Maryland’s Joan Vassos makes debut on ABC’s ‘The Golden Bachelorette’

BALTIMORE — There will be no Maryland love connection on “The Golden Bachelorette,” which premiered Wednesday night on ABC with 24 suitors vying for the affections of 61-year-old Joan Vassos.

The Maryland grandmother sent home six bachelors on the first episode, including Pablo, a 63-year-old retired U.N. agency director originally from Buenos Aires who now lives in Cambridge, Maryland.

Vassos, a Rockville resident and University of Maryland graduate, was named the star of the inaugural series “The Golden Bachelorette” in May.

On Wednesday night’s two-hour premiere, Vassos gleamed as she prepared for a new chapter, hopefully with a happy ending.

“I feel like Cinderella,” Vassos, wearing a glittering gold gown, told host Jesse Palmer as she took her place in front of the California mansion where she welcomed this season’s cast of eligible and older bachelors, one by one.

The first to arrive was Pascal, who lives in Chicago but is from Paris. Vassos seemed charmed by his “very sexy” French accent, as she put it. He was followed by a retired Navy captain, a university vice president, a chiropractor and a shipping consultant, among others.

As is typical for the show, the bachelors vied with each other for the most memorable introduction. One wore a blindfold, another tossed a baseball and another offered a toast with prune juice.

Jack, a caterer from Illinois in an eye-catching pink blazer, serenaded her with “My Way.”

Chock brought chicken noodle soup in a jar. (Jack outdid him later by making an entire dinner.)

David, a rancher from Texas, arrived on a horse but the animal soon beat a quick retreat — sans rider — and literally ran for the hills. The bachelors joked “he lost his ride.”

The final bachelor to arrive was Mark, the father of Kelsey Anderson, who was the winner in Bachelor Season 28, becoming engaged to Joey Graziadei.

The bachelors all admitted to being nervous. They found Vassos “beautiful” and “glamorous.”

For her part, Vassos was game for it all.

She sampled the soup. She listened to the poetry. She admired the garden book. She played pickleball in her gown — and cornhole.

“I’m looking for someone who’s ready to have an adventure. I’m ready to have some fun,” Vassos said, adding that her bucket list includes a safari.

“I’m not willing to settle. I need to have love,” she told one bachelor.

The first impression rose went to Keith, a girl dad from San Jose, California, who arrived in an old station wagon and who Joan said “made her feel safe.”

“He has a quick laugh and also is very sincere,” she said. “He just makes me feel comfortable.”

In one heartfelt and touching segment, we saw video testimonies from the sons and daughters of the bachelors. Vassos, a widow with four children, has stressed the importance of family connections.

At the rose ceremony, Vassos gave out 17 red rose boutonnieres to her most promising potential love interests.

“Since I was chosen as The Golden Bachelorette, I have been looking forward to this moment and dreading this moment,” Vassos said as she began the rose ceremony.

“If you leave, you will have already won,” she told the men. “You are here and you have shown the world that you have heart and you have a sense of adventure and that you are looking for love and you’re doing it in your golden years and you’re a great example to everyone.”

“The Golden Bachelorette” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.