The inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor ended in divorce, and I'm convinced The Golden Bachelorette season 1 is doomed to suffer the same fate. The first female lead of the unscripted reality dating show is Joan Vassos, who was one of the contestants vying for the heart of The Golden Bachelor, Gerry Turner. The 72-year-old retired restaurateur ended up giving his final rose to 70-year-old finance professional Theresa Nist. The two were married quickly in January 2024 and divorced just as fast in April 2024.
People saw Gerry and Theresa as a hopeful symbol of finding love later in life, so their breakup was a crushing disappointment to me. While many were surprised by The Golden Bachelor's divorce, I wrote about Gerry and Theresa's incompatibility way back in December 2023. Not only were Gerry and Theresa very different people, they live established lives located far apart from one another. Despite how lovely Joan seems to be and the more I learn about her and her season, the more I'm sure that The Golden Bachelorette season 1 is just as doomed as its male-led predecessor.
Joan's Journey
Another Chance At Love
Joan is a 62-year-old widower from Rockland, Maryland, who works as a private school administrator. Years before joining the cast of The Golden Bachelor, Joan was married to John Nicholas Vassos for 32 years. According to John's obituary, he was born on November 27, 1961, in Washington, DC, and he passed away on January 18, 2021, “after a hard-fought two-year battle with pancreatic cancer.” In a January Instagram post, Joan shared a family photo of her, her late husband, John, and their four adult children. She wrote that it had been three years since she lost John.
Finding someone to fill his shoes will be no easy task. Joan's life changed completely after she saw an ad casting women to appear on The Golden Bachelor. As a long-time viewer of The Bachelor franchise, she applied and was cast along with 19 other older women. Gerry was instantly interested in the striking blonde, and the two had serious chemistry. However, Joan's journey was cut short when a family emergency sent her packing. Joan's adult daughter had just had a baby and desperately needed her mother. Joan made the difficult decision to leave the show early.
Now Joan has been given another once-in-a-lifetime chance to find love, but I don't see it ending any better for her than it did for Gerry and Theresa.
The Golden Bachelor Curse?
Reality Hurts
Though Gerry and Theresa fell in love on The Golden Bachelor, they couldn't figure out how to blend their lives. Gerry lived in his lakeside Indiana dream home that he built with his late wife, Toni, while Theresa was in New Jersey. Both lived near their children and grandchildren, and Theresa had the added complication of her work to consider.
Though Gerry and Theresa tried to see each other regularly, it turned into a long-distance relationship that became impossible to sustain.
I foresee Joan, and every other future The Golden Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise contestant, running into a similar problem. By the time people are in their 60s, they've established full lives. It's hard to imagine anyone uprooting their entire world to be with someone they dated for a few weeks on a reality show. Considering Joan left The Golden Bachelor to be with her daughter in a time of need, she has made it clear she puts her family first. I don't see Joan changing her life for any man unless she meets someone local, so any relationship she develops on The Golden Bachelorette is likely doomed.
Joan Isn't Rushing Into Marriage
Slow And Steady Wins The Race
In a May interview with CNN, Joan made it clear she would not be rushing into marriage. She said it wasn't entirely because of Gerry and Theresa, she simply feels people need more time to get to know each other. This means fans can forget about another Golden Bachelor wedding special.
On the plus side, it also means we won't have to endure another disappointing divorce. She explained that while two of her children are excited about the opportunity, the other two don't want to have to see their mother making out with multiple men on TV. Whoever Joan picks will have to navigate the potential minefield of getting along with a partner's adult children. Many of us have had to go through seeing parents begin dating later in life, which is another reason why I and so many others find this show fascinating to watch.
Joan Is Already Talking About Doing Golden Bachelor In Paradise
She's Not In It To Win It
During the same CNN interview, Joan talked about wanting ABC to greenlight The Golden Bachelor In Paradise, which I also wrote about for Screen Rant. “Oh, my gosh. I want to be on it!" Joan said before catching herself and adding, "Hopefully, I’ll have a husband and not (be) eligible." It wasn't lost on me that Joan was already talking about appearing on another unscripted dating show. Though I'm sure Joan has the best of intentions, she may not have much faith in the process, and after Gerry and Theresa's divorce, I can't blame her.
Now that Joan has been revealed to be The Golden Bachelorette, we'll soon know the identities of the men who will be vying for her rose. According to ABC, The Golden Bachelorette will debut in the fall of 2024, but a specific premiere date hasn't been announced yet. Once it does premiere, we'll finally see if I was right about The Golden Bachelorette being doomed to fail. While I hope I'm wrong, it doesn't seem promising.
