\n<\/p>\n
Merely two weeks ago, viewers watched Jenn Tran<\/strong>, the first Asian American star of The Bachelorette<\/em>, get her heart broken in devastating fashion<\/a>. After being forced to watch her doomed proposal live alongside final rose recipient Devin Strader<\/strong>, things only got thornier. Tran\u2019s ex subsequently shared, then deleted, a post-show Instagram featuring hundreds of their alleged personal text messages<\/a>. This week, news broke that in 2017, Strader had been arrested for allegedly burglarizing an ex-girlfriend\u2019s home,<\/a> and that his ex had a restraining order against him\u2014casting a shadow over the franchise days before its new show\u2019s debut.<\/p>\n Suffice it to say, the first episode of The Golden Bachelorette<\/em>\u2014a senior spin on the hit dating series starring 61-year-old Joan Vassos<\/strong>\u2014had to be one hell of a palette cleanser.<\/p>\n Bachelor Nation first met Vassos, a school administrator from Maryland, on the first season of The Golden Bachelor<\/em><\/a>. After making an early connection with 72-year-old widower Gerry Turner<\/strong>, Vassos opted to cut her journey short after learning that her daughter, who had given birth right before the show began filming, was suffering. She later confirmed that both her daughter and grandchild are now doing well, and was ultimately tapped by ABC to meet two dozen eligible suitors of her own\u2014ages 57 to 69\u2014for a second chance at romance.<\/p>\n A Golden Bachelor<\/em> spinoff was inevitable. Turner\u2019s own happily ever after<\/a> with Theresa Nist<\/strong> earned major ratings debut for the Bachelor<\/em> franchise<\/a> and spawned a splashy, sponsored live televised wedding at the start of 2024\u2014though the golden couple divorced<\/a> only three months later. \u201cI did feel like it put a little pressure on this show,\u201d Vassos told The New York Times<\/em><\/a> of Turner and Wist\u2019s accelerated wedding. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to have an epic ending, but it has to really be true to the process of finding a real love.\u201d<\/p>\n Like Turner, Vassos\u2019s foray back into the dating scene began with a reflection on her first marriage\u2014to husband John, who died in 2021 of pancreatic cancer. \u201cBest 33 years ever,\u201d she said of their union, which resulted in four kids and three grandchildren. While laying flowers on his gravesite, Vassos said, \u201cI honestly felt invisible after his death,\u201d adding, \u201cI had all these plans with John. And then my future left with him.\u201d She admitted, \u201cI don\u2019t know if you can have two great loves in one lifetime\u2014but I\u2019m hoping.\u201d<\/p>\n Each of the 24 men vying for Vasso\u2019s weary heart came with a backstory of their own\u2014sharing their tales of death, divorce, disease, and deployment in heartfelt fashion. Dad jokes arrived early and often: Gregg<\/strong>, a 64-year-old from Florida, offered Vassos a sand dollar, quipping, \u201cI work for sand dollars\u2014that\u2019s my euphemistic way of saying I\u2019m retired.\u201d 66-year-old Bob<\/strong> arrived with a Clark Griswold-esque video camera to shoot his limo entrance like a home movie for his kids. Ken<\/strong>, 60, from Boston called Vaassos \u201cwicked awesome,\u201d while 69-year-old retired Navy captain Kim<\/strong> said that she seems like \u201ca wonderful gal.\u201d Other men seemed suspiciously hip to the times: RJ<\/strong>, 66, referenced the popular \u201cI\u2019m Looking for a Man in Finance\u201d TikTok trend<\/a>, while another used the term \u201cvibes.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelsey Anderson<\/strong>, who got engaged<\/a> to our most recent Bachelor<\/em> Joey Graziadei<\/strong>, introduced Vassos to one contestant: her 57-year-old father Mark<\/strong>, who knows he went viral after appearing on the regular Bachelor<\/em>. \u201cWhen it aired, Kelsey said, \u2018Dad, they\u2019re doing thirst traps<\/a>!\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cFirst, I was like, \u2018What\u2019s a thirst trap?\u2019\u201d But Mark faces stiff competition from the Charleses, who are both 66: Charles K<\/strong>. pulled a Willy Wonka<\/a> by pretending to use a cane before ditching it and dropping into pushups, while soft-spoken Charles L.<\/strong> (who said he\u2019d \u201clove to see Britney Spears<\/strong> perform one day\u201d in his Bachelorette<\/em> bio) declared that with him, \u201cJoan, you are in charge forever.\u201d And then there was Gary, 65, who entered the mansion dancing\u2014perhaps in homage to his godmother, Tina Turner<\/a>. (Yes, that Tina Turner.)<\/p>\n But the contestant with the most airtime was undoubtedly 68-year-old Jack<\/strong>, a caterer from Chicago who boasts in his bio about having sat in the front row of Elvis Presley\u2019s final concert. Jack paid homage to a different crooner in his limo exit, singing Frank Sinatra\u2019s \u201cMy Way,\u201d before waltzing into the mansion by asking, \u201cDid somebody say bourbon?\u201d Later in the episode, he called the men\u2019s living quarters \u201ca hippie den\u201d and eventually decided to whip up some tenderloin medallions for Vassos. \u201cJoan, do me a favor,\u201d said fellow suitor Chock<\/strong>, 60. \u201cLet\u2019s keep Jack in the game, because I\u2019m a big, hungry guy.\u201d<\/p>\n Vassos eventually awarded her first impression rose to 62-year-old \u201cGirl dad\u201d Keith<\/strong>, who rode in on a station wagon and said he dreams of taking the Golden Bachelorette to the beach for some wine and cheese. Like the daters of a certain age on The Golden Bachelor<\/em>, these men aren\u2019t fazed by some competition. While awaiting time with Vassos, they traded notes on what their grandchildren call them\u2014and after one contestant initiated a game of pickleball with Vassos, they all picked up paddles for a group game. \u201cThere were balls flying everywhere!\u201d she said with a laugh.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n