A Guide to the Golden Bachelorette’s Family
Prepare to get swept away by Joan Vassos’ journey to find love in her golden years on The Golden Bachelorette. After a wonderful 32-year marriage, Joan is ready to open her heart again.
Joan will be introduced to 24 men in The Golden Bachelorette premiere, and one lucky guy will hopefully capture her heart. Amidst The Golden Bachelorette and The Golden Bachelor, the 61-year-old is a mom first and foremost. As the world is reintroduced to Joan, TV Insider is getting you up to speed on her family.
Who are Joan’s kids?
Nicholas Vassos
Nicholas (pictured below on the far left) was born on March 8, 1990. After high school, Nicholas played college football at Georgetown. According to the school’s website, he called his father, John Vassos, the “most influential person in his athletic career. ”
While at Georgetown, Nicholas earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Management. He currently works at American Family Insurance, per his LinkedIn.
Erica Vassos
Erica is one of Joan’s two daughters. She was born on May 2, 1991. She has followed in her mom’s footsteps by working in education. In 2014, she received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and teaching from American University. She is a third-grade teacher in Maryland.
She is married to Brent Hiken. They got married in Washington, D.C., in July 2022. They welcomed a baby girl in 2023. Joan left The Golden Bachelor early to care for Erica after she gave birth.
“My journey to find love took a detour this week as I traded the mansion for motherhood and headed home to be with my family. Family comes first, period. Once a mother, always a mother, I’ll always choose my kids first,” Joan wrote on Instagram after her exit.
Allison Vassos
Allison (pictured below in the last slide) owns her boutique in Maryland called Itty Bitty Boutique. She attended the University of Maryland Global Campus and Towson University. Per her Instagram bio, she’s a mom to a son.
To help with homesickness while forming The Golden Bachelorette, Allison and Erica gave their mom a digital picture frame. “I would come home every night from filming tired. My little frame would be sending me the grandbabies on the Fourth of July or at the swimming pool. It was the greatest,” Joan told TV Insider.
Luke Vassos
Luke (pictured at the top with his mom and sisters) was born on June 26, 1996. He played lacrosse at Marquette University and graduated in 2019. He’s worked for Okta, a software development company, since graduating college, according to his LinkedIn.
Joan revealed Luke’s reaction to her becoming the first-ever Golden Bachelorette in her interview with CNN. “My daughter Erica and my son Luke are a little, like a little cringey. Like, ‘Don’t kiss a guy on TV. This is gonna be really embarrassing. My friends are watching.’ But overall, all of them want me to find love,” she said.
Does Joan have grandchildren?
Joan is a proud grandmother to two grandchildren. The Golden Bachelorette star shared sweet Instagram photos with her grandkids in April 2024. At the time, her grandsons were four years old and four months old. Joan said she was “excited for lots of stress-free walks to the park” with them.
Who was Joan’s first husband?
Joan was married to John for 32 years. John died in 2021 at the age of 59 due to complications from pancreatic cancer. In a post commemorating the anniversary of his death, Joan penned a heartfelt tribute to her late husband.
“I always knew that the hole he left in the universe when he passed away could never be filled, but I didn’t realize that maybe people might just stop noticing it was there,” she wrote. “For years I’ve tried to think of how to memorialize him, but nothing seems quite right. Plant a tree, put his name on the back of a bench…nope, I’d have to name the tallest building in the world to do him justice. Every floor would stand for something kind he did for someone, the good deeds are too many to even attempt to mention. He was the husband that always made me feel safe and cherished. He was the parent that was always the fun one because that’s all he knew how to do…lucky kids because fun in his book was generally epic. I could go on for hours, you all know that though. Honestly, I think that’s how he would want to be remembered…by not forgetting him.”
The Golden Bachelorette, Series Premiere, September 18, 8/7c, ABC
