Joan Vassos continues her search for Mr. Right as the first-ever "Golden Bachelorette." Vassos, a 61-year-old private school administrator from Rockville, Maryland, competed in the inaugural season of "The Golden Bachelor" for Gerry Turner's rose.

Bachelor Nation fans got to the halfway point of the ABC dating show. That means Joan had to make a difficult decision. On the Wednesday, October 16 episode, she got rid of a fan favorite. Even though Mark finally got his one-on-one with Joan, their date was far from smooth sailing.

We love insider gossip in this newsletter, so this week, I reached out to the person who hears it all: Sarah Hearon from Us Weekly. She’s interviewed countless Bachelor/ettes (including, most recently, Joan).