Golden Bachelorette viewers 'sobbing' as Jonathan is crowned prom king in touching full-circle moment

The Golden Bachelorette viewers were left in a puddle of tears after contestant Jonathan Rone was crowned prom king after being stood up at his own high school celebration.

During another tear-jerking episode of The Golden Bachelorette , fans were "sobbing" during the first group date as Joan Vassos and all of her eligible suitors gathered for their own adult prom. During the fun-filled celebration complete with a disco ball and confetti, the contestants were all transported back to their youth as they got down on the dance floor, took turns posing in the photo booth, and even spiked the punch with a flask.

But one moment that left viewers teary-eyed was when Jonathan opened up about his own heartache prom night. During the date, Jonathan revealed in a confessional: "I actually didn't go to prom. I went to a small Catholic school and I was the only student of color. In my Senior year I had the courage to ask a girl out to prom and probably like a week before prom she decided not to go."

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The now 61-year-old shipping consultant continued: "I remember I just felt shattered. My heart was broken because of that." Jonathan admitted to Joan that the experience "completely shattered" his ego which caused him to create a "harder shell" to protect himself.

And while Jonathan may not have had the night of his life back in the day, Golden Bachelorette star Joan created a beautiful full-circle moment for him as she crowned him her prom king. After Joan picked Jonathan as the winner and placed a bejeweled red crown on his head, he gushed over how much the moment meant to him.

The Iowa-native said: "Forty-three years later - my first prom - and I'm a king. This definitely means a lot to me. Having the courage to ask someone to prom and being rejected, I've been carrying that for 43 years and just accepted it. But you know that hole is still in there and so what she did tonight with me just put a big old patch of love over that hole and man it feels good."

After Jonathan's vulnerable confession fans took to X, formerly Twitter, sharing an outpour of love for the star. One viewer wrote: "Not me tearing up at a 61-year-old man getting crowned Prom King." And another penned: "Jonathan saying he was the only person of color at his school so when he got the courage to ask a girl to go to prom and she decided not to go just 'shattered' his heart. That broke my heart."

A third fan posted: "Update: Jonathan made it to prom and he is prom king!!!!! All i do is cry!!!!!!!!" While someone else felt emotional over the group support as they wrote: "all the guys being so happy for Johnathan that he won prom king oh i love it here." And another wrote: "This show has me stuck between laughing out loud and sobbing on my couch every 5 min." While another praised: "Jonathan is HOT best classy guy for Joan done deal."

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