8 The Golden Bachelorette Contestants Who Have Red Flags & Should Never Be The Lead (Producers Should Take Note)

Though The Bachelor franchise likes to cast leads from past seasons, several contestants from The Golden Bachelorette should never be The Golden Bachelor. The inaugural season of the spin-off broke ground as the first dating show to center around the love lives of seniors. 72-year-old Gerry Turner, a retired restaurateur from Indiana, dated 22 single golden-aged women and gave his final rose to 70-year-old day trader Theresa Nist.

They were married in a TV wedding but announced their divorce after only three months of marriage. The disappointing failure hangs like a dark cloud over the franchise, and the lead of the show's second season will be under enormous pressure to right the ship. Though ABC has been airing ads asking women to apply to be on The Golden Bachelor season 2, they have yet to announce the name of their new Golden lead.

There was some expectation that they'd do so during the recent finale of The Golden Bachelorette season 1, which recently wrapped up with 61-year-old Joan Vassos getting engaged to 60-year-old Chock Chapple. During her season, Joan dated 24 single men, sending them all home one by one until she handed out her final rose. Many of the men Joan dated were very impressive, and there were many great options for the next Golden lead among them. While there are several great men to choose from, there are eight men who should never be cast as The Golden Bachelor

8Chock Chapple

Joan's Winner

Joan and Chock hit it off from the moment they met on the premiere night of The Golden Bachelorette season 1, and they had their ups and downs on the journey to the final rose. Chock was the obvious front-runner from the moment she gave him her first one-on-one date. After a thrilling season of falling in love, Joan gave her final rose to Chock. Though she had said she didn't want to rush into a marriage, when Chock got down on one knee and proposed, she eagerly accepted.

Though Joan and Chock are engaged now, there's always a chance things won't work out. If Chock ends up being single again, he shouldn't be considered for a role as a future lead. It wouldn't be Chock's first failed relationship. He was married to Heather Chapple for 12 years before their divorce; Chock was also engaged to Katherine Elizabeth Goree for nine years before she passed away in 2022. His divorce and long engagement were red flags Joan overlooked, but the show's producers shouldn't overlook those same red flags when casting The Golden Bachelor.

7Charles Ling

Still Mourning His Late Wife

Like Joan, 66-year-old Charles was also widowed. The father of two lost his beloved wife to a brain aneurysm six years ago, after 36 years of marriage. Charles is still in deep mourning for his wife, and though it's one of the most endearing things about him, it should keep him from being The Golden Bachelor. The retired financial analyst from Philadelphia was encouraged to join the cast of The Golden Bachelorette season 1 by his daughters.

During The Golden Bachelorette season 1, Charles struggled to process his wife's death. He was with her when the aneurysm happened, so it's understandable that he's still traumatized, in addition to being in mourning. Though Charles isn't ready to replace Gerry as the spin-off's next male lead, being on the show seemed to help Charles find more closure when it came to his late wife's tragic passing.

6Kim Buike

"We Are The Mansion Men"

The Golden Bachelorette season 1 included Kim Buike, a 69-year-old retired Navy captain from Seattle, Washington. Kim didn't get far with Joan, and it wasn't for lack of trying. At one point, Kim even wrote an original song for Joan that he wanted all the men to sing to her. When Kim got up in front of the men and performed his song, none of them were interested in joining in. The men found the song's lyrics to be cringe-worthy, and no one wanted to be a part of it.

" We are the mansion men. The Golden bachelor mansion men. We're here to win the heart of Joan ."

The other men were not interested in joining Kim's sing-along for Joan, which seemed to deeply hurt him. Ultimately, one other contestant, Guy Gansert, took pity on Kim and was kind enough to sing the weird song with him while the other men avoided the scene. The whole thing was weird, and Joan must have thought so too because she sent Kim home at the next rose ceremony. Though Kim seemed like a nice enough man, he's just too weird to be The Golden Bachelor.

5Jack Lencioni

The Party Animal

Before appearing on The Golden Bachelorette season 1, Jack Lencioni was a 68-year-old caterer living in Chicago, Illinois. The gregarious Jack stood out as quite the eccentric character from the moment he set foot in The Bachelor mansion. He took advantage of the chef's kitchen at The Bachelor mansion to cook Joan an elaborate dinner, which she seemed to enjoy. The other contestants on The Golden Bachelorette loved Jack, who was always good for a laugh.

Jack was eventually eliminated from The Golden Bachelorette, but not before taking full advantage of the Bachelor mansion. Though Jack was always entertaining, he was more interested in having fun and playing around with the other men than in connecting with Joan. Though he'd make for an entertaining Bachelor lead, he'd be more interested in doing cannonballs into the pool than finding true love.

4Mark Anderson

The Possible Producer Plant

58-year-old Mark Anderson, a retired Army veteran and widowed father of five, made his television debut on The Bachelor season 28 during Joey Graziadei's hometown visit with Mark's daughter, Kelsey Anderson. When Mark gave the young couple a photo album filled with photos of him and his late wife, fans instantly fell in love with the tall widower, and a star was born.

When Mark was announced as a contestant for The Golden Bachelorette season 1, he was so excited about meeting Joan. Sadly, his hopes were dashed when Joan sent him home before her hometown visits. Online speculation ran rampant that Mark was only cast on the show to be the next Golden Bachelor. If the show's producers were to cast him as the next Golden lead, it would prove the speculation correct.

3Gil Ramirez

His Ex Filed A Restraining Order

Gil Ramirez, a 60-year-old educator from Mission Viejo, California, didn't make it far on The Golden Bachelorette season 1, as Joan sent him home fairly early on. Before he was eliminated, People reported Gil's ex-girlfriend filed a restraining order against him three months before he appeared on the show. In the order, she accused him of stalking her, making unwanted contact with her and her family, and showing up to places unannounced to confront her

Since Bachelor producers didn't know about the restraining order, Gil must have passed a background check before the restraining order was filed. In other words, the incident occurred in the window between the background check and the start of production. Still, a lot can happen in a few months, so it's hard to imagine that producers didn't check again closer to the start of The Golden Bachelorette production. ABC responded to the report by editing down Gil's already limited screen time. For obvious reasons, Gil should never appear on another Bachelor Nation show, and certainly not as the lead.

2Guy Gansert

Disturbing Allegations

66-year-old Guy Gansert hit it off with Joan from the moment they met during The Golden Bachelor season 1, and he made it to her final two men, along with Chock. Though things seem to be going great between Joan and Guy, People reported Guy's ex-wife, Heidi O’Gara, filed for a temporary protective order in October 2021. They were going through a divorce at the time, and things got heated.

Heidi accused her ex-husband of having anger issues and making threats, and even alleged he "motioned like he was going to shoot me with his hand shaped like a pistol." She had the order dismissed a month later before it was officially granted by a judge, but it's still a potential red flag. If Guy was in such a contentious relationship with his ex-wife, he shouldn't be cast as The Golden Bachelor

1Pascal Ibgui

Joan Was Blind Sided

69-year-old Pascal Igbui made it to Joan's final three, and she was deeply attracted to the charming French salon owner. During The Golden Bachelorette season 1's hometown episode, Joan visited Pascal's hometown of Chicago, Illinois, where she enjoyed a day at his luxurious salon, after which she met his close-knit family and friends. As they headed into overnight dates, Joan and Pascal were excited about the possibilities.

The symbolic ceremony scared Pascal because it made him question whether he was ready to commit to Joan. The date exercise made him realize he didn't have romantic feelings for Joan. In a clip posted to YouTube by Bachelor Nation, he told her he saw her only as a friend. This came as a surprise to Joan because Pascal wasn't acting like her friend when he was kissing her just a few minutes before. Pascal eliminated himself from The Golden Bachelorette, and he doesn't deserve to be The Golden Bachelor.