Joan Vassos Announced as 1st Golden Bachelorette

Two months after officially announcing The Golden Bachelorette, ABC has revealed the first leading lady for The Golden Bachelor spinoff: Joan Vassos.

Bachelor Nation will remember Joan, 61, left Gerry Turner's season early to care for her daughter who had recently given birth.

In February, the network announced plans to follow up Gerry's season of The Golden Bachelor with The Golden Bachelorette, confirming plans to cast for “one radiant woman's second chance at love in her golden years.” The series is set to air on Wednesdays in fall 2024.

OG Golden lead Gerry was 72 when his finale aired in November 2023, with fans tuning in to watch him get engaged to Theresa Nist over Leslie Fhima. The episode reached 6.1 million viewers, bringing in the highest Bachelor ratings in years. Gerry and Theresa wed two months later in a TV special that aired live on ABC — but their marriage only lasted three months.

Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist’s ‘Golden Wedding’ Album: From 1st Looks to Saying ‘I Do’

“Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations,” Gerry said during a joint interview with Theresa on Good Morning America in April. “We’ve looked closely at our living situations and we’ve kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it’s time for us to dissolve our marriage. ... The things that strike me the most in our conversations it’s been how dedicated both of us are to our families. So, we look at these situations and I think we just feel like it’s best for the happiness of each of us to live apart.”

The news came after Us confirmed that the pair never officially moved in together.

“We looked at homes in South Carolina [and] we considered New Jersey,” Theresa noted. “We just looked at home after home, but we never got to the point where we made that decision.”

Us broke the news that Gerry filed the legal paperwork to end their marriage on the same day of the GMA interview.