The Golden Bachelorette star Joan Vassos prepares her family for her upcoming journey in the new series’ first-ever promo.
The ABC unscripted show launches Sept. 18 and stars the 61-year-old school administrator from Rockland, Maryland, who was a standout on Gerry Turner‘s season of The Golden Bachelor before walking away early in the process. The new Golden Bachelorette spot shows Vassos spending time with her loved ones before she sets out to find romance again.
After Vassos’ daughter Ally asks how she feels about kissing another guy on television, the Golden Bachelorette responds, “Oh, jeez. I’m gonna have to get used to that because you don’t want to be with somebody that you don’t like to kiss, so you have to try it out. I’m gonna probably kiss a fair amount of guys on camera. I’m sorry, guys!”
Later, Vassos explains what she wants in an ideal partner. “I’m very picky about a man being a gentleman,” she says. “Somebody with a big heart, somebody who is generous, and also somebody who is humble.”
Vassos, whose husband John died in 2021 from pancreatic cancer after 32 years of marriage, is a mother of four and grandmother of two. Family is clearly important to Vassos, who chose to exit Turner’s season during the third episode when her daughter faced a health setback following a recent pregnancy.
In the new promo, Vassos addressed her goals in light of John’s passing. “I’m not here to replace Dad,” she shares. “I just want our family to be whole again.”
ABC announced Vassos in May as the first star of The Golden Bachelorette. She is set to meet an array of senior men after Turner’s season of The Golden Bachelor marked a ratings boon for the long-running reality TV franchise.
During a previous interview with The Hollywood Reporter, executive producer Jason Ehrlich explained that, despite the success of The Golden Bachelor, the process for the female-fronted version will feel “almost like doing it for the first time all over again.”