Bachelor Fans Are Ready To Finally Meet Maria’s Dad

From the very beginning of Maria Georgas’ Bachelor journey, her father made a strong impression on viewers, having appeared in her introduction video. This week, he’ll make a welcome on-screen return during Season 28’s Hometowns episode.

In the introduction clip, Maria said she was over casual dating — which made a viewer at home laugh. “Maria’s over casual dating, and her father literally looks like he invented casual dating,” one fan quipped alongside footage of Nick sporting a cigar, long hair, and a deep, unbuttoned dress shirt.

Maria was in on the joke. “LMAOOO 😂,” she replied on her Instagram story.

While the user added that Maria’s dad looked like a rock star, Nick Georgas’ real job is very different. As Joey Graziadei heads to Ontario, Canada, to meet Maria’s family, here’s everything to know about the Georgas clan.

He’s A Modern-Day Willy Wonka

Nick Georgas owns a sprinkle company called Jubilee Candy, and as Maria shared in a recent TikTok, her grandfather owned a chocolate factory. “Growing up, all I heard was like, my dad’s Willy Wonka,” Maria said. “Which is so funny, I love it.”

It’s clear that Maria values her dad’s input — she even consulted him about her Bachelor packing list. “My dad fought me on the fact that I wanted to bring my Crocs to the Mansion,” she shared in the same TikTok.

In another, she enlisted his help to react to her Bachelor drama, so expect him to have some strong opinions about his daughter’s potential partner. “Maria is 100% daddy’s girl,” he says in the Hometowns trailer. “If she gets hurt, it would be a problem for Joey.”

Maria’s Parents Are Divorced

In her Bachelor introduction video, Maria said she “tend[s] to push people away” as a result of her parents’ divorce. She elaborated several episodes later, telling Joey that her mom generally “wasn’t around” growing up, and struggled mentally after surviving a near-fatal car accident.

Today, Maria and her mom are a “work in progress,” she told Joey. “It’s been so much better, too, and she thought you were so cute. So she’s going to be excited, hopefully, to meet you.”

For Joey, learning about Maria’s family dynamic seemed to be a significant turning point in their relationship. “Maria always chooses to be a fun energy, to not take things so seriously, because she’s had very serious things happen in her life,” he said. “And it just shows a lot about how Maria thinks.”