'Golden Bachelorette' recap: The men reflect on what they took away from the show
Joan Vassos' suitors reunited on Wednesday night for a heartfelt "Men Tell All" episode of the "Golden Bachelorette."
There was not a dry eye in the house as the men reminisced about their journey on the show in front of an audience and revisited some of the hilarious memories they shared.
"The bromance here was just absolutely unbelievable," Gary said about the group of men. "It really was."
The men reflect on bonds built together
During the episode, host Jesse Palmer highlighted all the ways in which the men supported each other despite the fact they were all vying for the heart of Vassos.
The audience was moved to tears when Jonathan, the 61-year-old shipping consultant from Oakland, Iowa, read a sweet message that Mark left him one morning on a post-it note, which included words of affirmation. "It seemed at the moment, it was something you needed," Mark told him. "I hope that it helped you. It was from the heart."
Fan favorite Charles L. also spoke about the friendship he has with all the men and how the "The Golden Bachelorette" experience has given him a newfound confidence to start dating again.
"I was worried [about] what my daughters would think about me to date again," he said. "This really concerned me and also I was not sure what my relatives would think about me [dating] due to my cultural background. But the support I received, the love I received from my daughters and my family and relatives -- that worry is gone."
"And hopefully, one day I meet the lucky one out there," he added before someone in the audience said that they think Charles should be the next "Golden Bachelor."
How grief and 'feeling seen' tied them together
Another topic of conversation that arose during the "Tell All" was how the men related to Vassos.
Like a handful of men on the show whose spouse may have died, Mark said that one of the things that he was able to connect with Vassos about was the grief that they still had over the loss of their spouse.
"It was quite an emotional journey," said Mark, whose daughter Kelsey Anderson is engaged to former "Bachelor" Joey Graziadei. "It was easy for me to relate to Joan. We both lost a loved one through death. It just seemed like it would be easier to share that with someone who understood what I was feeling."
Jonathan also shared how he bonded with Vassos over the idea of feeling "unseen" at their age and how Vassos helped him feel "visible" again.
"I'm really grateful for Joan listening to me, listening to my story and caring about my heart," he said.
What did Pascal say about his journey?
After Pascal's dramatic exit in last week's episode, the 69-year-old salon owner from Chicago, Illinois, took the hot seat to reunite with Vassos and talk about his “difficult decision” to say goodbye to her in Tahiti.
"I hope I didn't hurt her," Pascal said. "That was not my intention and she's a wonderful woman and now I'm watching and I see her say that she's not worthy of love -- she's totally wrong. I think she is worthy of love, I just wasn't able to give her what she was looking for at the time."
When it finally came time to talk to Vassos, Pascal said he hoped that by him leaving the show, it led Vassos to finding the right person her. Vassos had no hard feelings toward Pascal and said that she wants "nothing but the best" for him and wants him to be happy.
Vassos then turned to all the men and told them that seeing them made her heart happy and that she wanted to have a friendship with all of them.
Next week, we'll see how Vassos' journey as the "Golden Bachelorette" ends in part two of the season finale when she heads to Bora Bora with Chock and Guy.
