For "Golden Bachelorette" fans, the dream contender has arrived.
Mark Anderson, the hunky father of "The Bachelor" Season 28 star Kelsey Anderson, will vie for Joan Vassos' heart on the ABC's "Golden Bachelorette" this fall.
Anderson, 57, has already earned the title of "Kelsey's Hot Dad" after the "The Bachelor" hometown dates episode, when Kelsey brought future fiancé Joey Graziadei to New Orleans to meet her family and her father.
Since that episode, "Bachelor Nation" has been clamoring for the loving widower Anderson to be featured on the reality franchise. Even "Golden Bachelor" stand-out Susan Noles became besotted by the silver-haired fox.
Here's why Anderson has already turned into the love candidate to watch, one month before "The Golden Bachelorette" kicks off Sept. 18 (8 EDT/.PDT).
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Throughout "The Bachelor" season, Kelsey shared the story of her mother, Denise, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. Anderson cared for his wife until she died in 2018.
During the New Orleans hometown visit on "The Bachelor," Kelsey's tearful heart-to-heart with her father about Joey lit the national flame for Anderson, who was fully supportive of his daughter's quest for TV true love.
"I want you to feel that feeling I had with your mom," Anderson said, "because it's the best feeling in the world."
"It's crazy! Oh my god, I'm going to cry," Kelsey responded, before saying of Joey. "I think I love him."
Mark hugged his daughter and whispered, "I love you," as Bachelor Nation melted.
The touching sentiments from the lovable father set off a social-media storm that veered into a thirst-fest for Anderson. Kelsey posted on TikTok after the episode jokingly thanking fans for "the nightmares that I will have tonight in regards to the posts y’all have made about my dad."
Kelsey spoke about Anderson during a June interview on the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast, hosted by Noles and Kathy Swarts, both contestants on the first season of "The Golden Bachelor" last fall. The proud daughter said she would "fully support" her father taking the same kind of reality show leap she did.
"I want my dad to get out there; I want my dad to date," Kelsey said. "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."
During the same podcast, Swarts noted how Noles fought for Anderson's attention at "The Bachelor" finale. "Susan elbowed her way in to see if she could maybe date the guy," Swarts said.
“We were emailing long before that," Noles said, calling Anderson "a great guy."
Gerry Turner's "Golden Bachelor" season featured "Bachelor" star Matt James' mother, who went home in the premiere episode. But Anderson's appeal has turned into budding stardom even before this official "Golden" announcement. Because he grew up in Minnesota and is a huge Vikings football fan, Anderson gave an April interview to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune where he expressed surprise by the sudden attention from "Bachelor" fans. "It’s been a little bit more than a little bit overwhelming," he said.
At the time, Anderson thought he was too young for the Golden franchise but thought he'd possibly try it in a couple of years. That timetable has clearly been moved up for the 61-year-old Vassos.
“It’s an opportunity to possibly meet the person I’m meant to be with," he said.
ABC released the full list of 24 men, including Anderson, appearing on "The Golden Bachelorette." The others: