The Golden Bachelorette: 10 Reasons Joan Vassos Won't Find True Love On The Show

The Golden Bacheloretteseason 1 recently premiered, and it’s already clear that Joan Vassos will not be able to find true love on the show. This isn’t the first time that the 61-year-old private school administrator tried dating on national television. The mother and grandmother made her television debut onThe Golden Bachelorseason 1, when she was one of 22 single older women competing to win 72-year-old Gerry Turner’s heart. Though Gerry and Joan had a great one-on-one date early in the season, almost as soon as they got back to theBachelormansion that night, Joan received a phone call from home. Her daughter, who had just given birth, was struggling and needed her mother. Though Joan was enjoying her time on the show, she made the difficult decision to leave the show early.

Thankfully, when one door closes, another door opens - that’s exactly what happened to Joan, whowas eventually cast as theBachelorspin-off’s first female lead, to follow in Gerry’s footsteps. Joan recently greeted the24 men ofThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1, and she has already participated in several group dates, solo dates, cocktail parties, and rose ceremonies. Gerry’s season ended with an ill-advised marriage and a very public divorce, and, though hopes were higher for Joan, there was no reason to believe that she was going to be any luckier. As Joan’s season gets into full swing, it’s already clear that Joan won’t be able to find true love on the show, and here are 10 reasons why.

a montage of Gerry Turner from the golden bachelor in side by side images

10Producers Haven’t Learned Their Lesson

They’ll Get Carried Away Again

Gerry and Theresa rushed into marriage duringThe Golden Bachelorseason 1, but they weren’t the only ones who let themselves get carried away by all the excitement. ABC and the show’s producers were intoxicated by the show’s success, and planned to give fans more of what they wanted.They decided tocapitalize on the show’s success by airing a televised wedding.

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Gerry and Theresa’sGolden Bachelorweddingwas a lavish event attended by the who’s who of BachelorNation. No expense was spared for the dream wedding, which aired on ABC in January, just a few weeks after the final rose episode had aired. When Gerry and Theresa’s marriage fell apart only three months later, it’s unlikely that producers learned a lesson about the perils of forcing a manufactured love story.

The Golden Bachelorette Official Poster

9Too Much Pressure On Joan

It’s Up To Her To Save The Brand

The demise of Gerry and Theresa’s short-lived marriage really hurt the credibility ofThe Golden Bachelorbrand, and Joan is expected to save the show’s reputation. It’s not just the fact thatGerry and Theresa broke up, it’s the fact that they rushed into the ill-advised marriage, only to rush out of it just as rashly. In hindsight, Gerry and Theresahurrying into marriage before getting to know each other was a mistake, but they got carried away by the massive success of the show and the sky-high expectations.

The wedding was clearly more of a ratings grab on the part of ABC than a celebration of true love.

Joan is a very different romantic lead than Gerry was. She appears to be more grounded and less impulsive, so she’s unlikely to make as many mistakes. She has already made it clear that she has no intention of rushing into getting married, soshe’s less likely to further sully the brand with a second divorce. It’s unfair to expect Joan andThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1 to save the tattered reputation of theBachelorspin-off, and it’s an expectation that she likely won’t be able to meet.

8Joan’s Men Aren’t Serious

Gender Gap

The women ofThe Golden Bachelorseason 1 seemed like they really wanted to win Gerry’s heart. They appeared to be very serious about the pursuit. The men ofThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1, who were introduced in anABCtrailer on YouTube, seemed to be more interested in having a good time while enjoying the house and grounds. Though it’s great that the men get along, they may be getting along too well.

Several of the menexpressed awe at the luxurious houseand its various accoutrements.

The biggest personality of the group was Jack, a gregarious 68-year-old caterer from Chicago, who offered a hilarious tour of the house and grounds. Jack was excited about theBachelormansion’s lavish swimming pool, and scenes fromfuture episodes feature Jack doing multiple cannonballs into the pool when he’s supposed to be wooing Joan. To be fair to Jack, he did cook Joan an elaborate meal in the mansion’s incredible kitchen. This seemed to impress her, as she decided to give Jack a rose at the end of the first episode, but she eliminated him during the second episode.

Gil Ramirez,a 60-year-old educatorfrom Mission Viejo, California, received one of Joan’s roses during thepremiere ofThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1. In his pre-show interview, Gil described himself as a romantic, and says that his favorite book isBridges Of Madison County.According toPeople, Gil’s ex-girlfriend filed a restraining order against him about three months ago, in which sheaccused him of stalking.

The reason producers didn’t know about it is that he passed their background check before the restraining order was filed.

In other words, it happened in the window between the background check and the start of production.The restraining order against Gil was eventually dropped, but the damage to his reputation won’t be easily undone. Since the information came to light, ABC reported that they’ve edited down Gil’s already limited screen time.

6Joan Already Said She Won’t Get Married

Lowering Expectations

Heavily influenced by Gerry and Theresa’s failed marriage afterThe Golden Bachelor,Joan dramatically adjusted expectations forThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1. In an interview withCNNin May, Joan said that, regardless of what happened during her season, it wouldn’t end with her rushing into marriage. She talked about the fact that she wasn’t open to moving, and if she met someone who lives far away, she’d be content with a long-distance marriage.

That statement’s context needs to be understood. It’s based on the fact that Gerry and Theresa said they lived in different states. This was the main reason why they divorced. Though this meansfans can forget about anotherThe Golden Bachelorwedding special, it also means they won’t have to endure another disappointing divorce.

5Joan Doesn’t Want To Embarrass Her Children

She Won’t Kiss Too Many Men On TV

Joan is a mother of four adult children, and though she explained that two of her children are excited about her looking for love on reality television, her other two children weren’t as excited about the prospect. They basicallydidn’t want to have to watch their mother making out with multiple menon national television. That is fair enough.

Judging by pastBachelorseasons, this was a legitimate concern.

Night one ofThe Golden Bachelorsaw Gerry kissing multiple women, while Joey Graziadei’s season ofThe Bacheloropened withJoey kissing no fewer than seven women. So far,Joan had kept the promise she made to her children to not kiss too many men. On the first night ofThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1, Joan only kissed one man. Though she has kissed a few others since then, she has done a good job of mostly avoiding physical contact.

4Joan Left The Golden Bachelor Early

She’s Not Cut Out For Finding Love On TV

The fact thatJoan leftThe Golden Bachelorearlybecause of a family emergency says a lot about her ability to find true love on the show. Though it’s understandable that Joan wanted to go be with her daughter, it wasn’t an emergency that needed Joan’s presence. Her daughter had already given birth, so nobody was in any danger, andJoan could have stayed on the showif she wanted to.

The bottom line was that Joan didn’t want to stay, and was likely overwhelmed by the whole experience.

Going from living life in relative obscurity to dating on a national television show is a big life change that can’t be easy. Gerry may not have made the best choices, buthe was highly charismatic and more than capable of leading the show. It remains to be seen if Joan will be as endlessly entertaining as Gerry.

3Joan’s Too Sensitive

She Lacks A Killer Instinct

Joan is a nice enough woman, but she simply lacks the killer instincts necessary to be aBachelorfranchise lead. Though allBachelorleads struggle with the idea of eliminating people, the gentle Joan will find it more challenging than most. She’s an extremely sensitive woman who is already having a hard time sending people home. WhenJoan had to eliminate the charismatic Jackduring the second episode ofThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1, she could barely get the words out.

The other men had fallen in love with Jack, as hadBachelorNation fans.

Though Joan couldn’t see herself falling in love with Jack herself,she didn’t want to disappoint the other men any more than she wanted to hurt Jack. If Joan is already having such a hard time this early in the season, it’s only going to get harder as she gets closer to some of the men she will ultimately have to send home. What she has to do will hurt her.

2Joan’s Already Talking About Doing Another Bachelor Show

She Wants To Be On Bachelor In Paradise

Joan recently opined about hoping ABC wouldmakeThe Golden Bachelor In Paradise. In the aforementioned CNN interview, Joan said “Oh, my gosh. I want to be on it!" She quickly caught herself, adding, “Hopefully, I’ll have a husband and not (be) eligible.” The fact thatJoan was already talking about appearing on another unscripted dating showbefore filming even a moment ofThe Golden Bacheloretteproves that she’s not totally committed to finding love in the franchise.

Though Joan probably has the best of intentions, she may not have much faith in the process.

After what happened with Gerry and Theresa’sdivorce, it’s hard to blame her. Joan’s lack of faith in the process doesn’t necessarily mean that Joan’s season is doomed to fail, but it’s certainly not a hopeful sign. While anything can happen, the fact thatshe’s already considering the prospect of failuredoesn’t bode well for the spin-off.

1Joan’s Not Over Her Late Husband

She’s Not Ready To Move On

Joan was married to John Nicholas Vassosfor 32 years, until he passed away in 2021, after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. In a January Instagram post,Joanshared a family photo of her posing with John and their adult children. She wrote that it had been three years since she lost John and thatshe continued to be deeply shaken by the lossof her beloved late husband.

Though three years seems like a long time, it may not be enough time.

The premiere episode ofThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1 opens with Joan talking about how much she loved her husband, andhow safe he always made her feel. It will be hard for her to find that again, especially after living such a long life. While Gerry started dating almost immediately after his wife’s passing, Joan really has been single ever since. It’s unlikely that she’s ready to move on from her beloved late husband just yet.

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The Golden Bacheloretteseason 1 airs on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. on ABC.