorette.
Guy Gansert and Vassos at the series premiere of “The Golden Bachelorette”. Gilles Mingasson/Disney
Warning: Stop reading now if you don’t want to know about possible spoilers for Joan’s season.
According to Reality Steve, longtime Bachelor Nation blogger, Joan does indeed end up with one of the 24 contestants at the end of the season.
In an August Instagram post full of spoilers, Reality Steve said that four men have hometown dates this season: salon owner Pascal Ibgui, insurance executive Chock Chapple, emergency room doctor Guy Gansert and senior sales manager Jordan Heller.
According to the blogger, Jordan will be eliminated after the hometowns and Chock will be sent home after the sleepovers – leaving Pascal and Guy as the last two standing. However, Pascal is reportedly eliminating himself because he is not in love with Joan.
Reality Steve reported that Guy from Reno, Nevada is the winner, but the blogger is unsure if the couple is engaged.
Although Reality Steve has had good sources and relatively reliable reporting on Bachelor winners over the years, his reporting has been inaccurate at times, so all of his spoilers should be taken with a grain of salt.
Joan herself hasn’t revealed any tell-all details about her finale, so viewers will have to tune in to see exactly how her emotional journey unfolds.
New episodes of The Golden Bachelorette premiere Wednesdays on ABC and stream the next day on Hulu.
