Opening up.

Bachelor Nation fans first met Joan Vassos on Season 1 of “The Golden Bachelor,” and now she’s kicked off her own journey to find love on the very first season of “The Golden Bachelorette.”

Her highly anticipated season just premiered on September 18 and Joan stopped by for an exclusive chat with BachelorNation.com, where she opened up about her experience.

While she shared how grateful she is to be the first-ever Golden Bachelorette and what it means to her, Joan also shared that she feels the story is not about her.

She said, “I can’t believe I got picked, that I get to be the first of anything! It’s such an honor because honestly, the story is way more than about me.”

She went on to say, “I just so happened to get the title, but it’s really about the millions of people that are in this stage of life and being single unexpectedly and their search for love. So I get to have my name associated with it, but it’s a way bigger story than me.”

Joan also discussed what she hopes people get out of watching this season and what she thinks of the men vying for her heart. 

She said, “I hope people see that dating at this age can be really fun and that there are wonderful people out there. I just can’t wait for everyone to meet the men! They are so fun and they’re also emotional and very vulnerable and you’re going to get to see their stories and really get to know them. I think that is the best part of the season. The story really isn’t about me, it’s about these awesome men. I’m not just saying that, it’s really true.”

When asked what she was most excited about and whether she was nervous for the first night as the Golden Bachelorette, Joan shared that she was more nervous for the men. 

She said, “I was most excited to see all these men! I had this anticipation but I wasn’t positive a lot of men were going to sign up for this. Men being vulnerable and putting themselves out there I don’t think is really a common thing, so I was a little worried that there might not be a good match for me. So that was probably the thing I was most excited about but also the thing I was most nervous for. That at the end of the 24 exits I was going to go, ‘Huh, not sure if any of these guys are a good match.’” 

She went on to say, “I also was worried that they were going to be really nervous. I had a lot of empathy for them because I remember how nervous I was when I was in the limousine. Being on the other side, I wasn’t nervous at all,; I’ve kind of experienced it all at this point. But when I was in the limousine I was nervous to the point where I was like, ‘Why did I do this to my life? I did not need to come on this show, what was I thinking? Why am I here? Why did I do this to myself?’ I knew how nervous they were, so I really was worried for them. I was like a mother with her little kids on the first day of school.”

During the premiere, audiences saw Joan give her First Impression Rose to Keith and the pair shared their first kiss. She revealed that she specifically chose Keith out of all the men because of how he made her feel. 

Joan said, “A lot of guys had really fun entrances and memorable ones, which I think is really important because it helps you associate them with their story. But with Keith it wasn’t really about his big entrance, which he had a very cool entrance. He pulled up in the old station wagon, which reminded me of my childhood and how I traveled around as a kid with my parents. We didn’t have a ton of money, so we drove to Florida in our big old station wagon and I felt like maybe he had a similar upbringing as me.”

She went on to explain, “But I remember sitting on that hood with him and having a conversation, which was just really comfortable and easy. And in that situation it’s hard to be comfortable, it’s like high anxiety. I knew that he would have to be nervous. I’m kind of nervous for them even though I’m not nervous for myself, and I remember as our time was coming to an end, it was time for the next car to come in. He was like, ‘Let’s just get out of here. Let’s grab a wine and some cheese and go sit on a blanket on the beach.’ And I was just like, ‘Ah, that’s exactly what I’d like to do. That would feel so good right now.’”

She continued, “And then I got to talk to him inside and just kept getting a feeling of comfort and being safe and he’s just like this big teddy bear kind of guy. So it was way more about how I felt when I was with him than his cool entrance. I gave him the rose because he made me feel safe and comfortable.”

And when we asked Joan what she thinks her late husband John would be saying to her about this experience and the new journey she’s embarked on, she said she felt like he would be very excited. 

Joan shared, “John loved reality TV and he loved ‘The Bachelor’! He actually watched it. I did too, and we’d watch it together sometimes. He wanted me to find somebody else. He told me that right before he passed away. He said, ‘You have a lot of living left to do and you deserve to have somebody else in your life and I want that for you. Please do not spend your life mourning me, that is not right.’ And so he gave me this great gift before he died by telling me that. So, that gave me kind of the permission to do this or at least I didn’t feel guilty doing this.”

She continued, “And that was the biggest thing I needed from him. I picture him up in heaven and I know that he is saying like, ‘That’s my wife down there! Look at her, she’s so cool!’ I think he would love this and even before I went on ‘The Golden Bachelor’ I had this conversation with my friend and she was like, ‘Ah! John would LOVE this! He would want you to do this,’ and I was like, ‘God, you’re right, he would.’ He did things in a big way and he would just think this is cool.”

So sweet! We love hearing from Joan and can’t wait to see how her journey as the Golden Bachelorette unfolds.