The Golden Bachelorette’s Joan Vassos made the right decision when she gave her final rose to Chock Chapple, and there are many good reasons that he’s not the villain he’s made out to be. It’s a love story for the ages, and it started when 61-year-old Joan Vassos applied to be a contestant onThe Golden Bachelor. Excitement was high when ABC announced the production of a newBachelorNation show that focused on the love stories of senior citizens.
Joan, a private school administrator, applied to be on the show, and she was chosen to be one of the 22 single women who’d compete for 72-year-old Gerry Turner’s heart. Early in the season, Joan had a family emergency and had to leave the show early, dashing any hopes of a relationship with Gerry. Just as it looked like Joan’sBachelorjourney was over, she was cast as the spin-off’s first female lead.
The Golden Bacheloretteseason 1 premiered with Joan standing outside the iconicBachelormansion greeting a fleet of limousines carryingher 24 singleGoldenmen. There were several great men in the cast, including 58-year-old Mark Anderson and 66-year-old Guy Gansert, butit was 60-year-old Chock who would ultimately winJoan’s heart. During the season finale, Joan gave Chock her final rose, and he gave her a diamond ring. The couple got engaged during the final rose ceremony and started their lives together. Overall, giving Chock her final rose was a great move on Joan’s part.
8Joan & Chock Are Moving To NYC
A Unique Arrangement
Joan and Chock got engaged at the end ofThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1, and they rode off into the sunset to live happily ever after. The day after getting engaged, they were interviewed byPeople,and theytalked about their unique living arrangements. “We’re going to be going back and forth between Kansas to Maryland and to New York,” Chock said. “We’ll have a full-time place in New York and whenever we get the opportunity, we’re going to be there.”
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Before appearing onThe Golden BachelorandThe Golden Bachelorette, Joan lived in Maryland, and Chock lived in Kansas, and they intended to share each other’s states for a while.Joan and Chock won’t live together, and will instead go back and forth. They’ve already started looking for a place in New York for them to buy together. Since Joan and Chock don’t know each other well, it’s too soon to move in together full-time. Taking it slow proves how much Joan and Chock care about each other.
7Chock Was The Most In Love With Her From The Cast
Some Men Didn’t Care About Her At All
Joan dated plenty of men duringThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1, and she hit it off with several of them, but no one fell in love with her as fully as Chock. Some of the other men liked Joan but let her down. One of the cruelest cuts was delivered by69-year-old Pascal Igbui. The charming French salon owner made it to Joan’s final three men, and she even met his friends and family.
Things were going great until their overnight date. During a symbolic bonding ritual, Pascal panicked. The exercise made him question his feelings for Joan. In a dramatic scene posted to YouTube byBachelor Nation,Pascaltold her that he saw her as more of a friend than a lover, and then he eliminated himself fromThe Golden Bacheloretteand went home.
6Joan Is Smiling From Ear To Ear In Every Picture She’s In
Chock Brought Her Back To Life
The last few years have been very difficult for Joan. Long before being cast asThe Golden Bachelorette,Joan was married to John Vassos. He was the love of her life, and they had four children together, who were now all grown with their own children. Joan and John were married for 32 happy years before John passed away in 2021. Joan hadnever seen herself having to reenter the dating scene during her goldenyears, but with her children out of the house, she found herself all alone.
Before Joan’s late husband had died, he had told her that he wanted her to attempt to find love again.
Joan decided to be a contestant on Gerry’s season ofThe Golden Bachelor, but that didn’t work out for her either. When Chock came along,Joan was still struggling with the loss of her late husbandand the guilt that came along with trying to replace him. Joan hasn’t stopped smiling from the moment she met Chock, and it’s difficult to even find a picture of her where she isn’t grinning from ear to ear.
5Chock Understands Joan
He Lost A Great Love Too
Similar to Joan, Chock knows what it’s like to lose someone you love deeply. After divorcing Heather Chapple, his wife of 12 years and mother of his two children,Chock met Katherine Elizabeth White Goree. They wereengaged for nine years before Heather died in 2022. During Joan and Chock’s first solo date during an early episode ofThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1, he tells her all about losing Heather, and Joan tells him about losing John.
Joan and Chock really connected in their shared sense of mourning.
Chock is still close to his late fiancée’s family. In fact, when Joan went to Kansas to meet Chock’s friends and family, Katherine’s father was still close to Chock and the Chapple family. When Chock met some of Joan’s adult children, hetold them he didn’t want to replace their father. He understands Joan and her loss, because he, too, lost a great love.
4Chock Made It Clear He Was All About Joan
He Was Basically Obsessed With Her
Joan and Chock had instant chemistry, and he even got her first solo date, a dream date to Disneyland. During the date, they met Disney characters, went on some rides, and shared a romantic kiss during the famous Magic Kingdom fireworks display. Their next date wasn’t as magical. During an episode ofThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1,Joan took several of the men on a group date to a bowling alley, including Chock. Most of the men seemed to have a great time, but it was clearChock didn’t like having to share Joanwith the other men.
Chock was really into Joan, and he just couldn’t adjust to the group date dynamic.
Chock just wanted to be with Joan, he didn’t care about the other men. He kept sitting down right next to Joan and putting an arm around her. It bothered the other men, but Chock couldn’t seem to stop himself. As for Joan, she didn’t ask Chock to back off, andshe seemed to like his possessive behavior. It seemed to make her feel special and wanted. Chock may remind Joan of her late husband, but possessiveness is a red flag Joan shouldn’t look past.
3Chock Is Fine Waiting To Marry Joan
Love Is Patient
When Joan accepted Chock’s proposal duringThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1, it was unexpected because shehad indicated she had no intention of getting marriedat the end of her season. Before the start of filming, Joan was interviewed byCNN, where she said she wouldn’t be rushing into marriage. She explained that she felt people needed more time to get to know each other before entering into a serious commitment.
Joan’s reluctance to get engaged all went out the window when Chock got down on one knee and pulled out a sparkling diamond ring.
The Golden Bacheloretteseason 1 ended withJoan enthusiastically accepting Chock’s proposalas he slipped the ring onto her finger. The fact thatChock is willing to wait for Joan says a lot about him, and it’s clear he loves her very much. They say that love is patience, and Chock loves Joan enough to wait for her to be ready to walk down the aisle.
2Chock Came Back
While Chock was atTheBachelormansion filmingThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1, his mother passed away. She had been ill for a while, so it wasn’t a complete surprise, but Chock hadn’t expected her to pass away as he was filming the show. Knowing his family needed him,Chock tearfully kissed Joan goodbye and headed backto Kansas.
It seemed like the relationship between Joan and Chock was over.
The moment was reminiscent of when Joan had to leave Gerry’s season ofThe Golden Bachelor.Like Joan, Chock put his family first, which was something else the two had in common. To Joan’s surprise,Chock came back by the end of that episode. He couldn’t give up on the chance to be with Joan, and his mother would have wanted him to continue to look for love.
1Joan & Chock Get Along With Each Other’s Families
It’s A Family Affair
Since going public with their relationship,The Golden Bachelorette’sJoan and Chock are eager to start enjoying their lives together, which will include blending their families. While Joan has four adult children, as well as their spouses and their children, Chock himself has two college-aged children. Since their families are older, they don’t have to live together, but it would be better if everyone got along.
Joan and Chock have decided to take their families on a grand Disneyland vacation.
Taking their families to Disneyland has symbolic significance for Joan and Chock. That was the first time the couple connected, talking about their lives.Joan and Chock want to revisit Disneylandand share the love with their families. When Chock met Joan’s children, he put them at ease, so they liked Chock. Joan met Chock’s college-age children during hometown dates, which also went well. The fact that they get along with each other’s children is a good signThe Golden Bachelorettecouple will live happily ever after.
61 years old
Private school administrator
60 years old
Insurance executive
The Golden Bachelorette
Cast
The Golden Bachelorette: This reality series offers one woman in her later years the opportunity to find love, as a group of seasoned men compete for her affection. Participants bring diverse romantic histories, seeking a meaningful connection and a chance to build a promising future together.
