Joan Vassos is getting another shot at love as she has been announced as the first “Golden Bachelorette.”
ABC revealed the news via an Instagram Reel Tuesday evening which showed Vassos picking up a golden rose in a shimmering gold dress.
“I’m Joan, and I’m your first ‘Golden Bachelorette,’” she confidently said in the clip.
Vassos also shared the video on her Instagram Story, writing “The secret is out! I’m honored to be #TheGoldenBachelorette!”
She also commented on how she was “so excited for this journey 🥰🌹✨.”
Meanwhile, the 61-year-old was supported by Gerry Turner, whose heart she vied for on the first season of “The Golden Bachelor.”
“Congratulations on being named the first ever Golden Bachelorette,” he wrote on Instagram. “You will be phenomenal as the new representative of a generation.”
He concluded, “From one golden to another … relax, breathe and enjoy.”
The pair bonded on “The Golden Bachelor” over the mutual loss of their spouses. Turner’s wife died in 2017 from a bacterial infection, while Vassos lost her husband of 32 years to pancreatic cancer in 2021.
However, after just three weeks, she abandoned the competition to be with her daughter, who had just given birth and was suffering from postpartum depression.
“My family will always be first,” she told Turner, 72, before departing the show. “Once you become a mom, you’re always a mom even when your kids are older. Nothing is more important.”
She later told the Wrap that she had planned to return to the show less than a week later, but her daughter needed more help.
Vassos, a private school administrator from Maryland, has a total of four children and two grandchildren.
Turner went on to marry contestant Theresa Nist during a televised wedding in January. However, three months later, they announced their divorce.
“The Golden Bachelorette” will debut this fall on ABC and will air on Wednesdays. The episodes can be streamed on Hulu the following day.
