‘The Golden Bachelorette’ Names 61-Year-Old Joan Vassos as First Leading Lady

Joan Vassos has been named as the first leading lady of “The Golden Bachelorette,” which premieres on ABC this fall.

Vassos, who is 61 years old, was a contestant on Season 1 of “The Golden Bachelor” in the fall. She was one of the first to develop a strong connection with Gerry Turner, but chose to go home during Week 3 to be with her daughter, who was having a medical emergency.

Vassos is a mother of four and a grandmother of two, who was widowed after 32 years of marriage. She works as a school administrator and is from Rockland, Md. Per ABC, her hobbies include listening to Elton John, spending time with her dog and cooking.

Turner ended up proposing to Theresa Nist, whom he married during a live ABC special in January. The pair announced their divorce in April.

ABC ordered “The Golden Bachelorette” to series in February following the success of the inaugural season of “The Golden Bachelor,” which was the top-rated new alternative series of the 2024-2025 broadcast season among adults 18-49 mea -

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sured across seven days. The series has reached 43.5 million viewers, per ABC.

“The Bachelor” franchise is produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon, with Claire Freeland, Jason Ehrlich, Bennett Graebner and Andrew Frank executive producing. Season 28 of “The Bachelor” concluded on ABC in March with Joey Graziadei proposing to Kelsey Anderson. Season 21 of “The Bachelorette” stars Jenn Tran and will launch on July 8. As of now, “Bachelor in Paradise” is not set to return this year.

“The Golden Bachelorette” will air on Wednesdays at 8 p.m., as was announced when ABC released its fall schedule on Tuesday.

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