Kelsey Anderson is passing the torch to her father, Mark Anderson, on his journey to find love on The Golden Bachelorette.
“I have someone that I would like to introduce you to,” Kelsey, 26, told Golden Bachelorette Joan Vassos in a preview for the upcoming season after surprising Joan, 61, by popping out of one of the limos.
Kelsey then pointed to the vehicle as a handsome gentleman, who she revealed is her dad, stepped out. “Oh, my gosh,” Joan said as Mark, 57, approached her for their official introduction.
“Well, hello, Joan,” he said while smiling from ear to ear. “I’m so excited!” Joan replied as she clapped her hands together while still standing next to Kelsey.
Mark wore a navy suit, light blue pocket square, white dress shirt and a gray polka dot tie when he arrived at the Bachelor mansion. Joan opted for a gold gown with a high neckline and sparkle beaded detailing. Kelsey, meanwhile, stepped out in a bright green dress for the meet-cute.
Fans were introduced to Kelsey during season 28 of The Bachelor. During the season finale, she accepted a proposal from Joey Graziadei.
That same season, viewers fell in love with Kelsey’s father, who was dubbed “Kelsey’s Hot Dad” by the internet, following her hometown visit in Louisiana. At the time, Mark told his daughter that she wanted her to “feel that feeling I had with your mom, because it’s the best feeling in the world.”
Kelsey previously opened up about her late mother, Denise, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. Her father was Denise’s caretaker until her death in 2018.
“I want my dad to get out there; I want my dad to date,” Kelsey revealed on the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast in June. “I think that my mom really would want him to. My mom, before she passed, always said, ‘I want you to find somebody else. I want you to find another love.’ Before she even was sick she would always say this. She just knew that she was going to pass before him.”
Kelsey — and Bachelor Nation — got their wish when the cast for The Golden Bachelorette season 1 was announced earlier this summer.
“Welllllll, would you look at that,” Kelsey teased via her Instagram Stories, adding two star-struck emojis, on August 13. She shared her dad’s casting photo while celebrating the big news.
Joan landed the role of The Golden Bachelorette in May after becoming a fan-favorite on Gerry Turner’s season of The Golden Bachelor. Although she chose to leave early to care for her daughter, who had recently given birth, viewers continued to root for her.
Ahead of the show, Joan was married for 32 years to John Vassos, who died in 2021 after battling pancreatic cancer. The pair share four children.
“We’ve got a lot of living to do,” Joan teased in the extended ABC preview, which dropped on Tuesday, August 27. “Life should be fun … and we’re not done yet.”
The Golden Bachelorette premieres on ABC Wednesday, September 18, at 8 p.m. ET.
