Joan Vassos is the perfect choice for the lead of The Golden Bachelorette, but concerns are already mounting about the show’s potential failure, especially in light of The Golden Bachelor divorce and other issues within the franchise. The Golden Bachelor was a significant success for ABC, offering hope that love can be found at any age. It featured Gerry Turner, a 72-year-old retired restaurateur from Hudson, Indiana, who had lost his wife Toni six years earlier after 43 years together. Gerry found love with Theresa Nist, a 70-year-old financial services professional from Shrewsbury, New Jersey, who had lost her husband Billy about nine years before.
The Golden Bachelor seemed to promise a happily-ever-after for Gerry and Theresa when he proposed to her at the end of the season. They even took it a step further by getting married in a live, televised event called The Golden Wedding on January 4, 2024. However, just three months later, Gerry and Theresa announced their divorce due to an inability to decide where to live, as neither wanted to leave their families. This divorce shook Bachelor Nation and raised concerns about The Golden Bachelorette for fans like me. Here’s why Joan’s Golden Bachelorette season might now be doomed to fail.
During The Golden Bachelor, Joan, a 61-year-old private school administrator from Rockville, Maryland, stood out as one of the most dignified and graceful contestants. She was genuinely there to find love with Gerry and didn’t engage in the show’s drama. During the Golden Bachelor talent show, Joan was visibly scared and nervous because performing on stage was outside her comfort zone, which was entirely relatable.
However, Joan recited an original poem titled “I Just Hope I Don’t Vomit on Your Shoes,” expressing her nervousness when she first met Gerry and her excitement to get to know him better. Gerry loved the poem so much that he chose Joan for a special one-on-one dinner after the talent show. During dinner, they bonded over their shared experiences of not being ready to date after losing their spouses. Joan’s husband, John, had passed away in 2021 due to pancreatic cancer. Gerry gave Joan a rose, and their connection grew stronger.
Unfortunately, the next day, Joan received a phone call from her daughter, who needed her at home. Joan later revealed during “The Women Tell All” that her daughter had a severe case of postpartum depression at the time. Joan told Gerry that she had to leave, despite their deep connection. Both were devastated, but Joan’s decision to put her family first was a beautiful act of selflessness. During “The Women Tell All,” Joan said she didn’t know Gerry had cried when she left and felt “really bad that I did that to him.”
Joan went on to say that she thought she and Gerry “had a good chance” of ending up together. She admitted, “I held out hope for a little while, honestly, and I did think a couple of times, maybe I would come around the corner coming home from work, and he’d be sitting on my front porch.” This was one of the most heart-breaking confessions during “The Women Tell All” because it showed that Joan genuinely felt strongly for Gerry.
In an interview with The Wrap, Joan even revealed that she was going to return to The Golden Bachelor after going home to her daughter. While Joan was helping her daughter find a doctor, production invited her back and even booked her a flight. She said, “I was going to come back, maybe four or five days after I left. And then my daughter wasn’t good again. We just hadn’t made it far enough — I hadn’t gotten her a doctor yet; I had calls in, but it just couldn’t unfold quick enough.” Joan now deserves to find love again on The Golden Bachelorette, but the producers must allow her to do it without their usual interfering.
The Bachelor franchise has a history of more failures than successes, which raises concerns about Joan’s journey on The Golden Bachelorette. The divorce of Gerry and Theresa has already cast a shadow over the franchise’s ability to create lasting relationships. The producers must be careful not to exploit Joan’s story for ratings and instead focus on genuinely helping her find love.
Joan’s journey on The Golden Bachelorette should be about her finding a meaningful connection, not about creating drama for the sake of entertainment. The producers need to respect her dignity and grace, which made her a standout contestant on The Golden Bachelor. If they can do that, there’s hope that Joan’s season won’t be doomed to fail.
Joan Vassos is a fantastic choice for The Golden Bachelorette, but the show might face challenges after The Golden Bachelor divorce. Joan deserves to find love after a difficult journey on The Golden Bachelor, but the producers shouldn’t exploit her. The Bachelor franchise has a history of more failure than success, which has me worried about Joan’s journey on The Golden Bachelorette.
Source: The Wrap
