Heavy/ABC Mark Anderson.
Kelsey Anderson addressed rumors that her dad, Mark, could be the next star of “The Golden Bachelor.”
The fiancée of “Bachelor” star Joey Graziadei spoke out during a March 28, 2024 appearance on “The Viall Files” podcast and admitted it would be “awesome” to see her widower father in the starring role for the senior citizen-centered spinoff.
“That would be awesome,” Kelsey said. But she added one caveat: “I think that he probably would first have to go on ‘Golden Bachelorette’ so he can still be relevant.”
“He is single,” Kelsey said of her dad. “He’s only really dated, I think, one lady, let’s for like a second.”
In February 2024, ABC confirmed that production for “The Golden Bachelorette” will take place this year. The spinoff will have a Fall 2024 premiere.
Kelsey Anderson Admitted Being ‘Traumatized’ By Some of the Messages Her Dad Received
Mark Anderson was first introduced to viewers on Kelsey’s hometown date episode on “The Bachelor.” During Kelsey and Joey’s visit to New Orleans, Mark, who lost his wife, Denise, in 2018 to cancer, shared family photo albums with his future son-in-law.
Fans instantly fell in love with Kelsey’s handsome father. She told Viall, “It’s overwhelming the amount of DMs [he’s received]. Literally some of the ‘Golden’ ladies were like, ‘Put me on the list.’”
“I think my dad’s like just so overwhelmed by it all,” she added.
“DMs and thirst traps I’ve seen and they’re just all resurfacing now since you know the [‘After the Final Rose’],” she said. “And I’m just like, ‘Oh this is a little traumatizing.’ I think that my dad deserves all the love and support that he’s been getting. I think that he’s very confused about it. Like, he came to the bar with us after ‘Final Rose’ and everybody was coming up to him, like people from the show. And they were like, ‘We’re such big fans.’ It was so funny. And he was just like, ‘Oh, I’m a fan of yours.’ Like, he was just saying it back. He was like, this is so, so weird and foreign to him. But I made him go public on Instagram so…”
Kelsey previously told People magazine that her initial response was that she was “traumatized that there were trap videos that people made about my dad.” “But then I decided to take a step back and I was like, ‘You know what? My dad deserves all of this praise and love. He is an amazing dad. And he was an amazing husband to my mom. I think that my dad deserves all the love.”
She also noted that her dad sees her “great” relationship with Joey and knows they would never have met without “The Bachelor” franchise.
“So he’s open to it,” she said. “My mom always told him that she wanted him to find love if she ever passed away before him, and that she wanted him to be happy and have that partnership after her. So I think that it would be a great push for him to open up to that and to see if he could find love on a TV show.”
There Have Been Hints that Mark Anderson Could Be the Next ‘Golden Bachelor’
ABCKelsey Anderson and Joey Graziadei; Mark Anderson
The first season of ‘The Golden Bachelor” starred Gerry Turner, a 72-year-old widower from Indiana. He ended his season with a wedding to Theresa Nist.
While the second “Golden Bachelor” has yet to be announced, Disney/ABC entertainment vice president Robert Mills posted to the X app to comment on the popularity of the Anderson patriarch. “Before everyone starts clamoring, yes Kelsey’s dad would be an amazing Golden Bachelor. #TheBachelor,” he wrote in March 2024.
On the “After the Final Rose” special, host Jesse Palmer also hinted producers are eyeing Mark as their next “Golden Bachelor.” At the end of the special, Palmer said to Mark, “Maybe we’ll be seeing you down the road soon too, that’s all I’m saying,” as Mark smiled and nodded.
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