Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe - Joan Vassos | The Golden Bachelorette on Finding Love & Exclusive Hometown Date Highlights!
Episode Date: October 29, 2024#784. In this episode of Off the Vine, Kaitlyn sits down with the incredible Joan Vassos—the first-ever Golden Bachelorette! At 61, Joan is captivating Bachelor Nation as she shares her jou...rney from The Golden Bachelor to leading her own search for love. Joan dives into her experience stepping into the spotlight, reliving hometown dates, and the challenges (and surprises!) of dating at this stage in life. She shares lessons learned from watching her season back, balancing family with dating, and why she’s rebranded the Fantasy Suite as the “Conversational Cabana.” Plus, Joan reflects on her biggest cringe-worthy moments and why the next Golden Bachelor might just be Kelsey’s dad! Don’t miss this episode full of laughs, wisdom, and Joan’s candid take on a journey that’s truly golden! If you’re LOVING this podcast, please follow and leave a rating and review below! PLUS, FOLLOW OUR PODCAST INSTAGRAM HERE! Thank you to our Sponsors! Check out these deals! Better Help: Visit BetterHelp.com/VINE today to get 10% off your first month. Botanic Tonics: Go to botanictonics.com and use the code VINE at checkout for $40 off a 12-pack case. Nutrafol: For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners $10 off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you go to Nutrafol.com and enter the promo code VINE. Skims: Shop SKIMS Bras at See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Off the Vine.
Hey, everybody, welcome to Off the Vine.
I'm your host, Caitlin Bristow,
and I could not be more excited to have the golden bachelorette Joan in the studio today.
I love having any kind of conversation with her because she brings so much wisdom and good advice and heart to the conversation.
And I just loved hearing her perspective.
everything this season. So enjoy my conversation with Joan. Hi. Hi. I'm going to say it so many times
throughout this interview. You look freaking incredible. Like I know you have the wardrobe and the
stylist. I mean like your energy is even feeling beautiful right now. I feel like I have a lot of
energy like kind of generated by all the hype with the show. Yeah. And like it hasn't slowed down
since we taped it. Really? I'm like I'm on this adrenaline thing and I hope it never ends because it
hasn't so far. I mean, are you tired?
No, I'm weirdly not tired.
It's odd.
I mean, we've done a lot of press, and I'll come home from really long press days,
and I feel energized.
I'm, like, totally the opposite of being tired.
I feel like you're kind of an anomaly.
Like, you just, first of all, I don't think you age.
I think you get younger over time.
Your energy seems to be getting, like, more.
I do have more energy.
Oddly, no, I definitely have aged.
I have a lot of really good people helping me look good right now.
Same.
Oh, God, I know.
Oh, boy.
But I am not, I am oddly not tired.
I, like, love all of this.
I'm having such fun.
Well, that's incredible because that will show also.
You can tell when people, like, I feel like, Gina, you can remember.
I was a miserable disaster after my season.
Oh, I couldn't even, I don't know how I showed up to half the interviews.
I wanted to stay in bed and cry.
I was drained.
I was grumpy.
I was like, not well.
No, okay.
So I love this for you.
Well, probably because, like, this season doesn't have a lot of drama.
Like, they're all pleasant interactions.
That's, we have very little thing that would make you have any angst.
And how long was filming for you?
Seven weeks.
Okay.
Yeah.
So, and that's just shorter amount of time.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
And I'll tell you, though, at the end of seven weeks, I was tired.
Yeah.
That's a lot of emotional conversations to have, as you know.
Yes.
Every conversation, even on like just fun one-on-one dates, you end up having those deep conversations
that are a little draining.
Yeah.
Well, and I mean, everyone's been through so much in their life.
So it's not like light conversations.
It's like really heavy emotional stuff where the conversations on the usual Bachelor
Bachelorette are like, I mean, some people have some stories, right?
But then there's, you've got 25-year-olds who are just like surface-level conversation.
Yeah, how much like to surf and.
Yeah, exactly.
And how much another dog?
Yes.
So it's so much, it's just so, even as a viewer watching, I'm emotional and get drained after
watching because I'm like, holy shit, but I will say it's so inspirational, which I'm sure you
hear all the time, because it makes me be like, I fear aging sometimes, and that's something that
I work on in therapy because, and mom, I love you. Please don't get mad that I'm saying this because
I always say it, but she made me think that aging was bad. And I'm trying to turn that around
because I'm like, well, what's the alternative? You know, like what's scarier? Right. Exactly. So I'm
trying. But it makes me be like, you, we all have so much life. We all have so much life.
left to live. And look at you guys all just thriving. My favorite part of this season is seeing
so many grown men realize what being vulnerable does for their mental health. I know. Isn't it?
So that really is the best part of the season. I totally agree with you. And I said from night one as
they got out of the limo, I was like, this season isn't going to be about me. It's about them.
They all had such great energy and like great stories that I didn't know everybody's story yet.
But the way that they approached like this crazy adventure, they were so open to doing it.
And then they met each other and they changed each other's lives.
Yeah.
They all said that.
They all said that they left this show being better than when they came because they had found their tribe finally.
Well, and I'm not just saying this to toot your horn and to pump your tires, but like you make people feel seen and comfortable.
Like it was, it's crazy to watch somebody who's, you know, you've never been in the same.
experience before, but you look like you've done it before. You really, like, handle everything
so well. You're very much, you're capable of holding space for yourself and them and thinking
of what you need, but also what they need. And I feel like that's really special.
That's really nice to you say that. You know, I watched all of you guys do it. So I've been watching
this for a lot of years. So you learned what not to do.
A little bit of both. Yeah, yeah. Because, I mean, you know, in general, they, you know, they're pretty
successful. And even if the journey in the end isn't successful, there are things that you can take away kind of from everybody's journey, really. So if I, if you watch a lot like I have, and particularly Gary's, okay? So I got to give him a lot of credit. He really was a trailblazer for this golden series. Because he came in, honestly, not knowing how to do it, and he just had to kind of figure it out on his own. I watched what he did and the things that worked about how he opened up really early in all the conversations, which then made us women feel more comfortable opening up. And that you felt, you felt,
bad if you didn't. You didn't reciprocate what he was giving. You felt bad. So watching him
helped me do this a lot better. That's interesting because I did have in here somewhere in my notes
that I wanted to ask how that shaped your, like, because you're making history as the first
golden bachelorette. Gary came first as the golden bachelor and I'm sure it taught you a lot
of how to approach your season. And also for after. So if and when you pick someone, what
do you think Gary and Teresa's journey has taught you? Yeah, that's a really good question. And I kind of
had this in my mind anyway that I thought they were trying to do something that might be
impossible. Yeah. That trying to conform to one of their two lives, either her going to live with him
or him coming to live with her, would be really hard because I couldn't picture myself doing that.
Right. So I have said from the very beginning, I am not leaving my home. I'm not, well, I'm not
that I'm not leaving my home. I'll leave my home. I'm not leaving where I live. I'm not leaving
you know, where I live in Maryland. Yeah. Or at least that area. Because I think it's too
much to ask for somebody to give up. And I don't expect a guy to do that for me either. So I don't
want them to leave their support system and their friends and their family. That's too big of an
ask. It's different for the younger golden bachelor, bachelor's and bachelor's because they haven't,
they don't have these like deep roots. They might have a family. But, you know, you're kind of
open to the world. Right. You're young. You can move anywhere. You can start
careers anywhere. That is completely different with our age people. We have families. We have
grandchildren. We have children. I still have a mother who's alive and a mother-in-law's life
that, like, I have some responsibility for them. I can't just up and leave. It's not happening.
I'm not leaving my grandkids. I can tell you that right now. And I don't want a guy who would
feel like he could either, because then that tells me something about him that maybe he's not
that kind of person. But what happens if it's like the love of your life and you are like,
no, we, I want to be together. What do you do? How do you make it?
work. So in my mind, and I think this is so reasonable, and I don't know, everybody, like,
paints this as a bad thing because I think it could be actually a really good thing. So think
about this. So you're going to have two homes, and he's going to have his and you're going to
have yours, or maybe you're going to have, like, a little place that you can kind of have
together. But, like, when, you know, you have to make an effort, okay? So the effort is that
you're going to have to travel. Right. And you have to spend some time with each other. And
we're lucky that we can do that because most of us are in retirement age. You're getting close to it.
So we're very close to, like, leaving our jobs and having some freedom.
And so, like, when you have something really fun happening, like at your house or your town,
if you have some party or something great happening, they come and spend a couple of weeks with you.
And when they have something, like, fun happening with them or, like, it's a great time of year, the weather is better there or whatever.
You go there.
So you could do long distance?
Yeah, why not?
You could do it every other week.
You could see each other a lot.
That's true.
I mean, I'm not against that.
You never have to do their laundry or anything.
I'm actually not against that because who's to make the rules for what you works for you, you know?
So if I'm trying to like have kids with somebody and we need to actually establish a life where we're going to be, you know, in a place where you can raise them, they go to school, that's a different thing.
We're not at that part of our lives anymore.
That could keep the romance alive too.
You get to miss each other.
Seriously, miss each other, maybe meet in some fun locations.
I mean, you have to have resources.
You have to be willing to travel.
A lot of people at my age have that now.
Right.
Interesting perspective.
I love it. I think it's going to be fun. I don't know why this is so negative.
Are people feeling negative about that?
I think after Teresa and Gary split up, they said, why didn't you consider that? And I'm like,
well, I think there's other options here. So do you think that would have not worked for them
to do the travel and get up and go? And that obviously wasn't an option for them?
Well, Teresa was still working. So that may have been heard.
Fair enough. Gary wasn't anymore. So I don't know. I only know kind of what you all know, too.
They're friends of mine. And I don't want to like dive into their personal stuff.
I respect that they figured out it wasn't going to work early on, and they wanted to still
have time in their life to maybe find somebody else. And so when they decided it's, but I respect
that decision. It's so different your seasons compared to our seasons because of, I mean,
so many different just phases of life and what phase you guys are in right now, especially
when it comes to like fantasy suites. What a different approach that you would have to take
or that you'd want to take, I guess, for overnight dates.
So what does your, I think I've heard you talk about this, actually, but what is your
approach to overnight dates?
Yeah, the fantasy sweets is something I've put a lot of thought into.
Well, first of all, my kids were mortified of the thought of us doing a fantasy suite.
They even think the name is disgusting.
You're like, it's just a gross name.
Fantasy sweets.
That is got a gross.
They're like, oh, my God, that's so gross to even think about that with you.
Oh, man.
And we've all put some thoughts in the worst heads of what it looks like.
of what the fantasy is actually.
So, like, I, not just to respect them, but really the way I feel about it was I didn't feel
comfortable having a physical relationship with more than one person.
It's just who I am.
I don't judge anybody else for doing it.
It's fine.
What's good for them is fine.
But it didn't feel good to me.
So I decided really early on that I was not going to have the physical element in it,
but I certainly saw the need of having, needing to do the off-camera time with people and have this conversation.
So I just said, I don't want any beds.
in the room. And I said it, you know, I said it to the men that, like, we're not doing the
physical part of it. I'm sorry. Wait, there's no beds in the room? Nope, no beds. So what do you, what?
So you're just going to sit on the couch? Yeah, I'd be like, you're not talking.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Maybe a little closer. Yeah, yeah, we're leaving before sleeping
happens. Okay, okay. Yeah. I respect that. I know. Yeah. You know, it's also maybe a little
uncomfortable waking up with somebody in the morning that, like, you haven't had that much time with.
Right. You know, sleeping in the bed with them. That all felt a little uncomfortable to me to
me. Also, I like the idea that if I chose somebody at the end, that he wouldn't have to think of
me having slept with the other guys. So tell me about each hometown and what you were feeling during
each one. So I had a little different than Gary. I had four. He had three. Yeah. So I had two in
Chicago, one in Wichita, Kansas and one in Reno, Nevada, all places that I, not all of places I had
been. I had been to Chicago and my daughter went to school there, but I hadn't been to the other
places. So, you know, I was going into these visits really, since we've already talked about
my vision of how this could possibly work if you pick somebody, home towns are really important
because I have to picture myself possibly spending a lot of time there. So, and also, you know,
although like with a younger bachelor and bacheloretts, you know, it is important to meet the
families, you're not, they're probably not going to be like such an integral part of your life.
Right. When you have kids and grandkids, like you don't just up and leave them. No. You're
expected to up and leave your parents and go make a life for yourself. When you are a parent,
you aren't expected to be the one to do up and leaving. So I had to picture myself with their
families. So these were really, really important dates. So two of them went somewhat like I expected
and two didn't go like I expected. Okay, let's talk about the two that did go. That did go. Okay,
so I got to go to Reno, Nevada with a guy. Yeah. We got to go to Lake Tahoe. We were on the
Bo. That was super fun. And I really loved that date because it reminded me of summers with my kids.
So we would go spend the summers at the beach, a beach close to where I live in Maryland. And he did
kind of the same thing with his kids. And they would spend a ton of time at their place in Lake Tahoe.
And like we had very similar family. I had four kids. I had four kids. They were like our life when
they were little, like, you know, everything we did revolved around our kids. And he had the same thing.
And also he was, you know, like a busy, you know, ER doctor. So he had a great career. So there
There's a lot of things that I really learned about a guy at that hometown.
But the most important thing was I got to meet three of his sisters and two of his brothers.
And he's one of eight.
Wow.
From a huge family and he's the baby of the baby of the family.
And I always picture the baby and all the babies of the families that I know are not usually the uniters.
They're like along for the ride.
Some older sibling is doing all that.
That's not true in his family.
He is the one that gets them all together.
He plans the vacations.
He plans like crazy things, like talent shows for all of them.
because it's a big family because they all have kids and there's grandkids.
I love that.
Yeah, it's like a really cool dynamic he has with his siblings.
So I love that about him because he was all about his family.
And he just made, it seems like he made life fun.
He was like the dad that decorated the entire front yard for Christmas.
And he just was fun.
He was a kind of father that my late husband was and had the kind of life that like really matched what I already had.
Wow.
And did that shock you?
It did because, you know, we kind of had a little bit of a slow burn.
Yeah.
He and I did.
it was we moved kind of slowly our one-on-one date prior to that was we did a cooking date
yeah and that was a little bit telling to me because I feel like when you just hang out
at home what's that he couldn't zest a lemon he didn't know how to zest a lemon he did soup every
night for dinner yeah we had a lot of work to do on you but you might be worth the work yeah but
we had we had a lot of fun like working together the kitchen can be really fun that can be a fun
I like I've done that with the people before yeah yeah and that was fun and so we had a great
time there. So I, like, thought that he was going to be fun, and he really was on his hometown day.
Yeah. But that's like, like, a heart. I don't know. If you remember hometowns, that's like a lot of
work. Oh, gosh, yes. Having all those conversations with a total stranger, that might be a good thing.
But Nick's family is like 11 kids. Oh, geez, yeah. So I, there was 11 kids, the mom and dad,
and yeah, it was a lot. Okay, so it's a lot. Like, having conversations with stranger about, like,
how you're, how strong your feelings are with somebody is, like, kind of uncomfortable.
So that was guys family. And then I did a date in Kansas, which I thought I may never, ever see this date of Kansas in my life. And there I was now having a date with somebody. And trying to picture your life there. And trying to picture my life in Kansas, which is very different from where I grew up, probably very different than where most people grew up in the Midwest, in like farm country. So we had a date at a ranch. It's his good friend's ranch. But it was a little bit of a heavy date in the beginning because his mom had just passed away. And they were doing a little, they wanted to honor her.
It was the first time the family had all been together.
So a couple of his brothers were there and his kids were there.
And all of his really, really good friends, including the caregiver.
So the woman who had taken care of Kathy before she passed away.
So we did like they did a tree planting like as a memorial to her.
So that was kind of a heavy part of day.
And I almost felt like I was an intruder.
Well, I mean, you show up with 10 cameras and a crew.
Here we are.
This isn't like as bit intimate as you thought.
But as personal, they made it really, really nice.
I still felt like I was an intruder that I don't know the family and I don't know his mom.
But I felt very, like, privileged to have been invited to that.
It was really, really nice.
And then we just had a really good time, but it was really, really, really hot.
Oh, was it?
It was like 110 degrees.
Oh, hey.
Oh, gosh, yeah.
So we kept kind of retreating into the house to get cool and then we would go out and have these interactions.
You know, they have a whole Kansas thing with Dorothy and, you know, the Wizard of Oz.
I got these cute little, you know, red ruby slippers and it was fun.
We had a really, really good time.
I really, really, really liked his family.
Wow, that's amazing.
And I even got to meet his late fiancé, so Kathy's father was there.
Wow.
And yeah, yeah.
And what a nice man.
And, like, he gave such good advice, like, that, you know, you think maybe he would
think about, you know, my daughter missed this.
Right.
Like, why do you deserve it looking at me, maybe?
like you're like kind of filling in where she left off and he wasn't like that at all he's like
I keep telling chocolate life is worth living you need to get out there and find somebody yeah so like what
a great you know wow mentor for him yeah that's powerful to get out there amazing and then um
and then yeah the not so great not so great so too it's not that they weren't so great they were
surprising okay so I meet with Jordan in the beginning of the date and he expresses that
maybe he's not quite ready and doesn't know if he ever will be oh doesn't know that
he will get to the place where I need to be in just a few more weeks.
Okay.
Because, you know, that's when you're at hometown.
You're like, this is, you know, this is time you've got to decide.
Right.
Because this could be potentially going to exotics and overnights and, like, down to the final.
Yeah.
So he expresses that he's not so sure.
He is going to be ready, if he'll ever be ready.
He just says that, like, we've had a slow burn.
Very true.
Yeah.
He was very uncomfortable in the beginning of this whole journey.
Yeah.
He had a hard time talking to me.
It took a little while to us.
establish a rapport, but we did get there.
I mean, that's why he's at hometowns.
Because I feel like, you know, once we finally, like, made it to that point, we were good.
And I thought, well, I got to have a really good time with him.
He's a lot of fun.
So you were surprised when he said this.
I was a little surprised.
I got it.
And I wasn't at the love point with him either.
So I was, you know, probably at the same point.
I may have been more hopeful than he was, but I'm not sure.
Yeah.
I pictured it maybe a little more than he did.
So, you know, we have a really good date and I talk to his daughters and I expressed to them that, like,
I am not sure if I pick him, he'll pick me.
Right.
And they were like, hmm, like, they weren't sure either.
Wow.
So that's why it came down to, like, a decision.
And then I had the date with Pascal.
And I actually had a really good time with Jordan.
I love Chicago.
We ate deep dish pizza and we ate his favorite desserts.
And it was a little bit about eating, which was fun.
I actually had a great time.
I always eat my way through Chicago.
Yeah.
I know.
It's good food.
Good sports, good food.
It's just a fun town.
And I really enjoyed his family.
I met two of his brothers.
He's one of four boys.
And so I met him to his brothers, I met his kids.
All that was great.
I could certainly picture my life there.
I just wasn't positive he could picture a life with me.
And then the same thing similar happened with Pascal.
I had a great time.
We were in Chicago again.
We went out to his salon and we had fun.
I met his kids.
I met family.
I met friends.
But he expressed to me that he had to take this really slow, that he had been heartbroken
before, his heart had been broken before, and that he was a slow mover.
And I think that was like a real message to me, like,
I might not be there either because there is no slow moving on this journey, as you know.
Right. And did that make you sad? Were you a little hurt? Yeah. Because I had this notion in my head that, I know, and this is going to sound a little screwed up that, I'm sorry. And I'm sorry to everybody. That it would be hard for me to establish a relationship with more than one person possibly. Like I, like how, like it's hard to fall in love with four people or three people or two people. But I did think that they should be falling in love with me. Like how hard is it?
I'm here. There's only one in me. I'm only, the only female you see for like seven weeks.
No, it's hard to not take that personal. I was a little. I took it a little personally.
To be honest, that I thought they should have been falling in love with me. I was like,
what's wrong? Like, what's wrong with me? I thought, am I not lovable? I had I done something
wrong. Right. Like, why haven't they fallen in love with me? Yeah. So I was a little taken back
that I thought I was going to go into this rose ceremony with four people who were very invested
with me and it was really just going to be solely my decision. I kind of felt like Pascal and Jordan
took the decision away from me a little bit like they were already deciding which by the way it's
the way it should be a two-way street of course they should be filling out you know figure out how they're
feeling it just surprised me a little bit right has that happened before in bachelor oh of course
okay oh my gosh yes yeah and and even if some people feel that way they might not tell it so it's
nice that they were honest with you absolutely because some people are just going there to make it
to the end and then back out like in the last second because like oh shit it got too real oh yeah
what am i doing here so how did you make your decision then at the rose ceremony
So I made it based on like the level of their angst was. Yeah. And I felt like Pascal could get there. I didn't think Jordan was ever going to. Okay. Like Jordan was pretty sure that he wasn't going to get to the end and like be ready for a committed relationship. Right. And like I never, I always said, I didn't need to get engaged at the end of this. Right. I wanted just somebody that I leave and like say, we're going to explore this outside, you know, a bachelor and just, you know, figure out if we live out in the real world well together. Yeah. And I wasn't.
sure that Jordan even wanted to be there. Wow. Yeah. Interesting. And now did he say like what was the
goodbye like? Yeah. What were you feeling during that moment? So the goodbye was really good. Okay.
So the goodbye was like I feel like we made a big step in this journey. Like like we figured out that
we were good together. That it wasn't just like on the ice skating date. It wasn't just on our other
interactions like this whole day of meeting family and spending the day together, me in his town,
in his hometown was really good.
I still, though, had doubts because he went into this date thinking,
I think if I'd said, yeah, I'm not interested in doing this date,
and then he would have been okay with it when we started the date.
I didn't feel like that when we ended it.
So I felt like we made progress, but I just, I didn't know if I left again.
He was going to go slip back to where he was before.
Right, right.
There was a chance that was going to happen.
Yeah, and that's not.
And I felt like Pascal was going to maybe make it there.
Wow.
Okay.
Was that ice real on your date?
Oh, very real.
Really?
Which is really funny because I asked him on the day.
I'm like, he's from Chicago.
Like, they have ice all the time.
Like, six months out of the year.
Of course he knows that ice skate.
Yeah.
He had no idea.
So we go and we did ice skate, like, he comes to the rink and he kind of guessed, like,
probably not until we were pulling up to the ice skating rink that we were ice skating.
And he was like, oh, no, I don't ice skate?
Yeah.
And the same thing happened when I asked Jonathan, I brought Jonathan on the horseback riding day.
I thought he's from Iowa.
Of course he horseback's ride.
Yeah.
He's like, yeah, I haven't done it since I was like six.
years old.
Oh, gosh.
He's like, I suck at picking these dates.
I just assumed, like, these guys were, like, based on where they were from,
what they knew how to do.
Yeah.
And so Jordan did not know how to skate, and he couldn't even get the skates on.
I was really worried about his tailbone.
And then he's like, do we have to really wear, like, the elbow pads and the knee pads
and the helmet?
And they're like, yeah, you have to wear those.
Like, this is dangerous.
Yeah.
And then he literally made it five feet and fell.
And at that point, he wouldn't move his feet again.
I had to drag him across the ice.
The whole date, I dragged him across the ice.
That was so funny.
It was hilarious.
It was hilarious.
And I was like I felt like such an evil person
And lucky you couldn't really see this on camera
But he fell and he fell
It was very comical the way like his feet went up
It was almost like what you'd see in a cartoon
Yeah, yeah
And his feet went in and he went banging down
And I knew he didn't hurt himself
Because we had so much protective gear on it
But I couldn't stop laughing
Oh I know that was my favorite part
I was like God I'm in such an evil person
Like you shouldn't laugh when people are hurt
Are you kidding me if people falling is one of the funniest things out there
It is but I feel terrible
It's like whenever I'm sad
I'll just YouTube people falling
Because it's so funny
It is funny, but I felt really bad.
I was like, oh, God, I hope people can't tell that.
I'm just laughing.
I was laughing so hard that, you know, like when you're laughing, you're kind of weak,
and I was trying to help them up, but I was no assistance at all because I was still laughing.
I was like, and every time I thought about throughout the date, I would, like, giggle.
I'd be like, I hope they're not.
I mean, we were all giggling with you.
So what has been the most surprising thing for you so far as being the golden bachelorette?
That you can develop strong feelings for more than one person.
That totally surprised me.
It was like out of my wheelhouse, never done it before.
Well, never dated 24 people at once, obviously.
But that's surprise.
Does that surprise you?
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
Big time.
I will especially given the fact that at the beginning, I was so sure I knew who it was.
And then it got really confusing.
But yes, I think everybody is shocked by that same thing.
And I think for you, and you've talked about this so often, and I know it's going to come up a lot even more on this season, is you are capable.
So many things can be true at once.
you are capable of falling for more than one person and you still have so much space in your
heart for your late husband that it's that's got to be confusing.
All of these revelations happen in such a short amount of time and you have to process them
so quickly because that's like the essence of the journey.
You do everything kind of a warp speed.
So how do you process this?
Like how will we see you process it moving forward?
So the part about John and, you know, me feeling like how, I'm.
I had this idea in my head, which was wrong, that I had to completely let go of John to accept
another person into my life. And that was something that I couldn't get by. Yeah, like,
even though, like, each week went by and I kept thinking, I got to do this, I got to do this,
and it just wasn't happening to the point where I thought, I don't think I can do the rest of this
journey. Yeah. Like, this might not be possible for me to get to the end and be in the right place.
And I used the show's psychiatrist. And I met with them. What a gift to have them, first of all,
because, like I said, you're doing this really fast and there's a lot of emotions.
And I think that's with all seasons, not just golden.
Like, golden, we are dealing with maybe different things, but it certainly is just a quick
journey that you have to process things quickly.
And I said, you know, I don't know.
I don't feel like I can let go of John.
And they were like, why do you think it to let go of John?
Right.
They said, picture it like this, that you have two balloons, one in each hand.
And John is this balloon, and this is another person that you might be forming feelings for.
You don't have to let go of this one to hold.
to this one, that you can have John in your heart and in your memories and still be part of you
and still have another person that there's room for both of them. And also accept that like it's
going to be different love. Yeah. You know, it'll never be what you had. You built a life together and
you went through life together. It's never going to be that with somebody else. And that's so true.
Yeah. And that, and I wasn't looking for that really. I was looking for different. So like when
John and I got together, I was looking for somebody who's going to be a great father and I wanted to
build a life with and that, you know, we were going to save our money and buy a house and you have
all these dreams. We have all that stuff done. I've built the house. I had the family. I have
grandchildren. I've done all those things. I need a completely different person in my life now.
I don't know if this is overstepping, but I always like to know if people, do you see signs
at all from John? I do. You do? And like, I think like, oh, God, it's so hokey. It's just because
I want it so badly. But I swear to God, they're there. Yeah. They really are.
Whenever people say to me stuff, like, I am such a believer in seeing signs, and people are like, well, you're looking for it.
I'm like, so what?
Yeah. That's still giving me what I needed. What I needed.
You can give you the answer. Yeah.
Yeah. I, right after John passed away, I thought I was going to dream about him. I thought he was going to visit me.
I had these oceans. And I was really mad when he didn't. And I was like, well, where the hell are you?
Did you really just leave me to this life by myself? That's so not fair.
Yeah. Like, I wasn't ready to let go of you. Right. And I started, my daughter said she kept seeing this hawk that
we kept coming to our house and I'm like it's really weird and I was like yeah that's really odd
this hawk keeps and it would like land on our deck like this big bird we'll land on our deck and
I was like this is really weird and she's like it's dad it's definitely dad because when and this is
really like a sad story and I don't like bring us down totally but I just will tell this really
quickly that the day that he passed away the the more came to get his body and it was in our home
and I live across the street from an all boys Catholic school that rings a bell when school is
starting that morning. And so at 8 a.m. they were carrying his body out of the house. I couldn't
watch it at all. I was like hiding in a corner. But one of my daughters and her husband walked
outside with him. And as they're walking out, the bell is ringing and a hawk is flying around.
Wow. And so from that point on, this symbol of a hawk was there. And sure enough, I just see him
in all the weirdest times. Like when I'm thinking maybe I'm doing something that's not completely right,
Like, you know, that maybe isn't honoring his memory.
Like, I feel like he comes in visits and tells me it's okay.
I know it's weird and I hate sounding like that weirdo.
I don't think that's weird at all.
I swear to God, it happens.
You are talking to the right audience.
I'm the most spiritual human being on the planet and I totally believe that.
I think he absolutely is.
Like, even while you were filming that Hawk flew in the beginning episode, you were right
at the cemetery.
Yeah, that was crazy.
Three of them.
That day, like that was like a big sign.
Yeah.
Because that was one of the days I thought, does this look weird that we were at?
the cemetery. Like, is this too, you know, voyeuristic for the show? I didn't know. Like,
this wasn't respectful. But I go and visit him. Yeah. At the cemetery. So it felt right to me.
Yeah, of course. Yeah. It was actually the day after he had passed away. What? Yeah, it was,
you know, one day, three years later. And three hawks flew? Uh-huh. Three years later. Three years later,
three hawks. Yeah. All that is just work. Wow. I mean, I just believe in. I believe. I believe.
believe in that stuff so much. I think that was definitely like go do your journey. You deserve
this. And what have you learned about grief through the show? I've learned a lot. Like I thought I was
ready to go on and I was ready to find love to discover that I really wasn't. Yeah. To then discover
again that I really was. Which is so real. That's so honest. Yeah. And I think a lot of people would
be going through those same waves of emotions and you could have just faked it. Yeah. But you were so honest and
vulnerable with them. Yeah, I was, I got exhausting faking it because I tried for the first three
weeks. I really, really, they kept saying, are you 100% ready to find love? And I could say,
yes, I am. And then I just couldn't do it anymore. I was exhausted and I finally said to the guys,
I'm, I can't be fake anymore. Like, I don't know if I'll ever be ready. I don't know if I'll ever be
100% ready. I don't know if you can expect that from somebody, if anybody ever is. Right. And when I
finally got to say that and like let that out and let that be like, okay, it's out. Yeah.
Now you got the real me.
It made everything so much easier.
I love that because I'm such a believer in, you know, the power of vulnerability.
And like that probably gave them permission to then be super vulnerable and say like, wow, I was feeling that way.
But I didn't want to say it, you know.
It's just everything becomes when you're real and honest and authentic, everything lines up and it starts being the way it's supposed to be.
And people like you so much more.
Yeah.
Yeah.
When you are trying to be the perfect you.
Yeah.
people don't like you like my friends that show me the imperfect self i like them so much better because
i don't feel like i have to be perfect also yeah and when i finally got to be like the imperfect me i was
like i don't have to drive this bus and be you know the person that's taking in all their grief and
you know trying to be supportive like i can let go of that a little bit and just be me and it was
so much easier and i felt like the connections we established after that when i could just be me
were so much better.
Yeah.
I totally believe that.
That makes sense.
It makes sense, really.
It makes sense.
Over the years, I feel like dating has just evolved in general and, you know, people
are on apps and whatever.
Do you have any advice for other women who may be in the same position just getting back
out there, you know, either after a really hard breakup or a loss or at your age?
Gosh, I wish I had great advice, but I could tell you, like, my experience.
Yeah.
So my experience initially, so I was at the kind of two-year mark after John had passed away,
and I really, like, in my heart wasn't really ready.
My brain said that you're not getting any younger.
You're not getting any prettier.
Yes, you are.
You want to have somebody.
Weirdly you are.
You don't age backwards.
And like I need to get out there and start this because I loved being married.
And I love being part of a couple.
And I picture, you know, my life with somebody else.
I had a really hard time picturing myself alone and felt very uncomfortable being alone.
I felt very untethered that, you know, I was kind of floating above everything.
happening and didn't feel grounded at all. And like, I like having my person. So I really wanted
it to happen. And so I kind of threw it out there to my friends. And I said, you know, I'm ready
if you have this somebody you want to set me up with. And they're like, yeah, you don't like
anybody. We know. We don't have anybody for you. So then I thought, okay, well, maybe I'll meet
somebody like organically. I'll just, you know. So I made it my policy when I would go out with a
friend to sit at the bar. Always sit at the bar. Don't go get a table. Because then it like opened you
up to people like having conversations, which I did. I certainly met a lot of people at the bar.
them were single. Right. So, and, and then I thought, well, okay, I got to do a dating app. So I did a
You tried the dating app. Everybody's doing it. I really didn't want to. It made everything that I
thought was coming true, true that it's like a job. And you have to be so on it all the time.
And you can't, like, I have a five minutes not looking at your phone or you get behind on
messages. And I literally, I had a job at the time. And I thought, I'm going to get fired.
I spent so much time looking at my phone. My boss would walk by. And I'd be like, put my phone
pretend I was doing that, but I had like 12 men I was messaging, trying to be witty with.
Oh, you got a, you got a, you got a, you were a little prepared for Dayton 24.
I was, I had many, many men on Match.com, but I discovered that really wasn't a good way for me
to people that not everybody is 100% truthful on their profiles.
Oh, they're all liars.
All of them.
The dogs, they lie about their age, they're like where they, yeah, every their height, the size
of their belly.
I know. Oh, my God.
I went on dates that I would get to the restaurant and I'm like, I always go on like,
I'll meet you for a drink date because then you could leave really quickly.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, exactly.
And I went on a date and I walked in, and this didn't happen more than once.
This happened more than one time.
I walked in and I'm like, oh, yeah, he's not here yet.
And he's right there.
And he's right across the bar and he's like waving at me.
And I'm like, oh, you don't look anything like your profile pictures.
The profile pictures are like 10 years old.
And that happened more than once.
That's got to be like, it's not nice.
It's got to be embarrassing, though, for them to be like, I, that you don't recognize them?
No, but it's like, did they think I would come?
And no, like, I don't want to sound like a superficial person, but the way some, if you're
attracted to somebody, that matters.
It does matter.
Attraction matters.
Yeah.
So if you thought I was going to come and meet you and you didn't look like the person I thought
I was meeting, like I was I then going to.
It's not like love is blind where you like.
like really get to love who they are and you're attracted to them without even seeing them yet.
It's like, you've seen and you're attracted.
I've seen it.
I'm like, okay, this is a guy that I would be attracted to.
And then you go and they're not, they don't look like that person.
Do they think once you meet them that then they're going to be attractive to you?
They're like, let me make up for this with my personality.
Yeah, I am such a fun guy.
At that point, I'm already like, you're really not very honest.
So I'm already like at a negative part of like my feelings for you.
Right. Yeah.
So, and like you said, it is kind of embarrassing on my end that I didn't recognize. I'm like,
oh, something's wrong with me. Did I not look at that picture right? Like, it's something wrong
with me. So I discovered that it's very hard to find somebody. So, but like if I had to give
dating advice, for me that like really wasn't an option. Not finding somebody was more uncomfortable
than doing the dating. Got it. So I really wanted to have somebody in my life. And I was thinking
of ways that I was going to have to figure this out. Yeah. Because I knew that I needed something. So I was
going to have to change something up. So whether it was, I used to volunteer for Catholic
charities and I would go feed homeless. And I met like really neat people doing that. The other
people that are doing that, like kind of had maybe the same morals as you or same values as
you. So I thought, I'm going to like go volunteer more. I'm going to like join a wine tasting
club because I can taste wine and it all tastes good to me. So I'm going to like learn something
about like wine tasting. I was going to do something different. Like that was in my mind.
And then, hey, I got to be on the golden bachelor and the golden bachelor. So I mean, like I did it in a big way.
But I also, like after the Golden Bachelor, and even while I was in the Golden Bachelorette, I thought if I don't find somebody, I've certain put myself out there.
If people don't know, like, I want to date, then I'm like not lovable.
Because I'm out in the biggest way you can possibly be out.
I want to know what that was like when you got the call, because I knew it was you before you knew it was you.
How'd you know?
Well, I shouldn't say that.
I know people.
I assumed who it was.
And one of the execs was like, you're probably right, but they were about to call you.
Okay.
So it was like, I couldn't have, you know, I don't know how they trusted me.
Actually, I'm a spoil a lot.
I know.
And now I'm really mad at you.
They didn't call me.
I thought we were friends.
They were about to call you.
Okay.
What was that call like for you?
That was so good.
So it took a long time to get, you know, to this place because there were a lot of people
that were like, would have been really good as a Golden Metro.
Obviously, you know, it usually comes down to somebody that's made it a little farther
in the season.
And I left really early.
So I didn't really think it was very likely going to be me.
And then all of a sudden they were throwing out names like Susan Lucci and Kathy LeGifford.
And I'm like, well, I can't compete with them.
They're like celebrities.
So I was pretty surprised when I got the call.
And I got the call under the guys that I was going to be meeting a new producer.
They just wanted to have like me Zoom with a new producer that was coming on the show.
And I'm even sure why they thought I should be.
I didn't even occur to me like, why am I meeting a new producer?
I'm not even on the show anymore.
Right.
But I got on the Zoom and it was Jesse instead.
Yeah.
Oh, really?
Jesse, what are you doing here?
And we're making like small talk.
He's like, so what are you doing this summer?
And I said, I don't know, you know, I'm going to the beach with my kids or, you know, whatever.
You know, I haven't made any big plans yet, but I'll do some vacation.
He goes, well, hope you can same time for us because you're the new golden bachelorette.
Oh, my gosh.
So it was a great way.
Like, first of all, Jesse telling people, which is kind of iconic.
So, like, when I saw on the screen, I'm like, something's going on.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Something's happening.
Yeah.
Oh, my gosh.
And it was an immediate yes for you.
Oh, it really was.
Yeah.
I put some thought into it because, you know, I had gone through like the pre-screening part of it.
So I knew I was in consideration.
So I would have never have gotten that far or allowed them to get that far.
I wasn't leading somebody along.
Like, I knew it was something I really wanted to do.
And, I mean, watching the show, it's very obvious that Chalk and you have this just undeniable connection.
Will the other guys, like, will we watch them catch up to that?
Because I watch and I'm just, I mean, everyone watches and they're like, whoa.
It's like very, very obvious.
And every podcast that I've done about your season, every conversation, it's been like those two.
Do we see the other relationships really kind of get there?
And does that make it really hard for you at the end?
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I did have a really quick connection with chalk.
We had a really great, our one-on-one date in Disneyland was so good.
Because the report was just so easy.
And it's kind of like what you want.
I mean, you're looking for that.
Like if it's hard, you think maybe it's not right.
Right.
And I do, like, they catch up.
Yeah.
And it surprised me.
Yeah.
Because I kind of thought he's probably the one.
Right.
But I thought, I also knew in my heart that people do that.
And it was the first one-on-one date I had.
Yeah.
And I'm like, I can't do this because people find things out.
Yeah.
This happens all the time.
You've got to keep the open heart.
Got to keep the open heart. And I knew that. I had kind of, like, I had once again the advantage of
watching your season. Lots of people's Trista. Yeah. I just didn't see Gary. I had, I had watched
charity. I mean, I'd watch some like pretty recent seasons even to know that you really have to be
careful not to invest too early because things happen. You get, well, it's hard for people too
that are so, like I'm a very in the moment person. I get so caught up and I'm very impatient.
So I was like, no, I got it. I want this. This is what I want. Let's go.
wrap it up. Yep. Why do we have to keep doing this? Yeah. And then other people really do start to
shine when they come out of their shell, when they do get more vulnerable. When they, you do start
to have deeper conversations, meeting their families, going to these overnights. Like, you do start
to be like, wait a second. Hold on. Yeah. Did I get too excited and like do the whole honeymoon phase
too early with somebody? And I was not getting to know somebody that could have been there all along.
Yeah. Or, I mean, certainly that. And that's kind of what happened to me. Yeah.
And then sometimes in seasons, you find out that the person that you're really invested in
or, like, thought it was really kind of a different person then and they evolve and they become more of a villain or like some personality thing.
It doesn't like match with you.
Or you get out of the bubble and you like see some stuff.
Yeah.
You find out stuff about these people.
That you had no idea.
Oh, yeah.
I know.
And I don't think that's reason.
Like you couldn't possibly know those things while you're still doing the Bachelor journey.
But, you know, you need to stay.
open. And I was really, really careful about that, even though when I was having feelings for
certain people, I thought, like, every date that I sat down with somebody, I was like, I'm
pretending they're the only person in my life. Yeah. Yeah. That's fair. And so tell me about how
hard the ending was. So hard. Yeah. Yeah. So things happened that surprised me. So emotions
happened that surprised me. The way that guys processed some things surprised me. Yeah. So the ending
just like Bachelor always has
is a dramatic surprise.
Really?
Yeah, and I didn't think I was going to be that person.
You're like, no, no, no, I'm not going to say the typical things.
We're not going to do that thing.
No, I know how this works.
I can do this.
You're like, I went through a drama-free season.
Let me have a drama-free ending.
And then I was like, what the hell just happened?
Yeah.
I was sitting in my room, I was like, I don't know how to process this.
Really?
Oh, yeah.
And so now it's been a few months, have we processed?
Are we in a good place?
Yes.
Yes, okay.
So, and that is, like, important.
You walk out of there and you're like, whew, now I can, like, kind of think about this a little bit.
And actually watching the shows now for me is so exciting because, like, you know, you don't see what's happening in the mansion.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And so you watch them and you're like, oh, my God, I love these men.
I have this new form love for all of them.
Yeah.
Because I get to see how they are as, like, just normal human beings interacting with the other guys, not like on a date with me.
Right.
How precious is Charles?
Every bit as precious as you think he is, and then maybe even more.
I know. I was lucky enough to be on that date with you where Charles was on the group date and had to strip.
And I remember being like, America is going to love this man. He is a precious, rare gem.
I say that he is the most innocent adult I've ever met.
Yeah. He just had, he's just a pure person.
person like he's been untouched by anything other than he's had he met the love of his life and
married her yeah and then he lost her yeah and those are the two like defining moments in his life
everything else he's become like untouched by yeah he just is like this he's like childlike yeah he
is childlike and it's so wonderful to find a person like that like i don't think i've ever met a person
like him you're going to walk away with so many beautiful friendships with these guys too because they
are all i mean they're bonded for life oh yeah and you you know give
the maturity level of all of you and the men, you get to just have these beautiful friendships
with them. I plan to have so much fun. Oh, yeah. And I've had a bit of time that I haven't been
able to talk to them. And I'm going to be like, remember me? Yeah. I dated you. Yeah. I'm your old
girlfriend. I'm your old girlfriend. I'm just calling back because I love you still. Are you excited
to see all them at the tell-all? Cannot wait. Yeah. Yeah. And yeah, I mean, certain ones,
like, I really miss. Yeah. Like, I bonded so much with Gary.
Oh, I love Gary.
I love Gary, too.
And I miss, like, he's the most positive person I've ever met.
He's wonderful.
He's wonderful.
Yeah.
We need to start talking again.
He's wonderful.
I really, that's someone that has stood out to me from the season two is Gary.
And I got to meet him on the date too.
And I was just like, oh, Keith.
Such a positive, fun guy.
I'm like, I need you in my life.
What happened with Kelsey's dad?
Kelsey's dad, I did finally, like, kind of start having some feelings for him.
Yeah.
That yacht date was really, really good.
Yeah.
But what I kind of discovered about Mark and I was that he, he's been widowed for way longer
than me, honestly.
He was giving me really, really good advice.
I think that he had such a personal growth during the season because of the men and not
particularly because of me.
Yeah.
So when I thought about like our relationship and where he and I were and gave him many
opportunities to say like how do I fit into this kind of thing he always talked about like how he had
evolved emotionally during this journey and it always came it came back to his conversations and like
the therapy kind of that the guys had with each other and it never really included me so in the
end I felt like he was becoming more emotionally ready but I know I wasn't positive he was picturing
a life with me yeah he was just now picturing a life with somebody else right right so
you opened up his mind and his heart.
Yeah, or the other guys did.
I think he was a combo.
Maybe I'll take a little bit of credit.
Yeah.
But I think he's in a really good place.
I think some girl out there is going to get an amazing man.
Yeah, absolutely.
Do you think they would make him the Golden Bachelor, the next Golden Bachelor?
I think certainly it's what Bachelor Nation is going to want.
Yeah.
They love this story.
You know, I fell in love with him when he was on Joey's season when he was just Kelsey's dad
and what a great father he was.
And I honestly, I texted a producer and said, if I'm the Golden Bachelorette, we're going to need Mark on the season.
Really?
Yeah, I did.
I did.
I love that.
I just thought he's like a perfect guy.
He's handsome and he's such a great father.
Well, the world fell in love with him on that.
Everybody fell in with him, and I don't think that has ever stopped.
Yeah.
He was every bit as lovable on this season.
So he could certainly be the Golden Bachelor.
Yeah, absolutely.
A little fun rapid fire to wrap it up.
Okay.
I always like doing something fun.
So what was the most cringe moment?
watching back your season.
Oh, kisses.
It's awful to watch yourself.
Kiss on TV.
And then my daughters count
how many people I kiss on each episode.
No.
So last episode, my daughter called it.
She's like, Mom, four?
And I'm like, no, I didn't kiss four people.
And she, like, I think it's just two.
And she's like, Mom, and then she names them off.
I'm like, oh, God, I did kiss four.
You're right.
I'm so sorry.
It's the only acceptable place to be doing this.
You have to do it.
You cannot. If a guy's had a good kiss, you're not going to want to be with them.
I agree, though. It is so cringe to watch yourself kiss.
It's awful in it. Even if it's not a makeout, even if it's just a kiss, I'm like, ah.
I'm like, I know, I know. I did the same thing.
Any guy that you've eliminated that you kind of regret.
Yeah. Who? Well, I mean, I feel like I needed more time.
I feel like I needed more time with Mark and I feel like I needed more time with Jordan, honestly.
Okay. Yeah. Yep. That's fair. Okay.
Any behind the scenes moments of the Golden Bachelorette that didn't make
it on air that you would like to clear up? Not particularly. I don't feel like there was anything that
I regret that everybody sees on TV. I think there are some things that I wish had aired that didn't.
Okay, look what? Like I called, so Fantasy Suites was something that was like a little bit disturbing
to me. So I renamed them and I think I love the name. What is it? That one day it could be like
a thing and I feel like I want to coin it. Conversational Cabana. I feel like that should be on.
There's no way they'll go for that.
They want fantasy.
I'm not sure if you know this.
And there was no fantasy in my suite.
But sex sells and ABC as much as they are like de-rated.
They still, it's on prime time.
It starts at 8 o'clock at night.
Yeah.
It's still, the fantasy suites are iconic, though.
I know.
But you, but the conversation cabana can be for.
For other people.
Yeah.
For people who see it my way.
Yeah.
Okay.
It can be both.
We can have both.
And you can name it whatever you want when you get to your, when it's your turn.
Yeah. I always ask my guest to confess something embarrassing and embarrassing story. Anything in your life, it could be from when you were like 10 years old to now, something that stands out where you're like, this is the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me.
Okay. It happened on the show. Okay, perfect.
So we were at Chalk's date in Kansas where it was like 110 degrees. Yeah.
And I have a sundress on. Yeah. And the sun dressed, so I know that you're a girl, so girls and this Ben are going to be like, what the hell you're talking about? I had like the pasty boo.
things like to hold your boobs up and make you look good.
Yeah. The cakes. Yeah, the cakes. But now I'm sweating a lot. Yes, I know exactly where this is going.
This is awful. Sweating a lot. Not only that, we're at the point in the date where we're kind
of saying farewell and chalk is up standing in front of everybody. He has like 30 people on his
date, by the way. It's friends and family because we did the memorial thing for his mother.
So all kinds of people. And I, and he's doing a toast and he's like, and I, you know,
I brought this woman here because, you know, I really see a future with her.
and he's making this really heartfelt toast,
and all I can think about the whole time
is my right poop is starting to slip down.
And now it's made it to my stomach.
And I have a sundress on, so it's not stopping.
And he keeps going, and there it goes,
it falls out of my dress.
No, did people see?
I don't know.
So I'm like, I got to put my foot on top of that
because now we're supposed to walk away
and walk up to the house.
And I'm like, it's going to be sitting there on the ground.
So I step on it.
But my shoe doesn't cover the whole thing
because it's like that big.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
my shoe doesn't cover. So now it's kind of sticking to my shoe, kind of not. I'm stepping
on it. And now I'm like, now this is going to be even worse, because now you're going
to see it on my shoe. And as I walk up, it's going to fall off. And that's going to be really
obvious. So I'm walking really hard stamping as I walk so it won't come off. It was off. It was
off. It was off. It was up telling him, like, peel it off and be like, look.
I finally, no, I didn't. I peeled it off when I got up to the house and I was like,
threw it into the bushes or something. I was so. I was like, I'm going to die. Oh, if
somebody got that, I'm going to die. I mean, literally came.
right out the bottom of the dress.
It's so funny what would embarrass somebody to what, like, to me, I would have been like,
you guys.
Look at my boop.
I would have been like, look at this.
They like threw it at someone.
You're classier than me, though.
I was just tried, well, I probably should have made a joke out of it at the time.
I was mortified.
I was like, oh my God.
I wonder if the producers are watching it in the control room being like, get that for the blue
real.
Camera number two, camera number two.
Panter her foot.
That's amazing.
Was it just so overall, just like such an incredible experience to just get dressed up every day,
get your hair done, your makeup done.
I'm so jealous that you can spend every day with Gina.
I got to spend every day.
Yeah, you're right.
It was the best.
And the fact that it didn't have to be dramatic.
It got to be pure.
It got to be sweet conversations and like real love.
And I just feel like it gives everybody so much hope.
I hope so because I didn't want like this to be completely about me.
I mean, obviously I am like the person out there doing it.
it, but there are so many people like me, men and women that have given up on finding love.
They're like, you know, I had my chance in life and I don't get a second chance or it's too much
work to have a sex or it's not dignified or like I, you know, I need to take a backseat to the next
generation and be supportive of them. I don't get to have another life. And like, I hope I made it
look fun. You did. Dignified. Honestly, I was like, I've said it a million times on, again, social media,
other podcasts like I'm like you just you made it look so easy you made the conversation so smooth
and comfortable you were a vision the whole time I was just like your body's better than mine
oh please it's insane you are like you are just a queen you're queen and I think you've just
done an excellent job thank you for saying it and it was they did such a good job for me they
gave you know they gave me 24 men that I you know if I was dating any one of those 24 men outside
out of The Bachelor, I would have been like, yeah, I'm done.
Honestly, a bow down to the casting producers because they don't always get it right,
but this season, they did.
I agree with you.
That's amazing.
Well, what's going to come up for you now when everything wraps up?
What are the plans?
I can't reveal a lot, obviously, yeah.
Okay, hypothetically, if you have someone and you're happy, would you do a televised wedding?
I believe I would.
And only because, like, I don't necessarily think that's, like, the most personal way to do it.
and maybe, like, what I would possibly want just for my family and friends.
Right.
But I do really feel like, like, people, millions of people have watched the show,
and they deserve to kind of see the happy ending.
Yeah, I agree.
It's like a little, like, bow on top of everything.
And then you can do a private thing with your friends and family.
Can I be your flower girl?
Absolutely.
If I have a flower girl, you are in.
Just get, you've got, like, little grandchildren, and I'm like, me.
A pink two, too?
You go with pink chute, too?
I'll be like the, I'll toss out beers to people in the, I'll be the beer,
miniatures.
Yeah.
I'll be passing out of the nips.
I love it.
I love it.
I would take that job very seriously.
I know, I know.
I can count on you.
I know that.
Well, I'm very proud of you.
I'm excited to go to Dancing with the Stars with you tonight.
We're going to have so much fun.
So much fun.
Want to be fun just to be in the audience and have to do anything?
Oh, I can't.
It's, it's, it's, I've done it one other time and I just, I just love it.
I hope you get to do, would you do Dancing with the Stars if they asked you?
I would. I am not a good dancer, but I'm going to start practicing if they ask me.
Let's give me a heads up now, because I might need about a year.
I would start now because I think they might ask you.
I think I should start taking some lessons. I hope they do ask me.
I have this policy now. I don't say, I say no to nothing.
I love that. Well, I mean, not nothing.
Right. I'll say no to some things. Yeah.
But I feel like, you know, when at this age you get these kind of opportunities and I say yes to everything because I love it. I'm so lucky.
Well, you are such a go-getter too. Like you, you know, you're kind of an energizer bunny from
what I'm gathering here.
Right now I am.
That's amazing.
Well, I'm so happy for you.
And now I'll get the real tea after we say goodbye here.
Since you knew I was going to be it, apparently you have Inside Scoop.
I'm Caitlin Bristow.
I'll see you next Tuesday.
See you next Tuesday.
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