The Golden Bachelorette Joan Vassos, 61, was 'inundated' with d*** pics and 'people with foot fetishes' after The Golden Bachelor: 'It was scary!'

The first-ever Golden Bachelorette Joan Vassos discovered the darker side of fame when she was 'inundated' with 'weird DMs' after competing for the heart of The Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner last year.

'I got d*** pics,' the 61-year-old widow revealed in her EW cover story on Wednesday.

'And I got people with foot fetishes. They wanted me to send them pictures of my feet and would pay me for it. One person offered to buy all the shoes that I wore on Golden Bachelor. It was scary. My kids were like, "Give me your phone, Mom. We're blocking all this."'

And she wasn't alone as The Golden Bachelor contestant April Kirkwood was messaged by a 'creepy, yucky man' and his wife asking her for a threesome, previously telling EW: 'I was shocked. They wanted to go in together with me.'

The Golden Bachelor contestant Leslie Fhima recalled getting a DM from a man who 'wanted to be my sugar daddy, and he itemized everything that he would pay for. I've been hit on by way more young men than [men] my age.'

The first-ever Golden Bachelorette Joan Vassos (R, pictured October 13) discovered the darker side of fame when she was 'inundated' with 'weird DMs' after competing for the heart of The Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner (L) last year

The 61-year-old widow revealed in her EW cover story on Wednesday: 'I got d*** pics and I got people with foot fetishes. They wanted me to send them pictures of my feet and would pay me for it. One person offered to buy all the shoes that I wore on Golden Bachelor. It was scary. My kids were like, "Give me your phone, Mom. We're blocking all this"'

Even 73-year-old Gerry told TMZ in June that numerous eligible women have approached him in public spaces, such as wineries, and virtually, through Instagram DMs, where they've pass along their phone numbers but he remains 'cautious of women who reach out to him first.'

Luckily, ABC chose Joan in May to head up the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelorette - premiering September 18 on ABC - where she has her choice of 24 gentleman callers.

The silver fox suitors range in age from 57-69 with careers like chiropractor, educator, insurance executive, contractor, rancher, ER doctor, caterer, salon owner, and FDNY chief.

'I'm very picky about a man being a gentleman,' Vassos said in the July 29th promo.

'Somebody with a big heart, somebody who is generous and also somebody who's humble.'

Turner and his Golden Bride Theresa Nist divorced after just three months of wedded bliss (and eight months of knowing each other) due to her not wanting to leave New Jersey and him not wanting to leave Indiana.

Joan said upfront that she doesn't 'want to rush into' marriage and relocation is 'not happening' as she will never leave her Rockville, MD home because her four children and two grandchildren are 'the most important thing.'

'I also don't want a guy who thinks he needs to relocate. If he's able to uproot his life, he's probably not my kind of guy,' the Metropolitan Interiors LLC designer told EW.

And she wasn't alone as The Golden Bachelor contestant April Kirkwood (L, pictured January 4) was messaged by a 'creepy, yucky man' and his wife asking her for a threesome, previously telling EW: 'I was shocked. They wanted to go in together with me'

The Golden Bachelor contestant Leslie Fhima (R, pictured November 16) recalled getting a DM from a man who 'wanted to be my sugar daddy, and he itemized everything that he would pay for. I've been hit on by way more young men than [men] my age'

Even 73-year-old Gerry told TMZ in June that numerous eligible women have approached him in public spaces, such as wineries, and virtually, through Instagram DMs, where they've pass along their phone numbers but he remains 'cautious of women who reach out to him first' (pictured June 23)

Luckily, ABC chose Joan in May to head up the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelorette - premiering September 18 on ABC - where she has her choice of 24 gentleman callers 

 The silver fox suitors range in age from 57-69 with careers like chiropractor, educator, insurance executive, contractor, rancher, ER doctor, caterer, salon owner, and FDNY chief

Vassos said in the July 29th promo: 'I'm very picky about a man being a gentleman. Somebody with a big heart, somebody who is generous and also somebody who's humble'

Turner and his Golden Bride Theresa Nist (R, pictured April 12) divorced after just three months of wedded bliss (and eight months of knowing each other) due to her not wanting to leave New Jersey and him not wanting to leave Indiana 

Joan said upfront that she doesn't 'want to rush into' marriage and relocation is 'not happening' as she will never leave her Rockville, MD home because her four children and two grandchildren are 'the most important thing'

'[Maybe] merging someplace in the middle for a few weeks or months. I don't want to rush into anything. I don't need to! I don't have a biological clock that I'm worried about anymore. I have a full life. Figuring out how you merge lives is a longer process. If you have the love, then it's worth it.'

Vassos famously quit The Golden Bachelor during week three in order to be with her daughter Erica Hiken's side after she experienced postpartum depression following the birth of her daughter Hartley Grace Hiken.

The Celebrity Family Feud contestant is 'happiest at the beach with her family' from her 32-year marriage to husband John, who passed away in 2021 from pancreatic cancer.

Joan currently works full-time in alumni relations at the all-boys Landon School in Bethesda, MD; and she works part-time as a special projects consultant of the Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington - according to LinkedIn.

Bachelor Nation fans are some of the most passionate and devoted, despite the horrible track record for couples remaining together on the various shows.

Out of the 28 prior seasons of The Bachelor, only four couples are still together including Sean and Catherine Lowe from season 17.

Out of 20 seasons of The Bachelorette, four couples remain together including Ryan and Trista Sutter from season one.

Surprisingly, Bachelor in Paradise is the most successful franchise with 10 couples remaining together after nine seasons.