Bachelor Nation Slams The Golden Bachelorette's Chock Chapple For The Shocking Way He Speaks About Joan Vassos' Late Husband

The Golden Bachelorette star Chock Chapple has faced backlash throughout his time within Bachelor Nation, but after using a shocking term for Joan Vassos’ late husband, fans are slamming his behavior. Chock, who was introduced to Joan and Bachelor Nation during The Golden Bachelorette season 1, has been open about his relationship with Joan after the show’s end. While he’s somewhat more reserved than his fiancée online, Chock has been clear about how he feels for Joan and what he wants Bachelor Nation to know about their connection. The pair have been open about their past relationships, including Joan’s marriage.

In a clip from the I Do Part 2 podcast, Chock was speaking about his experience exchanging stories about past relationships and made reference to his chats with Joan about their previous serious connections. Joan, who was married to her late husband John Vassos for 30 years, has been open about her husband’s death and how shocked she was by his heartbreaking end. Sharing that he and Joan had discussed “exes”, Chock went on to talk about Joan’s late husband in a casual way. “We talked about our exes, because I was curious,” Chock shared, snubbing Joan’s marriage, albeit unintentionally.

The Instagram comments were flooded with criticism for Chock, slamming him for referring to John as Joan’s ex when he wasn’t technically her ex-husband. Though Joan’s no longer married to John, commenters made note that she didn’t choose to separate from her husband, and Chock treating it as such was insensitive. “I would not call a deceased spouse an ex,” @caponelamb commented, while @mfriedrn put it simply, sharing, “she didn’t have an ex.” Chock’s comments sparked some debate about letting go in the comments, but mostly saw Bachelor Nation wondering if his terminology flub is a sign of deeper issues.

What Chock Calling Joan's Late Husband Her "Ex" Means For His Perception

His Lack Of Severity Could Be A Sign Of Immaturity

Throughout The Golden Bachelorette, Chock was called out by Bachelor Nation for seeming like he had a lack of emotional maturity surrounding his view of relationships. While some of the criticisms were too harsh, others seemed valid surrounding Chock’s relationship history and the way he’d carried himself in the first weeks with Joan. Many criticized Chock for being non-committal, but when he proposed to Joan, most of those criticisms went out the window. Now, with Chock calling Joan’s deceased partner of thirty years her “ex”, it’s possible his lack of severity around her marriage could be a sign of immaturity.

Although Chock didn’t likely mean for his verbiage surrounding Joan’s marriage to sound causal or cavalier, it was clear that he didn’t have the same level of understanding as some around the weight of certain relationships. With Chock coming off like he’s a bit less serious than he should be, Bachelor Nation has taken the opportunity to criticize him all over again for his behavior. His perception may be able to recover more quickly now that The Golden Bachelorette has come to an end, but the fact that some were quick to jump to criticize him shouldn't be taken lightly.

Our Take On Chock's Questionable Terminology

He Didn’t Mean To Sound Insensitive

Although Chock calling Joan’s late husband an ex wasn’t the best move on his part, it likely wasn’t something he meant to sound harsh or diminishing. In the context of the quote, Chock did open up about the fact that he and Joan talked about their past relationships, and while he shouldn’t have called John an ex in that manner, it’s clear that he respects what Joan had with her late husband. While there are reasons to look at Chock’s public appearances through a critical lens, The Golden Bachelorette star didn’t seem to mean to sound insensitive in this instance.