[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Golden Bachelorette series premiere.]
Joan Vassos made her grand debut as the first-ever Golden Bachelorette during the emotional series premiere. The Maryland native was introduced to 24 handsome gentlemen, including Kelsey Anderson‘s dad, Mark Anderson. Kelsey joined her dad on premiere night and helped take Joan and Mark’s meet-cute to the next level.
“I love that she came and introduced him,” Joan told TV Insider. “I don’t feel like it was really my first impression because I had seen him on Joey [Graziadei]‘s season. I saw what a great father he was to Kelsey and to the other kids during a really difficult time. But meeting him first impression, he’s tall, he’s handsome, he has this very calm presence about him. He speaks kind of softly and slowly, and he just calms you, especially in a high-anxiety situation. He was just like a breath of fresh air, so the first impression was great.”
The Golden Bachelorette premiere featured many memorable entrances, including Keith, who showed up in a station wagon. After meeting the men, Joan sat down with some of her suitors to get to know them better. Joan handed our First Impression Rose to Keith, a 62-year-old self-proclaimed “girl dad.”
Disney / Gilles Mingasson
“He just made me feel so comfortable,” Joan said about her choice. “He’s like a big teddy bear, and he just said the right things. He knew me for some reason without really knowing me about what I really liked in life, and we connected really well.”
Ahead of the first rose ceremony, the suitors were treated to a compilation video of their kids and loved ones sending their support. “Coming on this show is scary, and you also have to leave your whole support system,” Joan pointed out. “You’re leaving your family, you’re leaving your dog, you’re leaving your job, you’re leaving whatever the things that make you comfortable—your home—to come on this crazy journey and to kind of invite their family to come along the journey with you just that day even was comforting.”
Joan revealed that her suitors arrived at the mansion on Father’s Day. “I think this last connection before the journey really got going was really important for them,” she added.
As Joan handed out her first set of roses, the intensity of the first rose ceremony got overwhelming for the 61-year-old. At one point, she had to walk out of the room to collected herself.
“When you get down to those last few roses and you see these men who, once again, they’ve given up so much to be there. To send anybody home the first night, it just seems so unfair,” Joan explained. “I asked if I could have more roses. I said, ‘Can they just all stay? This just doesn’t seem right to me.’ I’d gotten to know them just a little bit, and even in that little bit, I felt like I wanted to get to know everybody better. I didn’t want them to have to leave yet. It just seemed too soon to me.”
She continued, “So I just had to go and take a deep breath and know that this is how this works, and we all know what we’re signing up for and that these difficult decisions have to be made until you can get to the end, and hopefully end up with your person. I just had to take a breath. It was great to talk to Jesse [Palmer]. He’s done it before. He was a Bachelor, so he gives really good advice.”
The Golden Bachelorette, Wednesdays, 8/7c, ABC
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