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Who is Joan Vassos? Meet the first “Golden Bachelorette”

America, it's time to meet your very first Golden Bachelorette.

As the spin-off of the hit “Golden Bachelor” (itself a spin-off of “The Bachelor”) is about to break out on television, 61-year-old Joan Vassos, the “Golden Bachelorette,” is ready for her big moment as she competes against 24 suitors from across the United States in her search for true love.

Here's your primer on all things Joan, so you're well prepared for TV's first Bachelorette for over-60s.

“The Golden Bachelorette” premieres tonight, Wednesday, September 18, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC with a two-hour special episode, so bring your refreshments.

Joan Vassos leaves “Good Morning America.” Christopher Peterson/SplashNews.com

She is a school administrator

Vassos works as a school administrator in her native Maryland at the Landon School, according to her LinkedIn profile. Her primary focus is alumni relations and annual giving. She was promoted in 2021 and previously worked as a special projects consultant and interior designer. Vassos graduated from the University of Maryland College Park in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in computer science.

She was married for 32 years

Vassos was married to her husband John for 32 years before he died suddenly of pancreatic cancer in 2021. In January, she paid tribute to him in an Instagram post on the third anniversary of his death.

“He was the husband who always made me feel safe and appreciated,” she captioned a photo of her, John and their children. “He was the dad who always made it fun because he couldn't do anything else… happy kids because fun was generally epic with him. I could go on for hours but you all know that.”

“Honestly, I think that's how he wanted to be remembered…by not being forgotten,” she added. “Please keep telling the stories, don't worry, they don't make me sad…let's be honest, most of them are funny!”

She ended the post by saying, “As the Greeks say, 'May his memory be eternal.'”

She was a candidate on “The Golden Bachelor”

Vassos was one of the contestants on the premiere season of The Golden Bachelor, vying for the hand of the show's titular bachelor, Gerry Turner. However, she left the show after three weeks to help her daughter, who was going through a difficult time following a difficult birth.

“My search for love took a detour this week as I traded the mansion for motherhood and headed home to my family,” she shared on Instagram in October 2023. “Family comes first, period. Once a mum, always a mum, I will always put my children first. Thank you for all your outpouring of love and support, not only for me but for my daughter too – everyone is healthy and happy now! As for me and my journey to love… I guess we'll have to see where it takes me next. Until then, stay golden ✨✨🌹.”

Vassos almost returned to the show, but in the end the timing was not convenient for everyone involved.

“I came home and my plan was [my daughter] some care – I had to get her some mental health care,” Vassos said in an interview with The Wrap. “I was in the middle of doing that and they came up to me and said, 'Would you like to come back?' and I said, 'Yes, I would like to come back, let me see how I'm doing with my daughter.'”

“The Golden Bachelorette.” Disney

She is a mother of four children and grandmother of three

Vassos has four children with her late husband: Allison, Nicholas, Erica and Luke. She has often expressed how much they mean to her.

“It is a privilege to be a mother to four wonderful children and a grandmother (they call me Jojo) to two beautiful grandchildren,” she said in a statement posted to her Instagram story in October 2023 when she left “The Golden Bachelor.” “But once a mother, always a mother and sometimes the timing isn't right to find love.”

She added: “Everyone at home is doing well and I hope that one day I will get the chance to love again.”

She has two grandsons and a granddaughter who were very close to her heart while filming The Golden Bachelorette, thanks to a digital photo frame she brought with her to the show of her daughters Allison and Erica. “I would come home tired from filming every night,” Vassos told TV Insider. “My little frame would send me the grandkids on the Fourth of July or at the pool. It was the greatest thing.”

Joan Vassos with her grandchildren and her dog. instagram/joan_vassos

She is still friends with her 'Golden Bachelor' colleagues

Vassos has stayed in touch with her former Golden Bachelor co-stars, who called themselves “The Golden Girls.” Vassos even attended Turner's golden wedding anniversary with contestant Theresa Nist (the couple divorced 5 months after exchanging vows). Vassos also competed on Celebrity Family Feud, along with her fellow Golden Girls Susan Noles, Kathy Swarts, Leslie Fhima and Natascha Hardee.

She applied for “The Golden Bachelor” after a terrible night in a bar

According to a New York Times profile, Vassos didn't feel comfortable dating again until two years after her husband's death. Unfortunately, her friends didn't know anyone they could set her up with, and she didn't feel like the men she met on dating apps were being honest in their profiles. But she hit rock bottom last year when she went to a bar with a friend and assumed every man her age she met was married. Later that night, she saw a casting call for The Golden Bachelor. A longtime fan of The Bachelor franchise, she decided to apply. According to The Times, she filled out the application on her phone, making several typos along the way. A month later, she got a call from The Golden Bachelor casting team.

Her son says only the smartest men can impress her

“The Bachelor” may be known for leaning on the age-old adage “sex sells,” but Vassos' son Nick said it will take a lot more than looks and charisma to win over his mother. “She likes a challenge and I think that's what she's looking for,” he told The New York Times. According to the paper, Nick believes “only the smartest men would impress her.”

Vassos herself has said she is looking for someone who is emotionally vulnerable. “I'm very picky about a gentleman,” she told People in July. “Someone with a big heart, someone who is generous and also someone who is humble.”

She felt like she had “cheated” on her husband after taking part in “The Golden Bachelor”

After her exit from “The Golden Bachelor,” Vassos felt guilty about seeking romance for the first time since the death of her husband John in 2021.

“You could clearly see that I felt really guilty about having feelings for someone else,” Vassos told People. “I almost felt like I was cheating on John, which is crazy because he died.”

She also worried about what her late husband would think of her decision to participate in a reality TV dating show before officially joining the cast of The Golden Bachelor.

However, a friend reminded Vassos that her husband loved reality TV. “She said, 'He stands up there and tells everybody, 'Look, that's my wife down there, that's my wife!'” she told the New York Times.

“The Golden Bachelorette” premieres Wednesday, September 18, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and airs Wednesdays from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.

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