When ABC decided to expand The Bachelor franchise to feature love stories of an older generation, plenty of questions circulated as to how The Golden Bachelor would differ from the flagship series. Would the 60- and 70-somethings on Gerry Turner’s season be made to bunk together? Would they be subjected to the same long filming hours of their younger counterparts? Turns out the answer was yes. As The Golden Bachelorette’s premiere season approaches on the 2024 TV schedule, Joan Vassos and her cast discussed the sleeping arrangements, and it honestly sounds like a nightmare.
Bachelor Nation was first introduced to Joan Vassos on Gerry Turner’s season. While the two formed a spark, she had to leave the season early due to a family emergency. Now she’s back as The Golden Bachelorette, and she admitted that not much sleep was being had during shooting. Vassos told EW:
The days are long, and they go into nights. You start at 7 or 8 o'clock in the morning and sometimes we don't get home until 2 a.m… As long as I'm up and moving during the day, I do okay. But if I sit down for 10 minutes, I'm dead. We had a day off yesterday, and I sat by the pool and slept on and off most of the day. It was really nice.
Joan Vassos said she was getting by on five hours of sleep per night, even with production reportedly shooting shorter days than on The Bachelor/Bachelorette and trying to eliminate travel fatigue by keeping dates local. (If that’s how the Golden contestants are treated, it really makes me wonder what kind of sleep-deprived torture is being inflicted on the younger casts!)
It’s not just Joan Vassos who’s struggling to get a good night’s sleep. EW also spoke to some of her suitors about the Bachelor Mansion bunk beds, with one saying it was like a return to his college years — and not in a good way. He said:
[Bachelor Mansion] is like a frat house. I haven't slept in a room with other men since college. Guys that snore, guys that do other bodily functions while they sleep.
I hate that the Golden contestants aren’t provided proper (and age-appropriate) accommodations. Septuagenarians in bunk beds? Get out of here with that. One 6-foot-5 contestant on Joan Vassos’ season said he was “lucky” enough to score a twin bed rather than a bunk, but it was so small his feet hung off. Executive producer Bennett Graebner confirmed how hard it was for anybody to get proper rest, saying:
The struggle with the snoring is next level. There are all kinds of sleep aids that are being deployed.
I definitely don’t love this for The Golden Bachelorette cast members. How is anybody supposed to make rational decisions about their future under such conditions? Either way I will be tuning in to see how Joan Vassos’ journey turns out, despite my concerns about her season and despite feeling burned by The Golden Bachelor’s quick divorce.
The newest Bachelor Nation spinoff will premiere at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, September 18, on ABC and can be streamed the next day with a Hulu subscription.
