Prior to meeting the men, Vassos opened up about her first love, her late husband John Vassos, who died from pancreatic cancer. Vassos said she first met him in 1983 when she was 20 and called him a "special guy" who "made me feel special and safe every single day of my life."

Vassos, a 61-year-old private school administrator from Rockville, Maryland, competed in the inaugural season of "The Golden Bachelor" for Gerry Turner's rose. Now, Vassos is the first lead of "The Golden Bachelorette," entertaining a pool of 24 men hailing from coast to coast.