Heavy/Getty/ABC Andy Cohen; Joan Vassos
Andy Cohen thinks ABC may have missed out on a golden opportunity.
During a segment on his Sirius XM show “Andy Cohen Live,” the Bravo host reacted to the news that Joan Vassos has been cast as the first star of ABC’s “The Golden Bachelorette.”
Vassos, a 61-year-old widowed mother of four, was named the leading lady on the senior citizen version of the ABC dating show. Vassos appeared on Gerry Turner’s season of “The Golden Bachelor,” but she self-eliminated after three weeks.
Cohen had a few comments about the choice. “Mazel to her,” he said of Vassos, before admitting that he would have preferred to see a “Real Housewives of New York City” veteran in the role.
“I sure wish it would have been Countess Luann [de Lesseps],” Cohen said. “I think that would have been amazing.”
Cohen and his co-host John Hill agreed that de Lesseps, 59, would have made a memorable “Bachelorette” star. After Hill joked that de Lesseps would have slept with all of her suitors (“A fantasy suite every night!” he cracked), Cohen corrected him.
“Let me put it this way,” the Bravo host said. “She would have [expletive] the ones she wanted to. She has ownership.”
Several fans commented to ask if de Lesseps was even in the running for the role.
“Countess really deserves this and I’m really upset about this decision,” one commenter wrote.
“No reason Bravo can’t do a ‘dating the countess’ show on their own,” another added.
Luann de Lesseps Expressed Interest in Being The Golden Bachelorette
Getty/ABCLuann de Lesseps; Joan Vassos
One month before Vassos was announced as “The Golden Bachelorette,” de Lesseps expressed interest in the lead role on the ABC dating show. In an interview with Life & Style magazine, de Lesseps cracked, “It’s perfect for me. Who could charm the socks off the Countess?”
The Bravo veteran clarified that ABC had not reached out to her during their casting search.
As commenters pointed out, Bravo could develop a dating show spinoff for de Lesseps. She actually made that suggestion during a November 2023 appearance on the “Behind the Velvet Rope With David Yontef” podcast. While speaking with Yontef, de Lesseps teased that Bravo owed her a dating show.
“I think they definitely, could, you know, Bravo could really find me a man,” she added. “I mean, come on, I put in some years with them. It’s the least they can do. I would like to have a dating show. It makes sense to me. I’m single, you know, that would be awesome. I can’t think of anything better than having producers cast men for me.”
Luann de Lesseps Is Still Looking For Love Even If It’s Not on TV
De Lesseps has been married twice: to Count Alexandre de Lesseps from 1993 to 2009, and to Tom D’Agostino from 2016-17. According to BravoTV.com, she fell in love fast both times. Of the Count, she once said, “After the fifth day, he said, ‘Marry me.’ I lived in a fairy tale, too good to be true.”
She met her second husband in late 205 and was engaged to him by February 2016. In April 2024, de Lesseps told Us Weekly she is looking for love once again, but perhaps not marriage.
“You know, I’m a hopeless romantic so I do, I love love. And I love men. And so you just never know with me. Sure, yeah, you know, there’s no plan to get married again. But like they say in my song, ‘Three time’s the charm, so catch me if you can.’”
READ NEXT: Christie Brinkley Poses for Fearless Swimsuit Photos at Age 70