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Pascal Ibgui Reveals Why He Doesn’t Think ‘Golden’ Franchise Can Work After Joan Vassos Split
Pascal Ibgui admitted he doesn’t think the Golden Bachelor franchise can work after he broke up with Joan Vassos during the debut season of The Golden Bachelorette.
While speaking to Glamour on Wednesday, October 30, Pascal, 69, explained that he believes the show’s main downfall is that it includes people that live all around the world. “I said from the beginning, if you take a 25 to 30-year-old kid who doesn’t have a pot to pee on, doesn’t own a car, who are in between jobs, who rent an apartment, who’s looking for an identity … it’s easy to say, ‘Hey, I’m going to move to LA, I’m going to move to New Orleans, and we’re going to make a living together,’” the Chicago resident told the outlet. “But when you are like me, established, I have a business, I have real estate, I have my friends, I have my routine, I have my health club, I have my connection … I ain’t going to move anywhere.”
He then suggested that the franchise create shows that bring together suitors that all live in the same city. “Chicago’s got 13 million people. You tell me you can’t find 25 widowed or divorced people in that age group? Because in my age, I want to wake up with somebody, I want go to bed with somebody. I want to take a walk with somebody. I don’t want to get in a plane to go see somebody every two weeks,” he continued.
“I think the concept that The Golden Bachelor needs to be modified to a way where they could accommodate the older generation like myself. To me, if I meet somebody who lives in [another suburb of Chicago], OK then,” Pascal said. “We could go spend every weekend together. We could spend couple nights a week together. But if you live in Washington DC, when am I going to see you? And I think, to me, that’s the biggest challenge I had with Joan. I didn’t want to invest because I want a partner on a daily basis.”
While Pascal made a strong connection with Joan, 61, during season 1, he ultimately chose to leave the competition during the October 30 episode. He explained that he was previously in love with another woman one year earlier, and said that his feelings for Joan weren’t what he was looking for in a relationship.
“I know what love is. I’ve experienced it, you’ve experienced it,” he told her during the episode. “And I’m caring about you as a friend. But I’m not in love, you know, and I just can’t be there and it’s hurting me because we have a good time together.”
Pascal added that he needed “that spark” with his future partner, and admitted that he didn’t “have it” with Joan.
Following the tough conversation, Joan said she had a hard time accepting his stance. “It made me know that he knew how to love and he just couldn’t; I wasn’t lovable,” she said in a confessional. “It’s hard to be vulnerable once you’ve been hurt. The walls are up again, and I feel like a failure.”
Despite not finding a lasting love with Joan, Pascal told Glamour that he’s happy he participated on the reality show. “I am grateful for the experience. I enjoy the time I spend with those guys, and I enjoy meeting Joan,” the TV personality said.
“I think the experience alone, being away from the cell phone, the social media, the internet and the news and be stuck with 20 guys into a house give you the opportunity to really open up and get to know each other on a personal level,” Pascal continued. “That was to me the most incredible thing of that experience.”
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