Golden Bachelorette’s Pascal Ibgui Addresses Age Gap Comments

Pascal Ibgui is still looking for The One after self-eliminating on Joan Vassos‘ season 1 of The Golden Bachelorette.

“I’m single, and I’m not single because nobody wants me, I’m single because the one I want [doesn’t] want me,” Pascal, 69, explained on the Thursday, March 6, episode of the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast.

Pascal, who explained that he met someone online a few months ago and invited her to Chicago, clarified previous comments he made about his age preference when it comes to dating. (Pascal told Us Weekly that if he were to be the next Golden Bachelor, he would want the age limit to be lowered. “Yes, I’m old, but I don’t go out with a 72-year-old woman,” he told Us in November 2024.)

“Absolutely wrong, absolutely wrong,” he said of the idea that he likes “much younger” women. “I think I made a comment. Sometimes the language barrier … and when I look back … I said, ‘I don’t go out with a 72-year-old woman.’ That’s not what I’m trying to say. I said, ‘I want to go out with an age-appropriate [woman].’ I don’t go out with anyone under 50, 55.”

Pascal noted that he receives social media messages from “young girls” but noted that his minimum age requirement for a partner is 55 to 65 years old.

“Depend[s] upon the person,” he said. “You could have a 65-year-old woman who know[s] how to take care of herself, who’s into health and fitness, who know[s] how to dress. … I have no problem with the age, but it has to be age-appropriate. So, again, [setting] the record straight. I do not go out with young women.”

Bachelor Nation met Pascal when he vied for the affections of Joan, 62, on season 1 of The Golden Bachelorette in 2024. After Pascal self-eliminated from the ABC series, Joan accepted a proposal from Chock Chapple in the season finale.

Joan, for her part, recalled her time being courted by several suitors on The Golden Bachelorette — and shared her reflections on dating.

“Chock is very much like my late husband John [Vassos],” Joan said on the Wednesday, March 5, episode of the “I Do Part 2” podcast. “I think I’m a good picker, but I’m not sure. I’ve seen a lot of people who aren’t good pickers — particularly the people that like the bad boy and I feel like, ‘OK, that’s something great to do when you’re in high school in college, but when you’re looking for a relationship that’s a bad guy, that’s not the person you want.’ Or, they like a playboy. You know, Pascal is a bit of a playboy.”

She continued, “I wasn’t going to pick him because I knew that about him. He self-eliminated. That was all good. All of that worked out the way it was supposed to.”