'The Golden Bachelorette' Feels Good in a Place Like This
Merely two weeks ago, viewers watched Jenn Tran, the first Asian American star of The Bachelorette, get her heart broken in devastating fashion. After being forced to watch her doomed proposal live alongside final rose recipient Devin Strader, things only got thornier. Tran’s ex subsequently shared, then deleted, a postshow Instagram featuring hundreds of their alleged personal text messages. This week, news broke that in 2017, Strader had been arrested for allegedly burglarizing an ex-girlfriend’s home and pleaded guilty to charges of criminal trespass and property damage, and that his ex had a restraining order against him—casting a shadow over the franchise days before its new show’s debut.
Suffice it to say, the first episode of The Golden Bachelorette—a senior spin on the hit dating series starring 61-year-old Joan Vassos—had to be one hell of a palate cleanser.
Bachelor Nation first met Vassos, a school administrator from Maryland, on the first season of The Golden Bachelor. After making an early connection with 72-year-old widower Gerry Turner, Vassos opted to cut her journey short after learning that her daughter, who had given birth right before the show began filming, was suffering. She later confirmed that both her daughter and grandchild are now doing well, and was ultimately tapped by ABC to meet two dozen eligible suitors of her own—ages 57 to 69—for a second chance at romance.
A Golden Bachelor spin-off was inevitable. Turner’s own happily ever after with Theresa Nist earned a major ratings debut for the Bachelor franchise and spawned a splashy, sponsored live televised wedding at the start of 2024—though the golden couple divorced only three months later. “I did feel like it put a little pressure on this show,” Vassos told The New York Times of Turner and Wist’s accelerated wedding. “It doesn’t have to have an epic ending, but it has to really be true to the process of finding a real love.”
Like Turner, Vassos’s foray back into the dating scene began with a reflection on her first marriage—to husband John, who died in 2021 of pancreatic cancer. “Best 33 years ever,” she said of their union, which resulted in four kids and three grandchildren. While laying flowers on his grave site, Vassos said, “I honestly felt invisible after his death,” adding, “I had all these plans with John. And then my future left with him.” She admitted, “I don’t know if you can have two great loves in one lifetime—but I’m hoping.”
Each of the 24 men vying for Vassos’s weary heart came with a backstory of their own—sharing their tales of death, divorce, disease, and deployment in heartfelt fashion. Dad jokes arrived early and often: Gregg, a 64-year-old from Florida, offered Vassos a sand dollar, quipping, “I work for sand dollars—that’s my euphemistic way of saying I’m retired.” Sixty-six-year-old Bob arrived with a Clark Griswold–esque video camera to shoot his limo entrance like a home movie for his kids. Ken, 60, from Boston, called Vassos “wicked awesome,” while 69-year-old retired Navy captain Kim said that she seems like “a wonderful gal.” Other men seemed suspiciously hip to the times: RJ, 66, referenced the popular “I’m Looking for a Man in Finance” TikTok trend, while another used the term “vibes.”
Kelsey Anderson, who got engaged to our most recent Bachelor, Joey Graziadei, introduced Vassos to one contestant: Anderson’s 57-year-old father, Mark, who knows he went viral after appearing on the regular Bachelor. “When it aired, Kelsey said, ‘Dad, they’re doing thirst traps!’” he said. “First, I was like, ‘What’s a thirst trap?’” But Mark faces stiff competition from the Charleses, who are both 66: Charles K. pulled a Willy Wonka by pretending to use a cane before ditching it and dropping into push-ups, while soft-spoken Charles L. (who said he’d “love to see Britney Spears perform one day” in his Bachelorette bio) declared that with him, “Joan, you are in charge forever.” And then there was Gary, 65, who entered the mansion dancing—perhaps in homage to his godmother, Tina Turner. (Yes, that Tina Turner.)
But the contestant with the most airtime was undoubtedly 68-year-old Jack, a caterer from Chicago who boasts in his bio about having sat in the front row of Elvis Presley’s final concert. Jack paid homage to a different crooner in his limo exit, singing Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” before waltzing into the mansion by asking, “Did somebody say bourbon?” Later in the episode, he called the men’s living quarters “a hippie den” and eventually decided to whip up some tenderloin medallions for Vassos. “Joan, do me a favor,” said fellow suitor Chock, 60. “Let’s keep Jack in the game, because I’m a big, hungry guy.”
Vassos eventually awarded her first-impression rose to 62-year-old “Girl Dad” Keith, who rode in on a station wagon and said he dreams of taking the Golden Bachelorette to the beach for some wine and cheese. Like the daters of a certain age on The Golden Bachelor, these men aren’t fazed by some competition. While awaiting time with Vassos, they traded notes on what their grandchildren call them—and after one contestant initiated a game of pickleball with Vassos, they all picked up paddles for a group game. “There were balls flying everywhere!” she said with a laugh.
