Why Did Joan Leave The Golden Bachelor? The Real Reason She Quit
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Since her sudden exit from the Bachelor Mansion, Bachelor Nation has had two questions on their minds: Why did Joan leave The Golden Bachelor and what happened to her? The real reason Joan left The Golden Bachelor is even more dramatic than what was shown on TV.
Joan Vassos was one of 22 contestants on the first season of The Golden Bachelor, a spin-off of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette featuring single men and women aged 60 and older. “Some of the casting interviews we got, they were just so touching,” ABC unscripted executive Rob Mill told Variety in 2020 about why the network wanted to create The Golden Bachelor. “It’s such a different way of doing The Bachelor because these people are just at a totally different place in their lives. There is an interesting thing about people who have hit the other end of the spectrum, who’ve lived their lives, they’ve raised their kids, some have been widowed or divorced and maybe some have never been in love. We thought that would be an interesting dynamic through the Bachelor prism.”
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Gerry Turner, a 71-year-old restaurant owner from Indiana, was announced as the Season 1 Golden Bachelor on Good Morning America in July 2023. “It’s never too late to fall in love again,” he said. Gerry is a father, grandfather, and widower. He married his wife and high school sweetheart, Toni, in 1974. They share two daughters, Angie and Jenny, and two granddaughters, Charlee and Payton. Gerry and Toni were married for 43 years until her death from an illness in 2017, six weeks after her retirement. “She got robbed,” Gerry told Good Morning America about Toni. “Every day that goes by, that’s the thought I have.”
When asked what Toni would think of him starring on The Golden Bachelor, Gerry told Good Morning America that he believed his late wife would be “rooting” for him. “I have her picture on a dresser in my closet,” he said. “Every morning I give her the nod, ‘So what do you think about this?’ For a while it was like I was having a hard time figuring out if she would be OK. But we always told each other, when one of us goes, we want the other one to be happy.” He continued, “She’s saying, ‘Yeah Gerry, do this.’”
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But back to Joan on The Golden Bachelor. So… why did Joan leave The Golden Bachelor and what happened to her? Read on for what we know about why Joan left The Golden Bachelor and where she is now.
Why did Joan leave The Golden Bachelor?
Why did Joan leave The Golden Bachelor? Joan left The Golden Bachelor in Episode 3 after she received a text from a family member and told Gerry that she needed to leave due to news she’d learned about her daughter, who had recently given birth. ”It wasn’t a normal, everyday delivery at all. Things go wrong. Even if everything went right, you need your mom,” Joan said in a confessional interview. “My family will always be first. Once you become a mom, you’re always a mom, even when your kids are older. Nothing is more important.”
Gerry told Joan that he was “disappointed” she had to leave but understood her decision. “I was thrilled we had a conversation like we did, but there’s a moral compass that we both share,” he said. “And sometimes the right thing to do is the hardest.”
Joan continued in a confessional interview, “My heart maybe got a little fix from Gerry. He’s helped with the journey, because as you get older you become more invisible. People don’t see you anymore. You’re not as significant as when you’re young.” Joan then informed the rest of the cast. “My family needs me,” she said. “I wish I could be here for the whole journey.”
Joan’s exit came after her first One-on-One date with Gerry, which she won after a Group Date talent show in which she delivered a rendition of a poem called “I Just Hope I Don’t Vomit on Your Shoes.” “As I stand here tonight without a talent to expose/ I recite this poem to Gerry because I really just want another rose,” her poem read. During their One-on-One date, Joan and Gerry bonded over her vulnerability. “Somebody that puts themselves out there like that, it’s very attractive to me,” he said before giving Joan a rose.
In an Instagram Story after she went home on The Golden Bachelorette, Joan thanked viewers for their support for her family. “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,” she wrote. “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.”
Who’s Joan from The Golden Bachelor?
Who’s Joan from The Golden Bachelor 2023? Joan Yvonne Vassos is a 60-year-old Private School Administrator from Rockville, Maryland. She was born on January 11, 1963. Her Instagram handle is @joan_vassos.
Read Joan’s Golden Bachelor biography and fun facts ahead:
“Joan is really something special. She has four kids and two grandkids and is looking for love again after losing her husband of 32 years to pancreatic cancer. Joan is proud of herself for starting a new career in this chapter of life and for how resilient she’s been through many unexpected life changes. When she’s not working, Joan loves listening to Elton John, hanging with her dog, and cooking a delicious meal. Joan describes herself as a loving mother and a hard worker who would love to find someone to enjoy life with. She’s happiest when she’s at the beach with her family and is looking for a family man to blend her life with. Joan is a total catch and we think Gerry will have no problem seeing it too.
Joan loves dancing after a couple glasses of wine.
Joan enjoys historical museums.
Joan’s favorite food is a big, juicy burger!”
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