‘The Golden Bachelorette’ Premiere Recap: Joan Vassos Returns To The Mansion With Renewed Hope

After The Golden Bachelor took reality TV to a historic new level, skyrocketed ratings, and helped revive a franchise that’s been around for over two decades, The Golden Bachelorette was inevitable. The only job was choosing the perfect Golden Gal to lead its debut season.

With Gerry Turner’s phenomenal group of exes, the pickings weren’t slim, but producers ultimately landed on 61-year-old Joan Vassos, who made her emotional exit from The Golden Bachelor in Week 3 because her daughter had a medical emergency. Years after losing her husband of 32 years to pancreatic cancer, the mother, grandmother, and school administrator from Rockville, Maryland is ready and hopeful to find late-in-life love on her own season.

In her historic premiere, which aired Wednesday, September 18 on ABC, Vassos reflected on her life-changing love story with her late husband John, opened up about his loss, and admitted she felt “invisible” after being widowed. Though she knows no one will ever replace the love of her life, her time on The Golden Bachelor reminded her that seniors are worthy of fun, romance, and companionship. So she’s back for more!

“I feel incredibly happy right now — happier than I’ve felt in a very, very long time. It’s a very strange feeling. I’m nervous but very excited. I don’t know if you can have two great loves in one lifetime but I’m hoping,” Vassos said at the top of the premiere. “I feel that representing all of these people in their golden years is such an honor. Gravity isn’t great. Things sag. Things don’t look as good… but it is what it is. I’m fine with it, and the way you look and the way you feel are two different things.”

Wondering if Vassos’ first night in the Bachelor Mansion was a success? Curious which man got the first impression rose? And who went home during the first-ever Golden Bachelorette rose ceremony? Decider’s Golden Bachelorette premiere recap breaks down the limo exits, cocktail party, and surprises of Joan Vassos’ historic Golden Bachelorette debut.

Meet Joan’s Golden Guys

As Vassos’ 24 men, who range from 57 to 69, popped their hearing aids in and toasted champagne in their limos, the first Golden Bachelorette returned to the mansion and reunited with host Jesse Palmer, admitting, “I thought when I left here I was gone forever.” And just like that, her second journey began!

First out of the limo? Pascal from Paris. In a promising start to the night, the 69-year-old salon owner who relocated to Chicago wooed Vassos with his charm and “very sexy accent.” Kim, a 69-year-old pilot from Washington followed. And though he had Joan saluting by the time he walked inside, the first real standout entrance went to Chock, a 60-year-old insurance executive from Kansas. In honor of Joan’s famous chicken noodle soup, Chock walked out with a jar of his own “Chock-a-noodle” soup, had Joan be his taste tester, and smoothly offered to make it for her family during a Hometown visit. (For those who are desperate to know if Joan was downing ice-cold soup on Night 1, the Golden Bachelorette lead assured me, “It was honestly hot and it was delicious.” Her only regret? “I was so embarrassed because I’ve now watched the episode and I slurp! I didn’t want to ruin my lipstick or get anything on this beautiful dress.” Vassos also told me Chock’s limo exit was one of her favorites. 👀)

Other standout intros included 61-year-old Jonathan, a shipping consultant from Oakland, Iowa who arrived blindfolded to stress what a profound impact Joan’s comments about feeling invisible had on him. Gary, a 65-year-old retired finance executive from Palm Desert, California lit up the premiere with his sparkling personality, driveway dance moves, and precious confessional interviews. Jack, a 68-year-old caterer from Chicago, Illinois popped in a pink blazer as he exited the limo and belted Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” (The show established him as an early star by sprinkling his hilarious commentary throughout the episode. And Vassos told me, “He was a mansion favorite. He was a me favorite. I’ve never been serenaded in my life. So his entrance was hilarious and so cute.”) When a station wagon with luggage tied to the top rolled into the driveway, 62-year-old Keith emerged and asked “Like this sweet ride?” before suggesting they hop in and take some cheese, crackers, and wine to the beach for a tailgate.

Just when Bachelor Nation thought all of Vassos’ suitors had arrived, a final limo pulled up and a high heel stepped onto the driveway. You didn’t forget about Kelsey Anderson and her fan-favorite dad Mark, did you? During The Bachelorette‘s live finale event, fans got a sneak peek at Mark’s iconic Golden Bachelorette entrance, and Vassos has nothing but glorious praise for Joey Graziadei’s future father-in-law during our interview. Before Kelsey left, Vassos shouted “Thank you! He’s cute! You can just call me mom.” So it sound like Mark may be sticking around for quite a while.

Cocktail Hour, Cooking, And Newfound Brothers

After Vassos headed inside, she toasted to the journey ahead, reminding her 24 men that “The [Golden Bachleor] changed something inside of me. I came here wanting love, but not actually thinking I really deserved it or that I would really find it but Gerry really listened to me and gave me a confidence. He made me feel visible again, and I left here needing it and I felt like I deserved it.”

Despite Pascal stealing Vassos before she completely concluded the toast, what surprised me (and Joan!) the most during this premiere was how kind, caring, vulnerable, and comfortable these senior men were with each other. “I thought they were going to get together and talk about their golf game and how their baseball teams were doing. And that was so far from the truth. They talked about dating and they talked about their families. They talked about being single fathers and about being girl dads. And they were so vulnerable and so incredibly supportive of each other, like they had known each other for their whole lives. I felt like they were instant friends,” Vassos told Decider.

The first Golden Bachelorette cocktail party was full of quality conversations, laughs, and even a massive “game” of pickle ball. (No doubt Gerry Turner will have major FOMO when he watches this!) Vassos thought about a spontaneous trip to Paris with Pascal, learned Bob was struck dead by lightning for 12 (!!!) minutes and is hoping “lighting will strike twice” with them, swooned over a poem Jonathan wrote, and ate a home-cooked meal made with love by Jack, who gave the camera crew a detailed tour of the mansion (“I could tell you right now, we got about 72 candles up there) and decided to casually whip up tenderloin medallions with a bordelaise sauce, asparagus with hollandaise, and rice with shallots and mushrooms for his golden girl.

“I only got like a couple of bites because I had to continue and meet other men that night. But I could have sat there and ate that entire meal with him — it was that delicious. He’s as great as you see him in the first episode,” Vassos told Decider about the Night 1 star.

Who Got Joan Vassos’ First Impression Rose?

Though the guys mentioned above brought their A-game and Chef Jack prepared a top-notch meal, the first impression rose went to someone unsuspecting: Keith, a 62-year-old girl dad from San Jose, California — better known as the station wagon guy.

During the episode we saw the two playing cornhole and bonding over shared interests like the beach. When it came time to hand out her special stem, Vassos told Keith, “I loved it when you came in in that big old stupid station wagon that reminded me of my childhood. And when you got out, this is super scary to me, and you just made me feel safe. You have this calm voice, and you’re just this big teddy bear kind of guy. It just felt good to me. It felt easy. And you said the thing about grabbing a bottle of wine and cheese and crackers and going to the beach, which is just what I love to do.” The two shared a smooch and Vassos told cameras she was incredibly hopeful about Keith.

A Special Golden Bachelorette Surprise

While there was only one first impression rose, every man in the mansion got a special Night 1 treat thanks to Vassos, who gathered them in the living room and wheeled over a television to play a collection of encouraging videos from the guys’ kids, parents, and loved ones. We met Pascal’s son Maxim, who promised not to have a party Saturday night. We met Charles’ daughter Sofia, who gave him a dose of his own dad wisdom. (Protect Charles at all costs!!!) We met moms, and grandchildren, and more formative individuals in the cast members’ lives, and before we knew it, Vassos made her whole group of guys cry.

“They moved in on Father’s Day. So these men were all missing Father’s Day with their kids, which made me really sad for them and made me sad for their kids. And when you leave your family, you could potentially be gone for a lot of weeks. And that’s really hard,” Vassos told Decider. “It was really hard for me. And I knew it would be really hard for them. So having these little messages, they felt like [their families] were there with them and they kind of got to be a part of the journey by doing that.”

Who Went Home On The Golden Bachelorette Premiere: Episode 1 Rose Ceremony Recap

The Golden Bachelorette‘s premiere was largely a love fest, but before the night ended, Vassos reluctantly had to say goodbye to several men. Her first rose ceremony rose went to Dan and her final rose went to our boy Jack. So who went home on The Golden Bachelorette premiere? The following guys:

• Bill, 68, a retired videographer from Portland, Ore.
• David, 68, a rancher from Austin, Texas
• Ken, 60, a property management treasurer from Peabody, Mass.
• Pablo, 63, a retired UN agency director from Cambridge, Md.
• RJ, 66, a financial advisor from Irvine, Calif.
• Thomas, 62, a fire department chief from New York, N.Y.

A preview for the season teases a kickball game, an 80s prom, a trip to Vegas, a strip show for charity, fireworks, and heavy emotions ahead. Oh yeah, and Gerry Turner is coming back, though it’s likely he’s just dropping in to advise Vassos on a date rather than trying to win her back. Vassos’ final words of the night perfectly sum up why the world needs The Golden Bachelorette even — and perhaps especially after — the Golden Divorce.

“I deserve to have a second chance at love. I don’t have to mourn the rest of my life,” she explained. “It’s the renewed sense of hope.” And with that, we’ll see you back here next week for another Golden Bachelorette recap.

New episodes of The Golden Bachelorette premiere Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC. Next-day streaming is available on Hulu.