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The Golden Bachelor alum Joan Vassos has said she was sent unsolicited “dick pics” among other “horrifying” messages after appearing on season one of the Bachelor franchise spin-off.
61-year-old Vassos – who will lead the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelorette – competed on The Golden Bachelor last fall before she was forced to self-eliminate in the third episode after an unexpected family medical emergency.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly ahead of the September 18 premiere of her season, Vassos shared some of the “weird” messages she received from hopeful suitors who “inundated” her Instagram DMs.
“I live in Maryland. Most of those people lived in all different states. I didn’t really respond to those much,” the school administrator said. “Or I would have cute little conversations and say, ‘Thank you, you’re so flattering,’ or whatever. But none of them seemed to be anything that would really work out or that I felt particularly comfortable with. And then some of the DMs were weird.”
She revealed: “I got dick pics. And I got people with foot fetishes. They wanted me to send them pictures of my feet and would pay me for it.
“One person offered to buy all the shoes that I wore on Golden Bachelor. It was scary. My kids were like, ‘Give me your phone, mom. We’re blocking all this.’”
Vassos isn’t the only Golden Bachelor contestant to have been sent inappropriate messages after the show.
Her fellow co-star April Kirkwood, 66, told EW in January: “The creepiest one was an old yucky man. And then right after, his wife [messaged me] and said, ‘Would you like to do a threesome?’ I was shocked. They wanted to go in together with me.”
Leslie Fhima, 65, also told the outlet about one man who “wanted to be my sugar daddy.”
“He itemized everything that he would pay for,” she said, adding: “I’ve been hit on by way more young men than [men] my age.”
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Vassos was announced as the first Golden Bachelorette in May. Next month, the widower will be joined by 24 contestants, all vying for her heart.
According to her Golden Bachelorette bio: “Vassos remains an embodiment of strength and grace as a devoted mother of four, grandmother of three, and school administrator, while finding solace in the music of Elton John, spending time with her dog, and cooking.
“Now, as she steps into the golden spotlight and begins her journey to seek love once more, Vassos envisions a future filled with shared moments by the beach and cherished time with family.”
The Golden Bachelorette premieres on Wednesday, September 18, on ABC at 8pm ET, with episodes airing weekly after that.
