Sometimes, people join Bachelor Nation for the wrong reasons.
We haven’t heard much about that on Joan Vassos’ season of The Golden Bachelorette, but it looks like at least one man may actually be there for the wrong reasons.
By that, we mean folks being there for fame and clout rather than to find love.
Even the cast members of the senior spin-offs could come on the shows with ulterior motives.
We’ve seen several women from Gerry Turner’s season of The Golden Bachelor find success after the show with brand deals, podcasts, and social media influencing.
So what’s to stop one or even some of Joan’s men from using the reality TV dating show to boost themselves financially? We suspect one man may actually be doing that after watching the Hometown Dates.
Pascal Ibgui scored big by making it to the Hometown Dates
From the very first episode, Pascal Ibgui made a big impression on Joan and The Golden Bachelorette.
He showed up with his suave French accent and bougie lifestyle — and we all ate it up.
We sighed at his rags-to-riches stories of coming to the United States with holes in his shoes – unable to speak English.
We laughed when he offered up $100 per load for one of the other men to do his laundry, including ironing.
We ogled when Pascal stripped down on stage, showing off an impressive physique.
And we loved every second of seeing his salon, which was as bougie as he is.
But as we enjoyed watching Joan get pampered in Pascal’s salon, it brought a realization that he has the most to gain from getting to the Hometown Dates and showing off his business.
After all, The Golden Bachelorette averages 2.7 million viewers per week, which is nothing compared to The Golden Bachelor. But it is a whole lot of free advertising for a guy who already has viewers falling in love with him.
He’s likely not falling in love with Joan, as she was told during his Hometown Date when his daughter told Joan, “He’s not going to pick you.”
But making it to Joan’s final three will push his already booming salon into the stratosphere and it’s hard not to think that was his motivation not only for going on the show but also for staying as long as he did, despite not being in love with Joan.
After all, did you notice the Pascal hairline? Yes, he has a whole line of hair products with his name on them, in addition to the salon itself.
After the Hometown Dates, Pascal posted information for a meet and greet, and already, requests for him to be their hairdresser after seeing him on TV have begun to pour in so if that was his motivation, it clearly worked.
Whatever happens between now and finale night, it’s pretty clear that we haven’t seen the end of Pascal and his salon.
Joan Vassos is clearly not ready to find love
While we can’t help but question Pascal’s motives, The Golden Bachelorette viewers are also convinced that Joan is not ready to move on after the loss of her husband.
Just weeks ago, she sent Mark Anderson home after telling him he was not ready for love again after losing his wife six years ago.
But Joan lost her husband, John, just three years ago, and we hear about it every single week on the show.
She mentions John on group dates and in one-on-ones. She even admits to the men that John will always have a piece of her and that she doesn’t know if she’s really ready to move on despite John telling her to find love again after his death.
As we approach The Golden Bachelorette finale, we wonder if she’ll find love or end the season with an engagement, as she doesn’t seem ready for either one.
The Golden Bachelorette airs on Wednesdays at 8/7c on ABC.