First 'Golden Bachelorette' Announced

The Golden Bachelor, the Boomer edition of popular dating series The Bachelor, ended with some controversy, as the show's lead was accused of misrepresenting himself and then going on to have the shortest marriage in Bachelor history. That hasn't stopped the producers from moving forward with a gender-swapped spin-off of the series, The Golden Bachelorette. The new show's lead was announced this week. Will she fare better than her male counterpart? Read on for details.

Via Variety.

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 porce 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 measured 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.

Get the rest of the story at Variety.