Golden Bachelorette Joan Vassos Says She Can 'Picture Being with' 1 of Her Suitors After Night 1

The age of the golden girls has begun!

Joan Vassos arrived at Bachelor Villa on Wednesday, September 18, ready for a second chance at love.

Salon owner Pascal, 69, was first out of the limo and used his French accent to charm Joan, 61. “I feel like the luckiest person in the world,” she said.

Retired Navy Captain Kim, 69, arrived in his uniform, which Joan appreciated. “I love a man in uniform,” she said.

Golden Bachelor Joan Vassos Reveals ‘Goal’ for Her Season, Why ‘Engagement’ Wasn’t a ‘Need’ (Exclusive)

Insurance Agent Chock brought his chicken noodle soup, which he called Chock’o Noodle Soup, to see if it could measure up to what Joan was making. “I thought when you visited your hometown, I could do this for your family,” Chock, 60, told Joan.

After Chock got inside, Joan said, “He was cute!”

When sales manager Jordan, 61, turned up, he informed Joan that he had three daughters and told her: “I’m really impressed by your selflessness.”

The men of the first season of ‘The Golden Bachelor’.

Disney/Ricky Middlesworth

Retired CFO Gary, 65, grabbed Joan’s hand for a casual dance and retired university vice president Gregg, 64, brought her a dollar. Chiropractor Bob, 66, got out of the limo with a video camera and filmed him meeting Joan to show his children, while restaurateur Jack, 68, serenaded Joan with Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.”

Retired analyst Charles L. joked that he looked 36 even though he was 66 and told Joan that she would be in control of her journey. “Charles is not the lead,” he said, referring to the 1980s sitcom Charles in charge. “No, Joan, you’re in charge forever.”

The Golden Bachelor Joan Vassos with Charles L. in the first season premiere.

Disney/Gilles Mingasson

Portfolio manager Charles K., 62, got out of the limo using a cane and pretended to drop it before doing a one-arm push-up. Contractor Christopher, 64, brought Joan a glass of prune juice. “Maybe we’ll give it a shot and by evening everything will be very good,” said the Long Island, N.Y., resident.

RJ, 66, introduced the popular TikTok song. “I heard you’re looking for a man in finance, with a retirement account, 6 foot 5, and blue eyes,” said financial advisor Joan.

Rancher David, 68, rode in on horseback, while Keith, 62, pulled up in a caravan packed for the trip.

Bachelor Joey Graziadei’s fiancee Kelsey Anderson introduced Joan’s latest arrival: her father, Mark.

“He’s an amazing family man,” Joan noted.

The private school administrator joked to Kelsey, 26, “You can just call me ‘mom.’

COCKTAIL PARTY AND GIVING ROSES

Inside the mansion, Joan welcomed her suitors.

“It’s a crazy journey, but people find love in many different ways,” Joan told her group. “I don’t know if I’m naive, but I think it could really work, so I can’t wait for this journey to begin.”

Pascal wasted no time in grabbing Joan for a chat. “When I found out it was you, I was 100 percent in favor,” he told her. “If it wasn’t for you, Joan, I wouldn’t be here today. I just want you to know that.”

The Golden Bachelor Joan Vassos with Pascal in the first season premiere.

Disney/Gilles Mingasson

Then Pascal shared with Joan the letter his son had written him on Father’s Day.

“I’m glad you came,” Joan said to Pascal.

Gregg and Joan donned Hawaiian shirts and sipped tropical cocktails, Gil played tee ball with her, and Charles K. and Joan raced around in motorized chairs. “I just want to talk to her all night,” Charles K. said in an on-camera interview.

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When Joan talked to Bob, he told her how he had been struck by lightning and needed 12 minutes of CPR before his pulse resumed. “I got a second chance at life and I’m here to see if lightning can strike twice,” said Bob.

Jack prepared a meal for Joan and Jonathan wrote her a song from his heart. “You are good! You really have talent,” Joan told Jonathan, adding to the cameras, “I can feel it between us.”

Joan played cornhole with Keith and immediately felt a connection. “We have a lot in common,” she said. “It’s an eviction. I can imagine being with him.”

The Golden Bachelor Joan Vassos with Keith in the first season premiere.

Disney/Gilles Mingasson

Keith said on camera that he feels like he has a “special bond” with Joan. “There is something we can build on,” he added.

As a result, Joan gave Keith a first impression rose. “This trip is scary and you made me feel safe,” she told him. “You have this calm voice and you’re just like this big teddy bear. I don’t know, I just felt good.”

Keith accepted the rose, telling Joan, “You’re so sweet.”

Joan told the cameras that Keith made her feel safe in a way she hadn’t since before her husband John, to whom she was married for 32 years, died in January 2021 of pancreatic cancer. “I feel like I’m kind of floating out there, and he just has such a warm and easy way,” explained the mother of four.

Joan Vassos ‘felt like’ she was ‘cheating’ on her late husband by falling in love with The Golden Bachelor suitor (exclusive)

At the rose ceremony, Joan told her boyfriends that she was “dreading this moment.”

“If you leave, you’ve already won,” she said. “You are here and you have shown the world that you have a heart and sense of adventure and that you are looking for love and you are doing it in your golden years. And you are an excellent example for everyone.”

Joan presented roses to Dan, Jonathan, Mark, Guy, Charles K., Gil, Gary, Pascal, Chock, Kim, Christopher, Gregg, Charles L., Jordan, Bob, Michael and Jack.

After that, a teaser for the rest of the season showed Joan saying “I love you” to Mark, as well as The Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner returning to ask her, “Have you considered the possibility that your boyfriend isn’t here?”

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