The highly anticipated inaugural season of The Golden Bachelorette is in full swing, and there are signs that one of the contestants, Mark Anderson, is a producer plant who isn't there to win Joan Vassos' final rose. Though the 58-year-old Mark is a fan favorite to win the heart of 61-year-old Joan, he doesn't seem to be swooping in and sweeping her off her feet just yet. Joan, a private school from Maryland, made her television debut during Gerry Turner's season of The Golden Bachelor, and has been given a second chance at finding love on the show.

Though she left the season early to deal with a personal family emergency, Joan made quite an impression, and was eventually cast as the Bachelor spin-off's first female lead. The Golden Bachelorette season 1 premiered several weeks ago, and Joan greeted 24 impressive older single men who were eager to earn her love. Among the men was Mark, a retired Army veteran and widowed father of five. Read to the end to find out why it seems like Mark isn't on the show to date Joan.

Mark's Bachelor Nation Journey

A Long & Winding Road

Mark made his television debut during The Bachelor season 28, when his daughter, 26-year-old Kelsey Anderson, brought her boyfriend, 28-year-old Joey Graziadei, to meet her family during her on-camera hometown date. Kelsey ended up winning Joey's final rose, and the two are engaged now, so Mark is practically Bachelor Nation royalty. Fans fell in love with the attractive widower, and they clamored for him to replace Gerry as The Golden Bachelor.

Mark Isn't Winning Joan's Heart So Far

He Barely Got A Rose Last Week

On the first night of The Golden Bachelorette season 1, Joan looked surprised when the limousine door opened and Kelsey stepped out saying there was someone she wanted to introduce Joan to. When Mark stepped out of the limousine behind Kelsey, Joan beamed, expressing real excitement about meeting him. Despite Joan's excitement about meeting Kelsey's father, Mark didn't run away with Joan's heart.

Though she has given out multiple solo dates, Mark hasn't received one, and he has gotten very little alone time with Joan. He was able to pull Joan aside at one point for a short German lesson, during which Mark scored a kiss, but that was the most face-to-face time Mark had received. During the most recent episode of The Golden Bachelorette season 1, the unthinkable almost happened when Mark got Joan's final rose of the night, barely avoiding elimination.

Is Mark A Producer Plant?

He's Being Groomed To Be The Golden Bachelor

Considering how little time Mark is getting with Joan, it's starting to feel like he's not even trying to win The Golden Bachelorette's heart. Since Bachelor leads are often cast from existing Bachelor contestants, it's starting to feel like the only reason Mark is on Joan's season is so that producers can cast him as The Golden Bachelor. Since ads have already started airing inviting single women to apply for the second season of the hit show, it's looking likely that Mark will replace Gerry as the Golden spin-off's next lead.

What We Know About Mark Anderson

He'd Make A Great Bachelor Lead

Long before appearing in Joey's season of The Bachelor, Mark was a retired Army veteran and single father of five. Kelsey talked about her father quite often while dating Joey during The Bachelor season 28, so expectations were high when she brought Joey home to meet him. The tall, attractive Mark didn't disappoint. He offered Joey and Kelsey a photo album, which offered glimpses into his own love story with Kelsey's mother, Denise Anderson.

Like Mark, Denise was an Army veteran, and the two met while serving their country.

Mark and Denise were married for 18 happy years before she ed away in 2018. During one of their earliest dates, Kelsey told Joey that she and her father weren't close when she was younger, because he was away working so often. After her mother died, the two got closer, and she came to rely on him for his quiet strength and good judgment.

Mark Anderson's Too Good To Be True

He's The Ideal Suitor But Maybe He's Not There To Find True Love

Mark is really the ideal older suitor. He's cute, he's funny (as the Instagram clip above shows), and his background is impressive. However, appearances can be deceiving - the image that a person shows the world doesn't always match what's inside. For example, a handsome man can be a clout chaser - he can be hand-picked by production to come in and break hearts... or just to get ratings.

If producers wanted Mark to appear as The Golden Bachelor lead down the line, they may have put him on The Golden Bachelorette so people could get to know him. Maybe they didn't actually want Joan to choose him. Although he's charming, Mark may be holding back a bit, with his eye on the prize. He could be trying to win over viewers instead of Joan so he can potentially star in The Golden Bachelorette. It's possible that his interest in Joan was never real.

She has many men to choose from. Her future looks very bright and she doesn't need Mark. However, the fact that she might prefer another doesn't change the fact that Mark could be a producer plant. He's a Bachelor Nation icon thanks to his status as Kelsey's dad, he's telegenic, and he's got a clean-cut, All-American background. If producers did decide to be this shady, they chose a man who could charm the entire country. All of this is why Mark may be too good to be true.

Mark's a Taurus man who is, in theory, an ideal match for Capricorn woman Joan. Taurus men are cuddly and warm, but they're also money-oriented. It's not impossible that Mark wants to become The Golden Bachelor so he can leverage his fame to earn cold, hard cash. He'll become a powerful influencer if that happens, and social media power can be turned into pure gold.

Mark would make an excellent replacement for Gerry on The Golden Bachelor season 2. Like Gerry, Mark is sensitive and telegenic, but unlike Gerry, Mark is a clean slate who doesn't come with a ton of excess baggage. It's hard to understand why Joan isn't falling head over heels with the infinitely likable Mark, so the only explanation is that Mark isn't on The Golden Bachelorette season 1 to date Joan. It's a smart move on the part of producers to cast Mark on another Bachelor Nation show before announcing him as The Golden Bachelor.

Source: Mark Anderson/Instagram

The Golden Bachelorette season 1 is airing on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. on ABC.