Heading into leading the debut season of “The Golden Bachelorette,” Joan Vassos knew she would sometimes do things that would make her kids cringe.
Vassos shared her first kiss of the season with one of her suitors during the September 18 premiere, and she doesn’t apologize for it.
In a September 16 interview with Fox News, Vassos recalled a conversation with her kids. “I said I wouldn’t kiss anybody… We all knew it was a lie.”
Joan Vassos Knew Her Family Was Resistant to Seeing Her Kiss Men on TV
Vassos said during her Fox News interview that her kids felt pretty good about her decision to do “The Golden Bachelorette.”
After seeing “The Golden Bachelor, where the episodes portrayed the cast members fairly positively, Vassos’ family felt “a little less worried about me” than they might have otherwise.
However, Vassos admitted, “They were very adamant” about their opinions when it came to kissing and fantasy suites. She acknowledged they found that type of televised content “super embarrassing for them.”
In addition, Vassos admitted she promised her kids she wouldn’t kiss anybody. However, she quipped, “We all knew it was a lie. So, oh well.”
As People noted, Vassos has four grown kids, two girls, and two boys, whom she raised with her late husband John. Allison, Erica, Nicholas, and Luke, along with her grandkids, are her top priority.
Extra shared tidbits from Vassos on September 17, and she reiterated the fib she told her family. “My kids were so worried about me kissing men on TV,” she admitted.
Vassos revealed she “pretended” she wouldn’t kiss any of her men. She noted, however, “Like, you have to kiss. It’s part of the journey.”
“They’re like, ‘You’re old, you shouldn’t be kissing on TV! It’s gross, Mom!'”
Despite her kids wanting her to refrain, Vassos admitted, “I kissed a lot of them.”
She laughed and added, “Oh God, that’s gonna be a sound bite, isn’t it?”
‘The Golden Bachelorette’ Star Kept an Open Mind About Kissing
Despite telling her family she wouldn’t kiss anybody, Vassos told Us Weekly, “I had no hard, set rules” about that.
Vassos continued, “My kids certainly would’ve wanted me to say that I did [have rules set]. I may have promised ’em I wouldn’t kiss anybody on night one, but I think you need to kiss people! I’m sorry.”
She explained, “There’s a physical part of a relationship if you wanna end up with a person that’s not just your friend [who really is] your person for life.”
The 61-year-old didn’t make any rules for herself about kissing, or not kissing, any of her suitors on the night of the introductions. She admitted, though, “I didn’t think it would happen much.”
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Vassos admitted her kids were actually “terrified” about the fantasy suites.
Despite her family’s reservations, Vassos believed she needed to explore her physical connections with her suitors.
“I’m just gonna have to tell them, ‘Just close your eyes, this could get bad for you,” Vassos quipped.
