Why Did Joan Leave ‘The Golden Bachelor’? What To Know About Vassos’ Self-Elimination

The Golden Bachelorette premiered its debut season on September 18 with Golden Bachelor alum Joan Vassos returning to the mansion for another shot at finding lasting, late-in-life love. But the first episode of the season surprisingly didn’t talk too much about her Golden Bachelor journey.

Fans of The Golden Bachelor will recall that Vassos left the debut season early for an emergency. But those viewers tuning into the franchise for the first time to watch a Golden Gal find love may be wondering, “Why did Joan leave The Golden Bachelor?” If you found yourself wanting to know more about Vassos’ history with Turner and her time on The Golden Bachelor, we’ve got you covered.

Curious why Joan Vassos left The Golden Bachelor? What her time with Gerry Turner looked like? And why she was selected as The Golden Bachelorette‘s first-ever lead? Here’s everything you need to know.

Why Did Joan Vassos Leave The Golden Bachelor?

For those who don’t know (or simply need a refresher), Vassos left Gerry Turner’s Golden Bachelor season just three episodes in, due to a family emergency. After making a major impression during the group date talent show, she and Turner shared some deep dinner conversation and she revealed that her daughter back home had given birth just 15 days earlier. Both Turner and Vassos left the dinner feeling incredibly hopeful about their connection, but the following morning, cameras caught Vassos sobbing on the phone to her daughter, who was struggling post C-section. Next thing we knew, the school administrator from Rockville, Maryland was crying and saying goodbye to her fellow contestants.

As noted in our previous piece, Vassos told Turner she had to go be a mom and thanked him for giving her the first deep romantic connection she’d felt since her husband passed. “I understand. I get it. But I can’t tell you how disappointed I am,” Turner said with tears in his eyes. “I was so excited this morning I was out of bed dancing. I was thrilled that we had a conversation like we did and there’s a moral compass that we both share and sometimes the right thing to do is the hardest.” The two hugged, cried, and said goodbye. Even after Vassos left the mansion, Turner remained outside sobbing.

Following the episode, Vassos shared a statement on Instagram reflecting on her Golden Bachelor experience and shared additional information related to her departure. “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 in an Instagram Story. “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. 🌹” And thankfully, she is!

Why Is Gerry Turner On The Golden Bachelorette?

Following Vassos’ Golden Bachelorette premiere, a preview of the season ahead showed her ex Gerry Turner coming on the show and saying “Have you considered the possibility that your guy is not here?” INTERESTING.

During Vassos’ welcome toast, she told her group of guys that she sat in the mansion a year ago and the experience changed something inside of her. “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.”

Since Turner and his Golden Bachelor winner Theresa Nist got divorced earlier this year, some members of Bachelor Nation will likely wonder if his Golden Bachelorette appearance means he’s trying to win Vassos back or join her season. While we’ll have to watch and see how the reunion plays out, judging from Vassos’ comments to Decider ahead of her premiere, Turner is likely just dropping in to offer some Golden Bachelor wisdom and help his friend on her own journey to find love.

“He drew the road map for this. It was brand new and he was the first ever Golden Bachelor. And he did a really good job of showing us how you have to act. He acted very open and vulnerable, particularly for a man. He was more than what I would have expected, and that encouraged us to be the same way. And so I really respected his opinion,” Vassos told Decider. “I even had conversations with him before I came on the show to get advice… I think it was really important for me to hear what he had to say about things.”

While we wait for Turner’s highly-anticipated return to screens, be sure to catch up on Vassos first night in the mansion as Golden Bachelorette.

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