The Golden Bachelor contestant Joan Vassos is set to be the senior lead in The Golden Bachelorette season 1, but she was not the best choice for the role. The Golden Bachelor season 1 took Bachelor Nation by storm and quickly won the hearts of viewers. Golden lead Gerry Turner, a 72-year-old retired restaurateur, started out with 22 women to get to know and choose between. He made heartfelt connections with many of the women but had several clear frontrunners, and Joan was one of them. Ultimately, Gerry narrowed it down to Theresa Nist, Faith Martin, and Leslie Fhima.
Gerry went on hometown dates with all three women but chose Theresa and Leslie to go to Costa Rica with him for overnight dates. He connected strongly with both women but made Leslie feel like she was going to be his choice However, Gerry seemingly blindsided Leslie by telling her he was choosing Theresa. Gerry and Theresa had a short engagement before getting marred on January 4, 2024. Sadly, Gerry and Theresa divorced in mid-April 2024. Now, it's Joan's turn to put herself in Gerry's position and date a bevy of interesting men all vying for her heart.
Joan's The Golden Bachelor Journey
Joan Chose To Leave Early
Joan is a 61-year-old mom of four kids and two grandkids. She lost her husband of 32 years to pancreatic cancer two years prior to going on The Golden Bachelor. She is a School Administrator and enjoys listening to Elton John, hanging out with her dog, and cooking. She had a fast connection with Gerry in the several one-on-one interactions they had, and she seemed like his top choice. However, Joan had to put her job as a mother first after her daughter called her about a medical emergency, and she left the show early (via Bachelor Nation.)
Joan left during the third week of The Golden Bachelor experience. She and Gerry had a tearful goodbye, with Gerry being very distraught that he would not get to explore their connection further. Joan showcased that she had her priorities straight, and left many fans wanting to see more of her. Now that she has The Golden Bachelorette lead secured, fans can look forward to that, although she may not be the right fit for the role.
The Golden Bachelorette Season 1 Will Be Making History
So It's Important To Have The Right Lead
Since The Golden Bachelor season 1 saw massive success, the pressure is on for The Golden Bachelorette to be just as entertaining and inspiring. The Bachelor Nation spinoff will be historic because it is the start of a whole new series that could captivate existing fans and draw in new reality viewers. That's why it is important for the show to choose the right lead. The Golden Bachelorette lead should be someone just as charming and empathetic as Gerry was.
Joan has both those qualities but fans had more time to fall in love with the personalities of the other women from season 1.
The lead of the first Golden Bachelorette needs to have a big personality, and while Joan was likable individually with Gerry, she didn't stand out from the rest of the women as a whole.
The Golden Bachelorette will be making history by showcasing a senior woman's perspective on love and dating, and it's hard to tell whether Joan can deliver pointed messages like the show needs.
There Were Better Golden Bachelorette Leads Than Joan
Other The Golden Bachelor Women Were More Interesting
No question Joan has a delightful personality and a compelling backstory, but there were better options to go with for the pioneering lead selection. The Golden Bachelorette won't start filming until July 2024. Since Theresa and Gerry broke up in April, Theresa could have been eligible to take the role. Theresa was likable and caused the season's only drama. And since it's a reality show after all, fans like the dust-up.
Leslie would have also made a solid choice for the lead selection because she has been historically unlucky in love and many viewers would have been rooting for her after her heartbreak from Gerry. The third runner-up, Faith, was also extremely likable, and the fact that she pointed out that it's hard for her to put herself out there would have only made fans celebrate her dating experience in The Golden Bachelorette even more.
Other standout personalities from The Golden Bachelor include Kathy Swarts, who was vocal about her opinions and feelings. Her candor would have made for great TV. Susan Noles also would have been a solid choice given her sense of humor and charisma on-screen. Ellen Goltzer, another one of Gerry's top choices showcased her fearlessness when it came to opening up about what she was looking for. Her determination to find love was also as inspiring as her quest to find love on the show for her late friend Roberta.
The Golden Bachelorette Could Have Chosen Someone Unknown
Like They Did With The Golden Bachelor
The other route the Bachelor franchise could have taken would have been to cast someone unknown to The Bachelor audience as they did with Gerry. That would give both shows an even playing field to start their pilot seasons.
While this may not be Bachelor fashion, it would have made the producers go on the search for the absolute perfect older woman for the show.
They could have found a singular person unknown to the public eye for fans to get to know from the beginning.
Having Joan be the lead diminishes what The Golden Bachelorette season 1 could be capable of. While Joan was not a bad choice, the franchise should have weighed all their options more carefully and realized that one of the other Golden Bachelor ladies, or an unknown senior lady would have taken the show to the next level. In any case, fans will have to get used to seeing Joan when the premiere season airs, and they will get to learn more about her and her hopes when it comes to finding love in her twilight years.
The Golden Bachelorette premieres in the fall of 2024 on ABC.
