Kelsey Anderson's Dad Is Competing on 'The Golden Bachelorette'

For most, the thought of watching your parents date is difficult. Now imagine having the whole world watching.

That’s the reality facing Bachelor contestant Kelsey Anderson. She introduced the world to her dad, Mark Anderson, during hometown dates on Joey Graziadei's season of The Bachelor.

Viewers quickly fell for the kind father with a tragic backstory. His wife, Denise, passed away from breast cancer in 2018. He had viewers in tears when he showed photos of Kelsey and her late mom.

Many also couldn’t help but notice that Kelsey’s dad is a silver fox.

Now the 57-year-old widow is set to vie for the heart of the first-ever Golden Bachelorette, Joan Vassos, when the show premieres on September 18. Until then, let’s get to know Kelsey Anderson’s hunky dad up close and personal.

When The Golden Bachelorette announced the 24 men who would compete for Joan Vassos's heart, a familiar face was already in the group: Mark Anderson. Given his good looks, kind heart, and touching backstory, he was basically a shoo-in for the role.

So who is Mark, exactly? According to his bio, he is an Army veteran from Leesville, La. At 57, he’s the youngest of the bunch. For a “fun fact,” he revealed that he is terrified of ostriches — we’re willing to watch the show just to learn the backstory there.

Mark isn’t the first Bachelor Nation family member to join the show. Patty James, the mother of former Bachelor lead Matt James, was on The Golden Bachelor.

The 26-year-old has fully supported her dad finding love again after Bachelor Nation went nuts for him.

“I want my dad to get out there; I want my dad to date,” she revealed on a June episode of the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast. “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.”

Kelsey has remained true to her word. When it was announced that Mark would be on the upcoming season of The Golden Bachelorette, she offered words of support and excitement.

“Welllllll, would you look at that,” Kelsey captioned Mark’s casting announcement in an Instagram Story.

She went on to call her dad “the sweetest” and share a promotional video of Mark’s thoughts on being in love.

“To be in love, it feels very warm, like, you just feel it,” he said in the video. “Everything just, like, travels out of your heart — fills your body, makes you warm, makes you fuzzy — and it brings a lot of joy and happiness to life.”