Joan Vassos made a huge impression in her short time on The Golden Bachelor.
The senior beauty stole Gerry Turner’s heart during a sweet one-on-one date before making the hard choice to exit the show after Episode 3.
Joan’s decision to leave was difficult, but she had to do it because her daughter needed her after recently having a baby.
Joan was clearly an early fan favorite, and due to her early exit, there were calls for her to be The Golden Bachelorette.
At one point, she admitted she tried to return to the show, but too much time had passed.
So when Joan was asked to return to the franchise and be the first The Golden Bachelorette lead, she was just as surprised as Bachelor Nation.
Joan Vassos thought The Bachelor viewers would ‘forget’ her
Joan is getting ready to film her season of The Golden Bachelorette, and before she left to find love, she sat down to chat with Entertainment Tonight.
Joan admitted, “I so thought that I was gonna be that girl who left that nobody remembers. I truly believed that was gonna be the outcome.”
She continued, “I really was sad about that, honestly, because I loved being here. I think the process worked. I was sad when I had to leave, so having the opportunity to come back and [having] people actually remember me a little bit [is amazing].”
Joan is probably right to have assumed she would be forgotten. After all, how many other Bachelor Nation stars are still popular after leaving so early in the season, let alone brought back to lead a new series?
It’s something that has never happened before, and even Reality Steve told Monsters and Critics while we were talking about who might be The Bachelorette star following Joey Graziadei’s season that typically, the new lead for the upcoming show is pulled from the top three of the show right before it.
Joan Vassos knows what she’s looking for in a man
Joan hasn’t even met the men who want to win her heart, but even before filming The Golden Bachelorette, she’s thought about what she wants and doesn’t want.
One thing she definitely doesn’t want is to leave her family behind, even if she does find the perfect man.
When talking to CNN after The Golden Bachelorette announcement, Joan shared that she and Gerry discussed where they would live should she be the one to get his final rose.
And when it comes to moving, she’s definitely not all in, but she might be partially in.
She admitted, “I think you almost have to live a dual life. I’ll never leave my family. They are the most important people in the world to me, obviously.”
The Golden Bachelorette will premiere in the fall on ABC.