ThoughTheBachelorfranchise likes to cast leads from past seasons, several contestants fromThe Golden Bacheloretteshould never beThe Golden Bachelor.The inaugural season of thespin-off broke ground as the first dating show to center around the love lives of seniors. 72-year-old Gerry Turner, a retired restaurateur from Indiana, dated 22 single golden-aged women and gave his final rose to 70-year-old day trader Theresa Nist.
They were married in a TV wedding but announced their divorce after only three months of marriage. The disappointing failure hangs like a dark cloud over the franchise, and the lead of the show’s second season will be under enormous pressure to right the ship. Though ABC has been airing ads asking women to apply to be onThe Golden Bachelorseason 2, they have yet to announce the name of their newGoldenlead.
There was some expectation that they’d do so during the recent finale ofThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1, whichrecently wrapped up with 61-year-old Joan Vassos getting engaged to 60-year-old Chock Chapple. During her season, Joan dated 24 singlemen, sending them all home one by one until she handed out her final rose. Many of the men Joan dated were very impressive, and there were many great options for the nextGoldenlead among them. While there are several great men to choose from, there are eight men who should never be cast asThe Golden Bachelor.
8Chock Chapple
Joan’s Winner
Joan and Chock hit it off from the moment they met on the premiere night ofThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1, and they had their ups and downs on the journey to the final rose. Chock wasthe obvious front-runner from the moment she gave him her first one-on-one date. After a thrilling season of falling in love, Joan gave her final rose to Chock. Though she had said she didn’t want to rush into a marriage, when Chock got down on one knee and proposed, she eagerly accepted.
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Though Joan and Chock are engaged now, there’s always a chance things won’t work out. If Chock ends up being single again, he shouldn’t be considered for a role as a future lead. It wouldn’t be Chock’s first failed relationship. He was married to Heather Chapple for 12 years before their divorce;Chock was also engaged to Katherine Elizabeth Goreefor nine years before she passed away in 2022. Hisdivorce and long engagement were red flags Joan overlooked, but the show’s producers shouldn’t overlook those same red flags when castingThe Golden Bachelor.
7Charles Ling
Still Mourning His Late Wife
Like Joan,66-year-old Charles was also widowed. The father of two lost his beloved wife to a brain aneurysm six years ago, after 36 years of marriage. Charles is still in deep mourning for his wife, and though it’s one of themost endearing things about him, it should keep him from beingThe Golden Bachelor.The retired financial analyst from Philadelphia was encouraged to join the cast ofThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1 by his daughters.
Charles' adult daughters worried about their lonely father and wanted him to try to find love again.
DuringThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1, Charles struggled to process his wife’s death. He was with her when the aneurysm happened, so it’s understandable that he’s still traumatized, in addition to being in mourning. Though Charles isn’t ready to replace Gerry as the spin-off’s next male lead,being on the show seemed to help Charles find more closurewhen it came to his late wife’s tragic passing.
6Kim Buike
“We Are The Mansion Men”
The Golden Bacheloretteseason 1included Kim Buike, a69-year-old retired Navy captain from Seattle, Washington. Kim didn’t get far with Joan, and it wasn’t for lack of trying. At one point, Kim even wrote an original song for Joan that he wanted all the men to sing to her. When Kim got up in front of the men and performed his song, none of them were interested in joining in. The men found the song’s lyrics to be cringe-worthy, and no one wanted to be a part of it.
“We are the mansion men. The Golden bachelor mansion men. We’re here to win the heart of Joan.”
The other men were not interested in joining Kim’s sing-along for Joan, which seemed to deeply hurt him. Ultimately, one other contestant, Guy Gansert, took pity on Kim and was kind enough to sing the weird song with him while the other men avoided the scene. The whole thing was weird, and Joan must have thought so too becauseshe sent Kim home at the next rose ceremony. Though Kim seemed like a nice enough man, he’s just too weird to beThe Golden Bachelor.
5Jack Lencioni
The Party Animal
Before appearing onThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1,Jack Lencioni was a 68-year-oldcaterer living in Chicago, Illinois. The gregarious Jack stood out as quite the eccentric character from the moment he set foot inTheBachelormansion. He took advantage of the chef’s kitchen atThe Bachelormansion to cook Joan an elaborate dinner, which she seemed to enjoy. Theother contestants onThe Golden Bacheloretteloved Jack, who was always good for a laugh.
There was no chemistry between Joan and Jack, but she liked him enough to keep him around for a while.
Jack was eventually eliminated fromThe Golden Bachelorette, but not before taking full advantage of theBachelormansion. Though Jack was always entertaining, he wasmore interested in having fun and playing around with the other men than in connectingwith Joan. Though he’d make for an entertainingBachelorlead, he’d be more interested in doing cannonballs into the pool than finding true love.
4Mark Anderson
The Possible Producer Plant
58-year-old Mark Anderson, a retired Army veteran and widowed father of five,made his television debut onThe Bachelorseason28during Joey Graziadei’s hometown visit with Mark’s daughter, Kelsey Anderson. When Mark gave the young couple a photo album filled with photos of him and his late wife, fans instantly fell in love with the tall widower, and a star was born.
Though Mark was only on camera briefly, he left a lasting impression.
When Mark was announced as a contestant forThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1, he was so excited about meeting Joan. Sadly, his hopes were dashed when Joan sent him home before her hometown visits.Online speculation ran rampant thatMark was only cast on the show to be the nextGolden Bachelor.If the show’s producers were to cast him as the nextGoldenlead, it would prove the speculation correct.
3Gil Ramirez
His Ex Filed A Restraining Order
Gil Ramirez,a 60-year-old educatorfrom Mission Viejo, California, didn’t make it far onThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1, as Joan sent him home fairly early on. Before he was eliminated,PeoplereportedGil’s ex-girlfriend filed a restraining orderagainst him three months before he appeared on the show. In the order, sheaccused him of stalking her, making unwanted contact with her and her family, and showing up to places unannounced to confront her.
The restraining order was ultimately dropped, but the damage was done, especially since Gil wasn’t honest about it.
SinceBachelorproducers didn’t know about the restraining order, Gil must have passed a background check before the restraining order was filed. In other words, theincident occurred in the window between the background check and the start of production. Still, a lot can happen in a few months, so it’s hard to imagine that producers didn’t check again closer to the start ofThe Golden Bacheloretteproduction. ABC responded to the report by editing down Gil’s already limited screen time. For obvious reasons, Gil should never appear on anotherBachelorNation show, and certainly not as the lead.
2Guy Gansert
Disturbing Allegations
66-year-old Guy Ganserthit it off with Joan from the moment they met duringThe Golden Bachelorseason 1, and he made it to her final two men, along with Chock. Though things seem to be going great between Joan and Guy,Peoplereported Guy’s ex-wife, Heidi O’Gara,filed for a temporary protective order in October 2021. They were going through a divorce at the time, and things got heated.
Though the restraining order was never officially granted, his ex-wife’s accusations are disturbing.
Heidi accused her ex-husband of having anger issues and making threats, and even alleged he “motioned like he was going to shoot me with his hand shaped like a pistol.“She had the order dismissed a month laterbefore it was officially granted by a judge, but it’s still a potential red flag. If Guy was in such a contentious relationship with his ex-wife, he shouldn’t be cast asThe Golden Bachelor.
1Pascal Ibgui
Joan Was Blind Sided
69-year-old Pascal Igbuimade it to Joan’s final three, and she was deeply attracted to the charming French salon owner. DuringThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1’s hometown episode, Joan visited Pascal’s hometown of Chicago, Illinois, where she enjoyed a day at his luxurious salon, after whichshemet his close-knit family and friends. As they headed into overnight dates, Joan and Pascal were excited about the possibilities.
Joan and Pascal’s overnight date started off great, but things started to go south during a bonding ceremony.
The symbolic ceremony scared Pascal becauseit made him question whether he was ready to commit to Joan. The date exercise made him realize he didn’t have romantic feelings for Joan. In a clip posted to YouTube byBachelor Nation,he told her he saw her only as a friend. This came as a surprise to Joan because Pascal wasn’t acting like her friend when he was kissing her just a few minutes before. Pascal eliminated himself fromThe Golden Bachelorette,and he doesn’t deserve to beThe Golden Bachelor.
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The Golden Bachelorette
Cast
The Golden Bachelorette: This reality series offers one woman in her later years the opportunity to find love, as a group of seasoned men compete for her affection. Participants bring diverse romantic histories, seeking a meaningful connection and a chance to build a promising future together.
