Not again!
Joan Vassos received disturbing news from home as she filmed The Golden Bachelorette week 3.
The beautiful blonde, 61, had to self-eliminate from Gerry Turner's The Golden Bachelor last year when her daughter, who was suffering from post-partum depression, called and said she needed Joan's help.
On Wednesday night's Bachelorette episode, fans saw Joan, on another wrenching phone call, learning that another family member, her beloved 92-year-old mother, Mary, was ill.
The report made Joan understandably emotional, but the show went on.
Episode 3 opened with the widower sobbing to the men she might not be ready to find love again because her late husband John "was a huge part of my life."
So what happened with the star and her remaining 14 men before and after her meltdown?
Read on to find out more.
Who received the first one-on-one date with Joan?
Pascal was "honored" to get named and Joan picked him up in a red convertible and whisked him to a private plane.
Joan opined of salon owner Pascal, "He's hot…he has some spunk. He's funny. I know that Pascal is successful…today, I need to see what's in his heart."
The plane took the couple to Las Vegas, where they tried on glittery outfits, kissed, and got serenaded by Sin City icon Wayne Newton.
"I feel like it's a dream," Pascal told the cameras. "How can you not fall in love?"
Later, during their dinner, Joan told Pascal how she got a degree in computer science and "wrote code" until she got married.
Pascal confided to Joan how he grew up in poverty. His family lived six to a room in an apartment with no bathroom or shower in France.
Pascal got little support from his parents, who told him, "Go play in the street."
When Pascal decided to move to the U.S., his father put in a piece of cardboard to fill a hole in his shoe. He told Pascal it would hold until he could buy a new pair.
Pascal vowed to make something of himself even though he "didn't speak a word of English" when first arriving in America.
Later, Joan gave Pascal the one-on-one date rose and she told cameras she saw a future with him.
What did Charles L. ask ER doc Guy?
Back at the mansion, widower Charles L. told Guy how he wondered why, when his wife died of a brain aneurysm, there was blood coming from her mouth.
"When she fell to the ground, she probably bit her tongue," the doctor said.
Charles L. was glad to finally understand what had happened.
"You need to stop dwelling on why, why, why," Guy told him.
What occurred on the group date?
Chock, Gil, Dan, Charles L., Charles K., Gregg, Gary, Guy, Kim, Jordan, Mark and Keith participated in a kickball game with football legends Eric Dickerson and Andre Reed coaching them.
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Members of the winning team would attend an after-party with Joan.
For the First Annual Kick Bowl, many of the aging guys got banged up and hurt, but they didn't hold back.
Charles L. had never played the game but kicked a ball slowly for an RBI. His blue team won and spent extra time with Joan. Charles L. told Joan how Guy had helped him with his wife death question, and she cried with empathy.
What did Joan learn about her mother's health?
Cameras showed Joan receiving a call on the athletic field from her mom Mary.
The star said in confessional, she's "been sick for a number of days. She has something respiratory going on and they want my help to try to figure it out."
Joan was shown telling her mother, "Maybe you need an inhaler and some steroids. We need to get you better."
The Golden Bachelorette said, "It's ultimately my responsibility to take care of my mom and I feel guilty that I'm not there to help."
She sighed that she felt like she needed "to be a fixer" in her family. "I have to push my emotions down and be strong for them."
Joan confided in Gary that Mary was ailing, and he said he'd keep her in his prayers.
Joan said she loved having him around.
Who received the group date rose?
Educator Gil got the rose after he told Joan how he had adopted a baby daughter who would soon turn 17.
In their conversation, viewers also learned Joan's father had immigrated from Holland.
She told Gil that her mom Mary "lived most of her life in an orphanage because her mother had tuberculosis and it was the days when they put you in a sanitarium. And [my mom] grew up in foster care, so she has no living relatives, not one. My entire life I never met a relative from my mom's side."
How did Joan's date with Jonathan go?
The beauty's second one-on-one date was with Jonathan, who feared baggage from his past would wreck it.
They went horseback riding and enjoyed the outdoors, where Jonathan told her how years earlier, his wife had woken him up and said, "I want a divorce" out of the blue.
Jonathan said he'd packed his suitcase before his date with Joan, believing he wouldn't get the date rose.
"I've always had this feeling I'm not enough," he told her.
Joan assured him he was, and gave him the rose. She loved his "calming presence."
What did Joan tell her suitors?
In the wake of her mom's illness, Joan resolved to share with the guys.
She explained to them how she was her family's caregiver and "being strong is exhausting. My mom is sick right now and she's 92."
Joan also wondered aloud if she was ready for new love because of late husband John's place in her heart.
The guys understood, and Chock pulled Joan aside to tell her his own mom had Stage 4 cancer and was "at the end of life."
Chock said, "If you want to talk about anything, I'm there."
In confessional, Joan noted that Chock reminded her of her late husband.
Later, Joan told Gary her mom was doing better.
Who showed up to give advice?
Golden Bachelor Gerry arrived in a limo to advise Joan.
They sat on the exact same bench where she'd told him she would have to leave his show.
Gerry advised Joan to "take a breath and be yourself."
When he asked if she'd thought her guy might not be on the show, Joan said yes. But she'd developed strong connections.
"I think you're in the right spot," Gerry said. "I'm rooting for you."
What happened at the rose ceremony?
With Pascal and Jonathan wearing their one-on-one date roses, and Gil safe with his group date rose, Joan had eight more men she could keep.
She gave roses to Guy, Dan, Gary, Jordan, Chock, Charles L., Keith, and Mark. The 11 guys moved on to episode 4.
Who went home on The Golden Bachelorette episode 3?
Kim, 69, a retired navy captain from Seattle, Wash.
Gregg, 64, a retired university VP from Longboat Key, Fla.
Charles K., 62, a portfolio manager from Palos Verdes, California
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This story was originally published October 2, 2024 at 10:27 PM