One of Joan Vassos‘ suitors has a major Bachelor Nation connection. On Tuesday, ABC announced that, during the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelorette, 20 men will be vying for the school administrator’s heart, including Mark Anderson.
As fans of the franchise know, Mark is dad to Kelsey Anderson, the woman who won Joey Graziadei‘s heart on his season of The Bachelor. Viewers were quick to fall for the widower during Kelsey’s Hometown date, as she emotionally spoke about how Mark cared for her late mother when she became ill.
“I did not predict it, but it makes so much sense to me,” Kelsey told ET of the attention Mark received after his appearance on the show. “My dad’s so amazing. I think he deserves all of this hype.”
After The Bachelor‘s season finale, Kelsey told ET that Joan was one of the women from The Golden Bachelor that could be a good fit for her dad.
“There’s so many amazing women from that season. It’s really hard to you know narrow it down. I think Joan has a really great story. She’s also a widow,” Kelsey told ET of Joan, whose husband of 32 years, John, died in 2021. “… All of the women, they’re just hilarious. They have such big personalities.”
Months later, when Joan officially landed the Golden Bachelorette role, ET spoke to the newly minted leading lady about the possibility of Mark joining her season.
“I think he was a really sweet man. He was handsome. He was a family kind of guy. He lost his spouse. I think we have a lot in common,” Joan told ET. “I don’t doubt that we could have maybe a little spark. I’m hoping so. I’m going to be happy if he steps out of the limousine.”
According to Joan, Kelsey’s approval had held strong in the months since the reality star named her as a potential pick for her dad.
“She was in New York when they did the upfront when I was announced. She’d had a couple drinks and so had I right after the announcement, and she said, ‘Huh you could be my stepmom one day,'” Joan recalled of Kelsey. “It’s so funny.”
During her interview with ET, Joan also shared what she’s looking for in a man throughout her Golden Bachelorette journey.
“Obviously [he needs to be] kind and a family man,” she said. “My father was the ultimate gentleman. He opened doors, carried everything, hopped up when a woman walked in the room, was always polite, never cussed, just was such a gentleman. I am looking for a gentleman. There is something about that that is so charming and endearing to me.”
“I’m also looking for somebody that has a little sense of adventure. I worked my whole life getting to this place in life, and had planned on having all those adventures with John,” Joan continued. “When that all kind of vanished, I really missed that thought of planning a future with somebody and doing some fun things. I am ready for somebody that has a little sense of adventure and ready to have some fun. You only get to do this once. You only get to live once. It’s a big world and I’m ready to see it. I feel like I gotta get moving.”
Joan’s journey for love will air Wednesdays this fall on ABC.
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