The Golden Bachelorette season 1's Guy Gansert should be The Golden Bachelor, in spite of recent revelations about a restraining order his wife filed years ago. The 66-year-old ER doctor traveled to the iconic Bachelor mansion all the way from Reno, Nevada, to date 61-year-old Joan Vassos. Joan made her television debut during The Golden Bachelor, when she dated 72-year-old Gerry Turner. Though Joan had to leave the season early to deal with a family emergency, her Bachelor journey continued as she was cast as the spin-off's first female lead.
On opening night of The Golden Bachelorette season 1, Joan greeted her 24 single Golden men, including Guy. The two hit it off right away, and they continued to get closer as the season went on. When all was said and done, Guy received one of Joan's final two roses, along with 60-year-old Chock Chapple. Though recent revelations about Guy's contentious divorce threw him off the list of potential Golden Bachelor leads, producers should rethink this position. Read on for reasons why his wife's claims shouldn't necessarily make him persona non grata.
Guy Made It To Joan Vassos' Final Two
They Really Connected On A Deeper Level
Guy stood out to Joan from the first night of The Golden Bachelorette season 1, and set himself apart throughout the season as a kind person who other contestants seemed to like. When fellow contestant Kim Buike wanted the other men to sing Joan a song, he was visibly hurt when they all refused him. The only contestant who joined Kim in singing the weird song was Guy. Guy was also there for 66-year-old Charles Ling who needed help working through the grief of losing his late wife.
When Joan traveled to Guy's hometown during her hometown visits episode, she met Guy's friends and family, who clearly adored him. She gave Guy one of her final three roses, and, after 69-year-old Pascal Igbui eliminated himself during his overnight date, the field was narrowed to Guy and Chock. Joan had a difficult choice to make, but she didn't know about Guy's past protective order when she made her decision.
Guy's Ex Filed A Protective Order
She Dropped It A Month Later
With The Golden Bachelorette season 1 finale on the horizon, Guy is one of Joan's final two men. Things seemed to be going great between Joan and Guy, when People reported that Guy's ex-wife, Heidi O’Gara, filed a temporary protective order in October 2021. Guy's ex-wife accused him of having anger issues and making threats.
Though Heidi's allegations are troubling, she dropped the order a month later, and it was never officially granted by a judge.
When Guy's protective order went public, he addressed the matter on Instagram. The Golden Bachelorette season 1 contestant explained that he and Heidi, whom he was married to for 34 years and had four children with, struggled during their divorce but eventually came to an agreement, prompting Heidi to drop the protective order. Producers should take his explanation into consideration before making any decisions about his future with the franchise.
Will Guy Be The Golden Bachelor?
He'll Probably Never Appear On Another Bachelor Show Again
Though Guy's ex-wife dropped the order before it became official, it's unlikely that he'll be cast as The Golden Bachelor, or appear on another franchise show ever again. Though it seems like his wife's brief protective order was filed in the heat of the moment during their contentious divorce, the producers probably wanted to avoid any liability. It's unclear if ABC knew about the order when they cast Guy in The Golden Bachelorette.
Guy wasn't the only contestant on The Golden Bachelorette season 1 who was revealed to have a protective order filed against them.
The other involved 60-year-old Gil Ramirez, an educator from Mission Viejo, California. According to People, Gil's ex-girlfriend filed a restraining order against him about four months ago, accusing him of stalking. The woman claimed he made unwanted contact with her and her family, and said that he would show up to places unannounced to confront her. The reason producers didn't know about it is that he passed their background check before the restraining order was filed. Gil was eliminated from The Golden Bachelorette earlier in the process, whereas Guy made it to the final two.
