Latest news with #GoldenBachelorette
Miami Herald
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
‘Golden Bachelorette' Star Joan Vassos Says Her Late Husband John ‘Would Be Proud of' Her
Days before Joan Vassos' late husband, John, died of pancreatic cancer in 2021, he shared one of his last wishes with his wife of 32 years: "He said, 'You need to go out and live. You need to find somebody else. We had a happy marriage. You're a great wife, and I want you to find happiness again,'" she tells Life & Style exclusively. The Golden Bachelorette - who got engaged to 61-year-old Chock Chapple during the November season finale of the show - is doing exactly that. She and Chock have been busy traveling (they attended the finale of Season 29 of The Bachelor in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, in late March) and planning their upcoming wedding. The retired grandmother of four, who's based in Maryland, also serves as the ambassador of PanCAN PurpleStride, raising awareness and funds for pancreatic cancer. "John would be proud of me that I'm using my platform to do some good," she says. Here, Joan talks to Life & Style's Fortune Benatar about missing John and a potential TV wedding. What would John think about where you are today?JV: He'd be happy I'm living life. I don't think he'd want me to mourn him for my whole life. There are days I think [about how] I'll never have my old life back, and that still makes me sad, but I know I need to move on. I had 32 wonderful years with John and I could have 32 more years with somebody else. How's it going with Chock?JV: We're having a blast. We're in love and now we're out [of the Bachelor bubble] being real people going out to dinner with other couples and meeting each other's friends and spending time with each other's family. How's the long distance thing going? JV: He still has a job [in Kansas], and I'm busy with PurpleStride, the American Heart Association and my grand- kids. Life can get in the way, so you have to be really organized and make sure you set that time apart, which we are really good about. We have our next two months already planned. We talk like five times a day. I think we'll end up here in Maryland because I have kids and grandkids here. Do you think you'll have a televised wedding? JV: Originally I said, "We just spent all this time on film, let's just do an intimate little wedding." But as I've talked to people about the hope they felt after our show, it feels like we'd be leaving them at the doorstep and not inviting them to the final part of our journey. People are invested in us, so I feel like maybe we would if they ask us to do that. Any advice for older singles? JV: Do stuff that scares you. It's scarier to do that as you get older be- cause you have more to lose. Going on the show was scary for me. I was worried I was not honoring John's memory. I did something that made me extremely nervous, and it ended up having a great outcome. You look amazing at 62. What's your secret? JV: I go on walks with my friends, so I'm staying healthy but doing it in a fun way. It's about the connection. Being happy helps a lot! Copyright 2025 A360 Media. All rights reserved.
USA Today
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Who is the 'Golden Bachelor' Season 2 leading man?
Who is the 'Golden Bachelor' Season 2 leading man? Show Caption Hide Caption Watch: Chock can't remember 'Golden Bachelorette' Joan's middle name "Golden Bachelorette" Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple explain to USA TODAY's Bryan Alexander why they aren't rushing to wed after the final rose. "Golden Bachelor" is back for a second season. And no, its star is not "Golden Bachelorette" favorites Mark Anderson or Charles Ling. The lead will be a new face for many Bachelor Nation members, though he may be more familiar to NFL fans. Mel Owens will be your next Midwestern leading man. ABC announced the news at an April 22 event in Los Angeles celebrating Disney's slate of reality TV programs. The former Los Angeles Rams linebacker-turned-lawyer, 66, was once married and shares two sons with his first wife. He's also a partner at an Orange County, California, law firm specializing in sports injuries and workers' compensation. "After several years as a devoted dad, Owens is ready to rediscover a love rooted in the simple joys of companionship – sharing life's everyday moments, making plans for the future, and growing stronger together as a couple," ABC's press release says. "As the Golden Bachelor, he's eager to meet someone who shares this vision and finally find that perfect teammate he's been waiting for in his golden years." When will 'Golden Bachelor' Season 2 come out? A premiere date for "Golden Bachelor" Season 2 will be "announced at a later date," ABC says. What happened on Season 1 of 'The Golden Bachelor?' Fellow Midwesterner Gerry Turner was the franchise's inaugural "Golden Bachelor." In his September 2023 season premiere, the (at the time) 72-year-old widower welcomed 22 women, whose ages ranged from 60 to 75, to the "Bachelor" mansion. He ultimately chose to wed Theresa Nist over Leslie Fhima, who will get another chance at reality TV love during a revamped "Bachelor in Paradise" this summer, with the two opting for a grand wedding ceremony that aired on ABC at the beginning of 2024. However, their love did not last long after the lavish event, with the two announcing their upcoming divorce in April 2024. The legal disentanglement was finalized in June and cited "certain irreconcilable differences" between Turner and Nist. Then in December, Turner announced he was diagnosed with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, a bone marrow cancer.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Bachelor in Paradise' returns this summer with a ‘Golden' twist. Some fans say the franchise is trying to ruin a good thing with the change.
The beach is going to look a bit different this summer on Bachelor in Paradise. During the After the Final Rose special on March 24, The Bachelor host Jesse Palmer announced that Season 10 of Bachelor in Paradise, which premieres this summer, will include alumni from its Golden Bachelor and Golden Bachelorette franchises. "For the first time ever, Golden men and women will be hitting the beaches of Paradise alongside all of your Bachelor and Bachelorette favorites from seasons past," Palmer told the audience. "I don't know if I've ever been more excited for anything ever!" Palmer then announced Golden Bachelor contestant Leslie Fhima and Golden Bachelorette contestant Gary Levingston as the latest cast members to join the beach-set spin-off. Many fans have expressed an interest in seeing a Golden version of Bachelor in Paradise, and they're not alone: Palmer told Decider in 2024 that he'd be all for a Golden Bachelor in Paradise. Wells Adams, who is often in Paradise as the beach-side bartender, told the Hollywood Reporter in 2023 that he could see the spin-off happening. Adams doubled down in February 2025, saying that he thinks "it's an amazing idea." "Why can't we just have everyone come, and everyone can date everyone?" he told Us Weekly. "If you're not into a cougar, that's OK, different strokes for different folks." Season 10 of Bachelor in Paradise will mark the spin-off's return after skipping a season in 2024. Details surrounding this season's format of Bachelor in Paradise as well as how producers plan on incorporating the Golden contestants is not clear at this time. (Neither ABC nor Warner Bros, which produces the show, responded to Yahoo Entertainment's requests for comment.) But fans have already taken to social media to share their initial reactions to the news — and many are skeptical. On X, one Bachelor in Paradise fan wrote that there's 'nothing wrong' with the spin-off the way it is, and that producers shouldn't 'ruin a good thing.' Another wrote that including Golden contestants could ruin 'the best remaining thing about this franchise.' News of the Bachelor in Paradise twist comes after Deadline reported on March 14 that showrunners and executive producers Claire Freeland and Bennett Graebner would be exiting the franchise after two years amid toxic workplace allegations. Freeland and Graebner's departure was the latest change to rock the reality TV dating series. Steve Granelli, a communication studies professor at Northeastern University, told Yahoo Entertainment that the Bachelor franchise announcing the arrival of Golden contestants on Paradise is '100% strategic.' The limited amount of information revealed about the capacity these Golden alumni will appear in is also deliberate. 'It's now the first thing that people will be talking about with the Bachelor franchise,' he said. 'I believe it has something to do with trying to change the conversation about prior showrunners, about the allegations. I may be a cynic, but I believe it's calculated.' Online, Bachelor Nation fans are equally jaded. More than not wanting to see 'senior citizens on the beach,' several fans have voiced their concerns that older men may try to pursue the younger women. The average age of male contestants on Joan Vassos's season of The Golden Bachelorette was 64 years old, while the average age of female contestants on Ellis's season of The Bachelor was 28 years old. As with any Bachelor franchise show, Granelli expects this roster of Paradise contestants to feature a many types of personalities. Apprehension from fans, he said, likely stems from the fact that this twist can go 'in a bunch of different directions.' 'Like every episode of Bachelor in Paradise, there's a wide range [of contestants],' he said. 'There's the most controversial. There are the ones that are most liked that weren't picked. There are the ones that garner the most attention. So I imagine there's absolutely going to be one or two Golden contestants … having conversations with younger women. And whether they are salacious or not, I imagine that's going to be part of a storyline somewhere in the presentation of the show.' Another possibility is that the Golden contestants and the younger contestants will all be present on the beach, but they won't be 'as enmeshed in the show as we expect them to be,' Granelli said. Instead, their journeys to find love could happen separately. 'The opposite could also be a storyline,' he said. 'Like, 'This is somebody who's just developing a very nice, kind of caring relationship with someone else.' I imagine they're going to do their best to present the gamut of types of relationships.' Sending Golden contestants to the beach is perhaps another way the franchise is attempting to tackle its diversity issue. Premiering in 2023, The Golden Bachelor became ABC's highest-rated debut for an unscripted series in nearly two years and was praised for its visibility of seniors. The series wasn't perfect — The Golden Bachelor, which had Gerry Turner as its lead, was also criticized for reinforcing harmful stereotypes about aging. The Golden Bachelorette premiered a year later, in 2024. The series premiere saw 2.8 million live viewers, making it one of the lowest premieres among ABC's The Golden Bachelor, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise, Forbes reported. Ratings aside, lead Joan Vassos was praised for her authenticity. How these older contestants will be received by Bachelor in Paradise viewers, Granelli said, will largely depend on how the range of contestants' ages will be addressed on the show. Granelli believes the twist can elicit one of two results. A large age gap between hopeful singles can be a 'stopping point' for communication because they are at such different points in their lives. It could also encourage contestants to 'learn about each other's experiences.' 'In the worst-case scenario, [the age gap] is cartooned,' he said. 'That would make for a base level of entertainment and TV for the lowest common denominator.' Early fan reactions to the Paradise twist may be warranted, but Granelli doesn't think viewership will suffer. Fans will want to see how this one plays out. The producers have done their job in drumming up excitement for the upcoming season. 'I don't believe an ethical question or a question of morality is going to be a motivator to drive viewers away from the franchise,' he said. 'There's this potential that something more, something different, something crazier or something we haven't seen yet might happen [in Paradise.] That's what Jesse Palmer teased us with, with that promo. I don't imagine anybody hearing that and being like, 'I'm not going to watch.''
USA Today
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
'Bachelor' Grant and Juliana dish on their secret engagement, life after finale
'Bachelor' Grant and Juliana dish on their secret engagement, life after finale The afternoon after the "Bachelor" finale aired, lead Grant Ellis and fiancée Juliana Pasquarosa were finally allowed to open up about how they navigated the months since filming wrapped. Spoiler alert: The following contains details about the ending of "The Bachelor" Season 29. BURBANK, Calif. ‒ After a night of "one too many drinks" with "all of our close people," Juliana Pasquarosa and Grant Ellis are back under the glare of studio lights. And for the first time, they can finally open up about their engagement after Monday night's finale of ABC's "The Bachelor." As Pasquarosa, 28, has her lipstick touched up by a makeup artist, she and Ellis, 31, show the lighthearted rapport they'd developed while in hiding these past several months to avoid spoiling the outcome of the 29th season. Ellis makes his fiancée laugh with a SpongeBob SquarePants impression, and when the crew is ready to get the cameras rolling on our interview, the two align their body language to present a united front. Pasquarosa clutches Ellis' hand on her thigh, her emerald-cut engagement ring glinting in the lights. After a hectic day of interviews, the famished couple is ready for their promised catered lunch but buoyed by their now-public love. 'Bachelor' finale recap: Grant Ellis breaks up with Litia, announces he's moving to Juliana While secretly engaged since last fall, the two learned a good deal about each other: Being alone off-camera was when "the real relationship building" happened, Pasquarosa says. She admits it wasn't easy to sequester again during their "happy couple's weekends," where the show's producers arrange for the lovebirds to privately spend time together while their love story is unfolding on TV. "It was hard to do the happy couple's (weekend) in the sense of being locked away and cut off again from your friends and family, but we crushed it," Pasquarosa says. Ellis later adds: "We definitely used that as an opportunity to grow. We worked through watching the show, we worked through the kinks and we're pushing through." 'Bachelor': Who Joey and Kelsey leaned on to help their relationship Engaged "Bachelor" couple Joey Graziadei and Kelsey Anderson tell USA TODAY's Ralphie Aversa about navigating challenges in their relationship. Grant and Juliana have leaned on Joey Graziadei and Joan Vassos for advice While the couple's friends and family offered valuable advice for navigating an engagement that most people can't relate to ‒ which involved Pasquarosa watching her fiancé explore romantic relationships with two dozen other women ‒ "Bachelor" franchise alumni also offered their wisdom. Last year's "Bachelor" couple, Joey Graziadei and his fiancée, Kelsey Anderson, are "great people," Ellis says. "They've been supporting us and reaching out." Inaugural "Golden Bachelorette" Joan Vassos and her final-rose recipient, Chock Chapple, have also reached out to the couple, Ellis reveals. 'Goldens' in paradise: 'Bachelor's' older contestants heading to 'Bachelor in Paradise' Pasquarosa believes she "did come in a little naïve, and I'm still trying to figure it out." So frequent check-ins from Anderson (engaged to Graziadei for 16 months) and messages of support from a couple of her fellow contestants were very welcome. "I can't wait to pick Kelsey's brain about the next steps in life," Pasquarosa says. "There's so few people in this world that go through the ('Bachelor') process. It's important to hear them out and understand what works for them." Watch: Chock can't remember 'Golden Bachelorette' Joan's middle name "Golden Bachelorette" Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple explain to USA TODAY's Bryan Alexander why they aren't rushing to wed after the final rose. Despite a shorter season, Grant thinks 'six weeks was enough' If Season 29 felt rushed, that's because at nine episodes, Grant's journey was two shorter than the last two "Bachelor" seasons. (Bachelor Nation hasn't seen a season this short since 2008.) Ellis confesses that as a typically decisive person, he would've liked "a little more time to be able to sit and think things through." The shorter filming schedule "definitely had an impact" on his experience, but despite having less time to process, he's resolute in knowing he'd made the right choice. "I'm happy with my decision," he says. "And if I had to go back. I'll pick the same thing a million times over. So I guess six weeks was enough." Pasquarosa certainly had enough of the jet-setting and worrying about whether the man she loved would choose her, too. "I don't think I would have lasted if it was any longer. I was ready to go home," she says. That might've been in part because she'd "burned to a crisp" during the last leg of their journey in the Dominican Republic. "I was spiraling in the sun and then I just sat there... And then I realized what was happening and I had to be on camera, and I wore a red dress," she laments. Ellis was nonetheless smitten. "She wears a tan really well," he says lovingly. Juliana will return to work, Grant looks forward to traveling Pasquarosa secured her job as a client service associate at a Newton, Massachusetts, salon three months before she left to film "The Bachelor." But her workplace has been "so supportive of me" during her foray into reality TV, she says. As things settle down, "I plan to go back and stick with them and do the best that I can to provide them a quality employee because that's the top priority," she says. "And I like the security of having a job." Ellis is proud of the work he's done in his five years as a day trader ‒ a job that now allows him to "do what I want when I want" ‒ and looks forward to exploring the world with Pasquarosa. And this time, without the constraints of the show, they can travel together. "We're going to be everywhere," he says.
USA Today
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
'Golden' contestants to take part in summer spinoff dating show 'Bachelor in Paradise'
'Golden' contestants to take part in summer spinoff dating show 'Bachelor in Paradise' Show Caption Hide Caption Watch: Chock can't remember 'Golden Bachelorette' Joan's middle name "Golden Bachelorette" Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple explain to USA TODAY's Bryan Alexander why they aren't rushing to wed after the final rose. The "Golden" contestants from the "Bachelor" franchise will have another chance at love this summer. During the finale and "After the Final Rose" for Grant Ellis' season of "The Bachelor" Monday night, host Jesse Palmer called in some friends from the audience to make a surprise announcement. Gary Levingston (from Joan Vassos' inaugural season of "The Golden Bachelorette") and Leslie Fhima (Gerry Turner's "Golden Bachelor" runner-up) helped reveal that the upcoming season of "Bachelor in Paradise" wouldn't just be a young man's game. As it turns out, the spinoff show — which went dark as it took an unexplained break last year — will be back with not only its usual cast of contestants who didn't end up with a lead on "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" but also their counterparts on the "Golden" shows, who are 55 and up. All on the beach at the same time, though? Well, the franchise is keeping things hush-hush for now. (And it's very possible the showrunners themselves don't know what the format will be.) "You're going to have to tune in to find out" how the show will work with seemingly two separate casts, Palmer told viewers. In publicity materials released by ABC following Ellis' finale, it sounds like the casts from all four shows will mingle on the same set. "'Golden' men and women will be hitting the beach alongside all your 'Bachelor' and 'Bachelorette' favorites from seasons past!" the broadcaster promises. "Paradise" is the long-running dating show's next installment, as the franchise is pulling "The Bachelorette" from its usual spring/summer broadcast slot, with no reason given for the scheduling decision. Who's going to be on 'Bachelor in Paradise' 2025? The franchise announced a few of Jenn Tran's exes would be heading to "Paradise" as her season came to a wrap (in disastrous fashion), and one of Ellis' finalists was added to the lineup Monday night alongside "Golden" alumni. Here is who's confirmed so far:
