‘Golden Bachelorette’ Suitor Reveals Cancer Diagnosis
Golden Bachelorette suitor Michael Stevens is opening up about his health battles. Reuniting with his fellow eliminated contestants, as well as Joan Vassos, for the first-ever Golden Bachelorette “Men Tell All” episode, the 65-year-old retired banking CEO revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer before joining the ABC dating show.
“Just before I got the initial call [to be on] the show, I was diagnosed with cancer,” Stevens told host Jesse Palmer, according to Parade. “My immediate inclination was not to proceed. But my sons and my daughter-in-law really wanted me to. They had sent the [Golden Bachelorette] application in and my doctor okayed it.”
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Stevens, who didn’t reveal the specific type of cancer, reassured the crowd, “I’m going to be fine. It was caught early.” He thanked “this terrific group of guys, and I want to thank Joan because I am grateful for that experience.”
Although Stevens was eliminated in Week 2 of the competition, and despite his cancer diagnosis, he said that “what could have been a really lousy, difficult year for me instead was kind of a great one, because I got this amazing experience tucked into it.”
Stevens also expressed his gratitude that proceeds from the Chippendales group date was donated to Stand Up to Cancer. Taking place early during the season, Jonathan, Pascal, Dan, Charles L., Gary, Mark, Gil, Chock and Keith were chosen for the date and were given lessons by original Chippendale members on how to body roll before they later took the stage for a playful striptease. During the date, many of the contestants opening up about how their own lives had been impacted by cancer.
The decision to donate proceeds of the buzzed-up moment to Stand Up to Cancer came after Vassos lost her husband John Vassos to pancreatic cancer. The pair were married for 32 years before his death at the age of 59 in 2021, with Vassos telling Entertainment Tonight that she feels “like he maybe had a little hand in me actually getting here, honestly. He told me right before he passed away, ‘You need to go out and find somebody else. You were the best wife in the world and I want you to be happy.’ He gave me this wonderful gift before he died, and he said go and do something, and so here I am.”
Vassos is currently down to her final two suitors – 60-year-old Chock, an insurance executive from Wichita, Kansas, and 66-year-old Guy, an ER doctor from Reno, Nevada. Vassos will make her pick when
New episodes of The Golden Bachelorette air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, with Vassos set to make her pick when the second part of the finale, as well as the After the Final Rose episode, airs on Wednesday, Nov. 13.
