Heavy/ABC Joan Vassos.
Joan Vassos is already preparing herself for the fallout from her lead role on “The Golden Bachelorette.”
The widowed mom of four has been named ABC’s first “senior” female lead, and her family has been supportive thus far. But in a June 2024 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Vassos, 61, admitted that her kids are worried about one major part of her journey to find love.
“[They were] maybe a little worried that I’m gonna kiss somebody on TV,” the ABC star admitted. “That could happen. I promised I wouldn’t, but I think I lied. They shouldn’t even have asked me that. That’s not fair. I get to do whatever I want, so I might kiss a man or two on TV. I don’t know. It could happen.”
Vassos lives in Rockland, Maryland, and she is the mother of Nicholas, Erica, Luke, and Allison, according to Distractify. She is also a grandmother.
In May 2024, she told CNN that two of her kids, in particular, want her to keep the on-camera makeout sessions to a minimum. “My daughter Erica and my son Luke are a little, like a little cringey,” she told the outlet. “Like, ‘Don’t kiss a guy on TV. This is gonna be really embarrassing. My friends are watching.’ But overall, all of them want me to find love.”
Joan Vassos Is Prepared to Be Ridiculed By Her Co-Workers as Well
Vassos works as an alumni relations administrator at Landon School in Bethesda, MD, according to her LinkedIn profile. The private school is for boys who are in third through 12th grade. Speaking with ET, Vassos admitted she is prepared for the “ridicule” she will receive this fall when school is in session just as her season of “The Golden Bachelorette” begins to air.
“I’m gonna probably get a lot of ridicule,” she said. “People are gonna make a lot of fun of me when I go back to work, but I signed up for this and I don’t care.”
Of her potential final pick, she explained that she’s “gotta make sure he’s a good kisser.”
According to CNN, Vassos’ season will feature her meeting men “in their fifties through seventies” on “The Golden Bachelorette.”
Joan Vassos Packed Up To Start Her Journey in June 2024
On June 12, 2024, Vassos posted an Instagram video as she packed three big suitcases up to head to the Bachelor mansion in California. Her youngest grandchild was seen on the bed behind her as she packed up with her daughter Allison’s assistance.
“I leave tomorrow,” Vassos told fans. “My family is actually going to come with me for a few days to shoot some promos so you’re gonna meet me family, too.”
She added that she was grateful for the extra time with her family.
When Vassos was contestant on Gerry Turner’s season of “The Golden Bachelor,” she left the show in the third week to go home to her daughter, who had a medical emergency after giving birth.
“She needed me. She needed her mom,” Vassos explained in a “Bachelor” supercut, according to Decider. “And I didn’t think twice. I knew I had to be there, I heard it in her voice. I could not get on that plane fast enough.”
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