It’s never too late for love!

Bachelor Nation has been watching Joan Vassos look for love each week on “The Golden Bachelorette.”

During her season, Joan has been very open about her previous relationship, how she views dating, and what she’s learned from her experience as the Golden Bachelorette. 

Recently, she spoke exclusively with US Weekly and shared some of the golden rules she’s been following for dating later in life. 

To start off, the first rule she’s been following is to “remember that in the end, this is about you — not your children.”

Joan is a mom of four and grandmother to three, so she was ready to make dating a priority and “didn’t want to make it a family discussion.” She said, “In the long run, it was my decision.”

Her next rule for dating is to be open to the process and “learn how to fall in love again.” 

Joan shared, “After you’re in a relationship for so many years, you always assume you are loved and you love back. And when all of a sudden you don’t have it, you don’t know you can ever get it back or how to do it again.” She noted how being vulnerable and open can help in finding that love again.

The next rule is to date how you want to date, and Joan opened up about why the dates on her season are a little different from previous seasons.

Our Golden Bachelorette shared that she brainstormed the idea for the senior prom date and requested a cooking date because “working together to prepare a meal is ‘a really good way to get to know a person.’”

Joan did admit that she wanted to go in a helicopter and shared, “I wanted to do the winery helicopter date. I’ve never been in a helicopter.” 

Some of Joan’s other golden rules for dating include sticking with it and asking for help when needed. 

She shared how she struggled with letting go of her relationship with John during her journey, and that speaking to a psychiatrist helped with that process. 

Joan also advises to allow yourself to make comparisons, and admitted how some of the men reminded her of John. She shared, “I’ve had this feeling that I don’t feel as safe as I used to when John was alive… I thought, ‘[this Golden guy is] a person who would make you feel safe again.’”

Joan also shared that she feels it’s important to set boundaries and save saying “I love you” until it’s the right moment with the right person. 

She explained, “I thought, ‘Even if I feel it, I’m not gonna say it because things change. I still have a little bit of time that I need to use to make sure there aren’t any red flags I haven’t seen.’”

And the final rule the Golden Bachelorette’s been following is to define the end goal and set intentions early. 

For Joan, she knew she didn’t want to move away from Maryland and made that clear in the beginning. She decided, “When I have something great going on, my person could come be with me, and vice versa… The logistics shouldn’t be what stops you from being together.”