Former Golden Bachelorette Joan Vassos Has Spoken to Ex Gerry Turner About His Cancer Diagnosis (Exclusive)

Joan Vassos has communicated with ex Gerry Turner after the former Golden Bachelor was diagnosed with cancer.

“I knew about that already. I knew about that last year actually and I have spoken to him,” Vassos, 62, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting her partnership with Aspercreme. “He and I are friends. We text every once in a while. He’s all good.”

Vassos explained that the news of his health was “shocking” and noted that “no one wants to hear the C word ever,” but explained that the type of cancer Turner, 72, has is “very slow moving.” (Turner revealed to People in December 2024 that he was diagnosed with a “bone marrow cancer” called Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia, which he claimed has “no cure.”)

“Sometimes they never even treat them for it,” Vassos said. “Like, it never becomes an issue. So he’s at the stage of this cancer that he’s not even being treated for it.”

Vassos, who vied for the affections of Turner on The Golden Bachelor season 1 in 2023 before she was announced the lead of The Golden Bachelorette, told Us that her ex isn’t the only Bachelor Nation member she keeps in touch with. (Vassos accepted a proposal from Chock Chapple in the 2024 season 1 finale. Turner, for his part, tied the knot with Theresa Nist, but the pair announced their divorce three months later.)

Vassos explained that she and season 29 Bachelor Grant Ellis, who she called “a solid human being,” have been in contact while his season has aired.

“I think he’s gonna have his hands full weeding through so many great women. Like, I don’t envy the position he’s in. I’m like, ‘Oh geez, how are you gonna do this sweetie?’” Vassos said. “We text each other. He texted me this morning, in fact and I was like, ‘Geez, tell me how you’re doing like this.’ I’m like, ‘Call me if you need help.’”

While Vassos claimed that she doesn’t know “the ending” of Ellis’ season, she shared her advice for him if he’s navigating a relationship while season 29 airs.

“They should be talking multiple times a day if he picks somebody. It’s hard to watch your person be with all these other people [on the show]. Even if you know that this was what you signed up for and that he picked you, so you’re secure in your relationship, it is still hard to watch,” Vassos said. “Even somebody like Chock, who’s super confident, there were a few episodes that he is like, ‘Yeah, I didn’t love that. I didn’t love that at all.’”

She continued, “The edits kind of play a hand in the way it’s depicted. They don’t make things happen that didn’t happen, but they choose to show things or not show things that promote a story and sometimes it’s hard on the lead and the person you picked.”

While Vassos found her happily ever after with Chapple, she hoped to play cupid with her former Golden Bachelor fellow contestants and exes from The Golden Bachelorette. Vassos previously told Us that she set-up 3 crossover couples, but remained tight-lipped on who they were. Now, Vassos shared that the pairings didn’t find love with each other.

“None of them worked out. Can you believe it? I thought I was so good. I thought, ‘I got this down.’ I thought at least one of ’em. I really had high hopes for one of ’em and that one fizzled out the quickest,” Vassos shared. “Not surprisingly, a lot of the guys from my season have paired off — not with girls from the Golden Bachelor season.”

Vassos pointed out that the men from her Golden Bachelorette season tended to be younger than her former Golden Bachelor fellow contestants — which may have played a factor in their relationships.

“The age matchups were not perfect,” she said. “I didn’t really have a huge amount of hope that there was gonna be a lot of overlap there. But what did happen, that did surprise me — because it didn’t happen for the women — but the guys from my season, so many of them have paired off. I mean like 10 have, like, serious girlfriends. I feel like something triggered during the season that made them more open for love.”

Vassos gushed that seeing her exes “happy” has brought her “so much joy.” While Vassos may not have set up pal Sandra Mason and ex Charles King, she said she’s thrilled for the pair. (Mason and King debuted their budding romance in January.)

“That one came as such a surprise,” Vassos said. “I was like, ‘Sandra, what’s happening?’ I texted her right away and she’s like, ‘Things are great.’ I said, ‘I hope you’re enjoying my old boyfriend.’ Just kidding. She’s like, ‘Thanks for handing him over.’ That was not on my radar at all. That was so good.”

When she’s not helping her friends with their love life, Vassos is partnering with Aspercreme — which helps fight everyday aches with their gels, creams and more.

“At this age, when you’re doing all these things, sometimes it comes at a little bit of a cost. And so that’s why I feel like this partnership is perfect. I am actually the most active and Aspercreme is all about empowering people to keep doing what makes them happy,” Vassos said. “They have a roll-on applicator that has lidocaine in it. And I will give [my grandkids] piggyback rides and it always hurts my right elbow. I get home and I’m like, ‘Oh, the elbow’s aching. I don’t feel so great.’ And I discovered this applicator and I just roll it on and it eliminates the pain immediately and it’s so good. I can use it anytime, anywhere and it doesn’t smell.”

With reporting by Sarah Hearon