Bachelor Nation
‘Golden Bachelorette’s Joan Vassos Reacts to ‘Cute’ New ‘Golden Bachelor’ Lead Mel Owens
After months of speculation about who would be the next star of The Golden Bachelor, ABC finally confirmed the casting choice of Mel Owens on Tuesday, April 22. The reveal came as a bit of a shock to many fans who thought that the lead would be one of the men from Joan Vassos‘ season of The Golden Bachelorette.
Even though one of her exes didn’t get the gig, Vassos shared her opinions about the new leading man on her Instagram Story.
“Oh he’s cute…” she wrote. However, she made sure to also show some love to her fiancé, Chock Chapple, whom she got engaged to on The Golden Bachelorette. Vassos added, “Almost as cute as Chock! Can’t wait to watch!!”
Vassos appeared on Season 1 of The Golden Bachelor in 2023. She dated Gerry Turner but decided to leave the show to deal with a family emergency back home (her daughter had just given birth at the time). After getting everything squared away, Vassos was ready to look for love once again, so she accepted the leading lady role for Golden Bachelorette in 2024.
Now, she and Chapple are continuing to figure out how to navigate their relationship in the real world. Although they live in different states (he’s in Kansas and she’s in Maryland), they’ve managed to make it work.
Owens, an NFL player-turned-lawyer, is now hoping he’ll have the same luck. The divorced dad of two is “eager to meet someone who shares this vision and finally find that perfect teammate he’s been waiting for in his golden years.”
Unfortunately, things didn’t work out for Turner and his final pick Theresa Nist. The two tied the knot in January 2024, but ended up separating just three months later. Their divorce was finalized in June. However, the Indiana resident recently confirmed that he’s dating someone new, so hopefully he still has a chance at his happy ending!
The Golden Bachelor, Season 2, 2025, ABC
