A queen of daytime TV could have been the inaugural Golden Bachelorette. Susan Lucci, who spent four decades playing Erica Kane on the soap All My Children, says she was approached to star in The Golden Bachelorette’s first season.
“I believe that they contacted my publicist,” Lucci told People. “I didn’t pursue [it] when they called my publicist to see if I would be interested. It wasn’t for me, but I do love watching. I’m a fan. I love watching.”
Lucci explained that she started watching The Bachelor after her assistant said one night that she was going home to watch the ABC reality show. “The first time I watched it was that night a couple seasons ago,” Lucci said. “I was immediately engaged. I cared. I wanted to know more about these people.”
The Daytime Emmy winner also tuned in to watch The Golden Bachelor as Gerry Turner led the first season of that over-50 spinoff in 2023. “I watched The Golden Bachelor,” Lucci said. “I really enjoyed watching The Golden Bachelor. This is a new addiction for me.”
ABC and Warner Bros. didn’t comment when contacted by People, but a source told the outlet that she wasn’t offered the role.
Ultimately, as ABC revealed earlier this month, producers picked Joan Vassos to headline The Golden Bachelorette when that spinoff premieres this fall. Joan was one of the women who dated Gerry in The Golden Bachelor, but she left the competition earlier to be with her ailing daughter.
With any luck, Joan’s Golden love story will last longer than Gerry’s. At the end of The Golden Bachelor, Gerry proposed to Theresa Nist, and he and Theresa tied the knot in a live special this January. In April, however, the former couple announced their divorce after three months of marriage.
Lucci, on the other hand, was married to chef and businessman Helmut Huber from 1969 until his death in 2022.
The Golden Bachelorette, Fall 2024, ABC
