Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple got engaged during the finale ofThe Golden Bachelorette, and they’ve already made a major life decision that could spell doom for their relationship. It’s hard to imagine 61-year-old Joan having to endure another loss after all she’s been through over the last few years. In 2021, Joan lost the love of her life to cancer. She was married to John Vassos, with whom she had four children, for 32 years before he succumbed to his illness. With her children grown and out of the house, Joan unexpectedly found herself alone in her golden years.
Joan wasn’t ready to let go of the past, but she also didn’t want to spend the rest of her life alone. She joined the cast ofThe Golden Bachelorseason 1,along with 21 other women who wanted to date 72-year-old Gerry Turner. When Joan left early due to a family emergency, she was cast asThe Golden Bachelorette. She went on to greetthe 24 singleGoldenmenvying for her heart, including 60-year-old Chock. Joan and Chock got engaged at the end of the season, but they recently made a troubling decision that could derail their journey.
Joan Never Intended To Get Married
She Approached The Journey With Realistic Expectations
When Chock got down on one knee duringThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1 and proposed to Joan, it was a big surprise when Joan said yes. The surprise was due to the fact thatJoan had indicated she had no intention of getting marriedat the end of her season. Soon after Joan was announced as the lead, she 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 such a serious commitment.
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Joan may have been reluctant to get engaged, but that all went out the window.The Golden Bacheloretteseason 1 ended withJoan enthusiastically accepting Chock’s proposal, and letting him slip the ring onto her finger. Maybe she changed her mind about getting married after meeting Chock, but the excitement may be temporary. Once the first flush of new love wears off,Joan may come to her senses before ever walking down the aisle.
Joan & Chock Made A Big Life Decision
Unique Living Arrangement
After Chock and Joan got engaged duringThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1finale, they rode off into the sunset to live happily ever after. At least that was the idea, but life has a way of upending the best laid plans. The day after getting engaged, Joan and Chock were interviewed byPeople,and confessed that they had no intention of moving in together. “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.”
Before making their big television debuts onThe Golden BachelorandThe Golden Bachelorette, Joan lived in Maryland, while Chock lived in Kansas, and neither wanted to move to the other’s home state. Theirplans to go back and forth may seem like a good idea nowwhen the relationship is still fresh and exciting, but they may find the constant travel to be a bigger challenge as time goes by. If Joan and Chock love each other enough to get engaged, they should want to live together, and it’s not a good sign that they don’t.
Just Like Gerry Turner & Theresa Nist
History Repeats Itself
The news about Joan and Chock’s living arrangement brings back bad memories about the otherGolden Bachelorcouple.The Golden Bachelorseason 1ended with Gerry giving his final rose to 70-year-old Theresa Nist. The two got engaged and werequickly married in a lavish televised wedding that aired a few short weeks after the couple went publicwith their relationship. The marriage was rushed, and so was the divorce.
Gerry and Theresa announced their divorce after only three short months of marriage.
Like Joan and Chock, Gerry and Theresa struggled with living arrangements. Before appearing on the show, Theresa lived in New Jersey, while Gerry lived in Indiana. They both lived near family, and Theresa also had her job as a day trader to consider, so they both stayed put. Just like Joan and Chock planned to do, they flew back and forth to see each other. Theirlong-distance marriage was simply unsustainable, and Joan and Chock will likely run into the same challenges.
Since the divorce, Theresa had confessed that there was more to their split than geography.
Theresa was recently interviewed on the popularAlmost Famouspodcast, confessing that it wasn’t just geography that came between her and Gerry. She revealed that, though she fell in love with Gerry duringThe Golden Bachelorseason 1, shefelt rushed into the ill-advised marriage because the network offered to payfor their wedding. She went on to lament the fact that she and Gerry just didn’t know each other well enough to get married, implying that they simply weren’t compatible.
Are Joan & Chock Still Together?
High Hopes & Big Plans
Since getting engaged onThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1,Joan and Chock are eager to start enjoying their lives together, which includes blending their families. Joan has four adult children who are married with their own children, while Chock has two college-aged children. Since their families are older, they’ll never have to live together, but Joan and Chock still want them to all to get to know each other.
To help the new family bond, Joan and Chock have decided to take everyone on a grand Disneyland vacation.
A Disneyland vacation has symbolic significance for Joan and Chock, because it was the location of their first one-on-one date duringThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1. In a clip posted to YouTube byBachelor Nation,Joan and Chock enjoya romantic day at the Magic Kingdom that ends with a romantic kiss underneath the famed Disneyland fireworksdisplay.Joan and Chock want to revisit Disneylandand share the love with their families.
The Golden Bacheloretteseason 1 ended with Joan and Chock getting engaged, but, like Gerry and Theresa, they may not end up living happily ever after. Many reality show contestants come to find thatfalling in love with a complete stranger is easier than maintaining that relationship in the real world. It’s probably even more difficult later in life, when people are more set in their ways, and have more to lose. Since Joan and Chock have come to symbolize the possibility of finding love later in life, they’ll hopefully prove critics wrong, and get their happy ending after all.
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.
