Spilling the tea…
Bachelor Nation fans first met Joan Vassos on Season 1 of “The Golden Bachelor” and now have been watching her journey to find love each week on the very first season of “The Golden Bachelorette.”
Now, ahead of the season finale, Joan stopped by for an exclusive chat with BachelorNation.com to discuss her experience watching the season back and to spill some behind-the-scenes tea.
Check out our full conversation with Joan below.
Bachelor Nation: Hi Joan! It’s so great to see you! We’ve loved watching your journey to find love unfold. How has it been watching this season back for you?
Joan Vassos: Oh, my gosh, it’s been so much fun! I had no idea that I would love watching the season back… but what I loved is watching the men in the mansion. Because I never get to see any of that! And I kept hearing about how close they were and how they bonded, but I got to see it and it was so unique. It was like they were in a frat house and they were with their best friends, and they barely knew each other. They were total strangers! So it was so fun watching them kidding with each other about snoring, cooking for each other and doing each other’s laundry, hanging out together by the pool, playing in the pool like a bunch of kids. I swear, every Wednesday, that’s my favorite part.
BN: That’s so fun! Looking back at your journey, is there anything you wish you could’ve done differently?
JV: I don’t think I would’ve changed any of it, but, like, the Rose Ceremonies were really, really difficult. And I second-guessed myself a million times every single day going into them the night before. Like I started thinking about it days in advance and it really kind of tortured me. But… I think about my final four, they were exactly the ones that it should’ve been. But those Rose Ceremonies were really difficult.
BN: We can imagine. We saw you mention on the show how close you are with both your mom and mother-in-law. How was it seeing them in the audience for “Men Tell All”?
JV: So good! So my mom and mother-in-law were supposed to come on one of the dates during this season and my mom got sick. And I knew she was really sick because she was so looking forward to coming, and she couldn’t come. She said, “There’s no way I can do it”... She had pneumonia and she’s 92, so that’s rough. And so I feel like it all came full circle that they got to be here tonight and she finally got to experience it. So yeah, I loved having them. It was so special having them here.
BN: We didn’t know that! We’re so glad they got to experience this as well. Speaking of dates, do you have a favorite that you went on during this season?
JV: Yeah! It was the [prom] group date. I just thought that was so special. It was the first time I got to see the guys really interacting with each other and saw how they supported each other, and I also got some insight into a couple of them. Like Jonathan, how he had been heartbroken since 1981 and that that was so healing for him and I loved that Charles L. talked about how this was the happiest day of his life since his wife passed away. Like what an amazing thing to see, that it was accomplished because of the date that we were on. There were so many great moments on that date, and not only that, but also watching the guys dance, and Taylor Dayne performed, and it was our first date! And I was like, “This season’s gonna be awesome.” It was such a great experience.
BN: That was such a great date! Fast-forward a little bit; how did it feel to see Pascal again during “Men Tell All” and how did you feel about your conversation with him?
JV: It was good! You know it’s been several months since [the breakup] happened and so I certainly have gotten through those emotions. Like, when it happened, it was hard. My feelings were hurt. I thought we had come pretty far in this journey. I was at the point where I met his family, I pictured possibly having a life with him, but I saw what was going bad on that date. That Tahitian Bonding Ceremony looked a little like a wedding. I could see his walls went right back up. So when he said he was going home, it didn’t totally surprise me, but I still went into that date with some hope. And he felt really, really bad and I didn’t want him to. He shouldn’t feel guilty about that. You know, all is fair in love and war, and I knew what I was signing up for and so did he...I didn’t want him to carry any guilt from this and I never really got to have that conversation with him. He left and I haven’t been able to speak to him, so it was nice to get that out. I want what’s best for him. I want him to be happy. I wasn’t his person and he needed to do his thing, and eventually that brought me to where I needed to be brought as well.
BN: Absolutely. Thank you so much for chatting with us, Joan, and we can’t wait to watch how your journey to find love ends during the season finale!
