A.B.C.
Joan Vassos made history as the first ever Golden Bachelorette winner and spoke with Extra’s Billy Bush ahead of the premiere.
Joan revealed that she has some ground rules for herself, including rules regarding fantasy suites.
She said: “I didn’t want to be in a relationship with multiple people so I stopped doing that. [We] “We did a fantasy suite, but it was all about the emotional connection and getting to know each other off-camera. We didn’t do anything physical.”
Joan opted not to have a bed in her room: “I had a couch and when we were done talking I went to my room.”
“You don’t have to sleep with him!” Vassos emphasized.
Joan had no problem kissing men throughout the show! “My kids were so worried about me kissing guys on TV so I pretended I didn’t, but you have to kiss. It’s part of the journey,” she confessed.
She laughed, “They say, ‘You’re too old to be kissing on TV! It’s gross, Mum!'”
“I’ve kissed a lot,” Joan admitted, then joked, “Oh, that would be a funny statement.”
Although Joan didn’t find love with Jerry Turner on “The Golden Bachelor,” she revealed that he will be appearing on her season.
Vassos remained silent and insisted, “I can’t say anything more than that.”
“Jerry is a really good friend of mine,” she said. “I think his journey ended the way it should have. He ended up with Theresa. I truly believe they were in love, they were in love. It’s unfortunate that it didn’t work out, but that’s life, honestly.”
Joan also spoke about losing her husband, John, three years ago, and how he gave her his blessing to find someone and be happy.
She said, “Right before he died, we had the conversation that he really wanted to have. I didn’t want to. I was still in denial that he was going to die. He actually died three days later. But he told me to find someone. He said, ‘You’re the best wife. We had a great marriage. You have so much life ahead of you. I want you to find someone. Don’t spend the rest of your life mourning my death. Go out and find someone.’ So, even though I didn’t want to hear it at the time, I got his blessing.”
Joan recalls, “I was so angry that my dad would say that and give up, but he knew how sick he was. He knew what was going on, and I was just naive. In hindsight, it’s like the greatest gift he could have left me.”
Remembering her late husband, Joan said, “My husband loved me. He made me feel cared for and loved every day of my life. I hope I could make him feel the same. He would never want me to be unhappy.”
But Joan says she’s very conscious about not looking for the same person, and shared what different qualities she’s looking for at this point in her life.
She explained, “When I married John, I was looking for someone I wanted to build a life with, someone I wanted to have children with, someone I wanted to work hard with and build a life with. We want to start a family and build a life together.”
She continued, “That’s not what I was looking for on this journey. I was looking for someone to share my life with, and I was looking for someone a little different, someone with a bit more of a sense of adventure. Not that John isn’t adventurous, but that wasn’t the quality I was looking for.”
She further added, “I’m 61 and I’ve spent my whole life getting to this age, building my life and preparing for the next phase of my life. I’d raised my kids, built a house, saved money and thought I was ready to really enjoy life, and then all of a sudden, my future was taken away. My husband passed away. So, I’m still in that mode of, it’s time to really have fun. I’ve worked so hard to get to where I am, and I wanted a partner who was ready to have fun.”
“The Golden Bachelorette” will premiere on ABC on September 18th.
