Ever since “The Golden Bachelor” became a pop culture sensation last fall, fans have been clamoring for a “Golden Bachelorette.”
They finally have one. On Tuesday, ABC announced that Joan Vassos, a widow and school administrator who decided to leave “The Golden Bachelor” early due to a family emergency, would be the first “Golden Bachelorette.”
The latest spin-off of the long-running reality dating show will air this fall at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays, ahead of the hit comedy “Abbott Elementary.”
The news was announced by Ryan Seacrest at the Disney Upfront presentation in New York, where the 61-year-old Maryland grandmother waved from the audience.
Vassos appeared to be an early front-runner on “The Golden Bachelor,” connecting with star Gerry Turner, a widower, about the grief she experienced after her husband died of cancer. But she opted to leave the show during Week 3 to help her daughter, who she said was dealing with postpartum depression after the birth of her baby.
In February, ABC formally announced plans for a “Golden Bachelorette” spinoff. Since then, speculation about who would be cast focused on several fan favorites from Season 1, including Vassos and runners-up Leslie Fhima and Faith Martin.
But the news comes at a delicate time for ABC's “Golden” franchise: Last month, Turner and Theresa Nist announced they were divorcing after just three months of marriage, turning a reality TV success story into a grim warning.
“The Golden Bachelor” became a feel-good hit last fall, largely because of Turner, who was portrayed as a grieving widower, a devoted family man and a successful restaurateur.
The spinoff, in which Turner dated 22 vivacious women over 60, earned the highest ratings of any “Bachelor” show in several years and helped revitalize an aging, scandal-plagued franchise; ironically, by choosing older people who were outspoken. about love, loss and romantic heartbreak.
But Turner's too-good-to-be-true image began to crack with the publication of a report in The Hollywood Reporter in November that portrayed him as something of a scoundrel whose professional credentials had been inflated by “The Golden Bachelor.” The brutal ending, which left Fhima apparently shocked, also did little to help Turner's reputation.
Despite the public relations weaknesses, Turner and Nist went ahead and married in a live televised special, ABC's “The Golden Wedding,” in January. The special was packed with product placement and appearances from personalities from across the “Bachelor” universe.
However, in April, Nist and Turner appeared on “Good Morning America” to announce the end of their marriage, citing an inability to agree on where to live. (Nist lives in New Jersey, Turner in Indiana.) Their brief union marked a bitter final twist in what once seemed like a touching story of two widowed grandparents who find new love in their twilight years.
It remains to be seen whether viewers who fell in love with “The Golden Bachelor” will tune in to “The Golden Bachelorette.” But perhaps ABC is betting that Vassos, who was untouched by the Season 1 drama, will help viewers forget about the failed Turner-Nist union.
