First-ever “Golden Bachelorette” star Joan Vassos is teasing Bachelorette Nations fans with a peek at her home life and the kind of man she is searching for.
Vassos, who is 61, was a contestant on the first season of “The Golden Bachelor” with Bachelor Gerry Turner. In light of a promising connection with Turner, Vassos chose to leave the show prematurely to take care of her daughter, who was suffering from a medical emergency.
She will continue her search for a partner as “The Golden Bachelorette,” which premieres in September.
“I’m very picky about a man being a gentleman,” Vassos said in the promo clip, surrounded by her mother, children and grandchildren. She continued, “Somebody with a big heart. Somebody who is generous. And also somebody who is humble.”
“I’m not here to replace dad,” she told her children. “I just want our family to be whole again.”
Vassos is a mother of four and a grandmother of two. She lost her husband of 32 years to pancreatic cancer, per ABC. She works as a private school administrator and likes to cook, spend time with her dog and listen to Elton John.
When Vassos’ daughter asked her mother about kissing men on TV, Vassos said she will need to “get used to that.”
“I’m going to probably kiss a fair amount of guys on camera,” Vassos told her kids. “I’m sorry guys.”
The men who will compete for Vassos’ heart have not been revealed, but casting is in process, according to a press release shared with the Deseret News.
After her short run on “The Golden Bachelor,” Joan thanked Bachelor Nation for trusting contestants “to tell the story of being in this phase of our lives and looking for love,” she wrote on Instagram.
“It isn’t glamorous or always fun, in fact it can be the opposite, but being able to share our journeys and how we navigate this process was an honor. Keep the hope, find your tribe to make the journey fun & don’t accept being invisible anymore!” she wrote.
Joan Vassos on why she left ‘Golden Bachelor’ early
Vassos left “Golden Bachelor” prematurely to be at her daughter’s side, who was suffering from “a really serious case of postpartum depression,” Joan said during “Women Tell All.”
“She needed me. She needed her mom. 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.”
After returning home from her brief stint on the series, Joan shared an update with her fans.
“A huge thank you to everyone expressing their concern for my family. It’s a privilege to be a mom to four amazing kids and a grandmother (they call me Jojo) to two beautiful grandchildren,” Joan wrote in an Instagram Story, per Decider.
“But once a mom, always a mom and sometimes the timing doesn’t work out with finding love. Everyone at home is doing great and I hope one day I will get the chance at love again.”
When does the ‘Golden Bachelorette’ premiere?
“The Golden Bachelorette” premieres on ABC on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. MST. Subsequent episodes will air on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. MDT.
The series is available to stream on Hulu after episodes air live.