‘The Golden Bachelorette’ star Joan Vassos reveals real reason why Keith Gordon got her first rose

After meeting 24 handsome and seemingly sincere bachelors, Joan opted to give her First Impression Rose to a tall, outgoing and charismatic bachelor: Keith, a 62-year-old “girl dad” from San Jose, CA.

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Since Joan appeared to spark connections with several men on Night 1 — including The Bachelor 28 alum Kelsey Anderson‘s dad Mark Anderson and ER doctor Guy Gansert — she explained why Keith ultimately received the honor.

“I liked all those epic first impressions coming in funky cars and on horses and the things that people did,” Joan told E! News.

“You usually think the First Impression Rose has to do with that, but for me, it really didn’t. It was moreof the way he made me feel.”

While Keith did, in fact, pull up in a classic station wagon with luggage on the roof, Joan suggested that he simply seemed to be on The Golden Bachelorette for the right reasons.

“The nostalgia of that old station wagon made me think back to my childhood,” Joan shared of the memorable entrance.

“Actually, we had one that looked remarkably like that car. That’s how we traveled. We didn’t have a lot of money, so we would pack up the car and go places as a family. So that automatically gave me a good feeling.”

Joan and Keith then proceeded to sit on the car’s hood and just have an honest and fun chat.

“We just had a nice, normal conversation, and he just made me feel comfortable immediately,” explained the 61-year-old private school administrator and mother.

“And then, honestly, when it was time for us to move on — like I had to greet the next guy — I really didn’t want to leave him.”

When Keith suggested they should leave the mansion and enjoy a wine-and-cheese picnic on the beach, it was music to Joan’s ears.

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“He makes me feel like that’s exactly what I would like to do right now. So I felt like he read me really well,” Joan said.

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During the first cocktail party of the season, Keith managed to steal more time with The Golden Bachelorette star.

Not only did Joan and Keith play cornhole together, but they also had a sweet fireside chat in the mansion.

“When I got to have my conversation inside, he just felt like a big teddy bear,” Joan gushed of the bachelor. “He made me feel safe. So it was more about the way he made me feel.”

But Joan admitted to Us Weekly in a separate interview that she “could have given out 10” First Impression Roses because her cast of 24 guys was so impressive.

“I am not lying. I’m not exaggerating,” Joan insisted to the magazine.

“You go into this not knowing if you’re going to have a connection with anybody,” she added.

“And there were several guys that I felt like when they stepped out of the limo and I had a little conversation with them and [when] they walked away, I thought, ‘Okay, this could work, I’m feeling good.'”

Joan apparently had a very successful first night, especially because she felt butterflies for some of the men.

“I feel like I’m out there kind of floating,” Joan gushed of Keith onThe Golden Bachelorette‘s premiere episode.

“And he just has this very warm and easy way about him. He is a quick laugh. He’s also very sincere… I’ve become more and more encouraged that this is going to work.”

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Keith, in turn, told The Golden Bachelorette cameras that Joan was absolutely “beautiful” and “so easy” to talk to.

“It was just fluid. It was easy. It was natural,” Keith said of his dynamic with Joan.

“When I looked into her eyes, when I see how she looks back, I know that I have a special connection with her. There’s something there that maybe we can build on.”

Keith opened up on The Golden Bachelorette premiere about how he gets “excited about life” but is also “a sensitive person” with a big heart.

The 6’5″ suitor went on to share, “I love people, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”

Keith also explained how he’s been “the sole parent” for his kids for over a decade.

“[Twelve years ago] , we had to separate from my ex-wife. Addiction was in the family. So, I had to try to give my daughters some sort of stability in their life,” Keith recalled of his family’s difficult past.

“I’ve given them all this time and effort and love over the years, and that’ll never change. But I think it’s time for me to maybe try to find love and move forward in my life as well with someone.”

The Golden Bachelorette‘s next episode is set to air Wednesday, September 25 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC, and Joan has 18 men left in the running for her heart at this stage in the process.

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About The Author:
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.