The Golden Bachelorette's Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple got engaged at the end of their season, but if they're not careful, their relationship could destroy their reputations and damage the franchise. Both 61-year-old Joan and 60-year-old Chock had experienced great loss before deciding to look for love on a reality television show. Joan tried it once before, making her television debut during the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor. She was one of the 22 single older women who wanted to date 72-year-old Gerry Turner, a retired restaurateur from Indiana. Just as Gerry finally noticed the soft-spoken Joan, she had a family emergency and had to make the difficult decision to leave Gerry's season early. Though her Bachelor journey appeared to end, it was just getting started.
After the massive success of The Golden Bachelor, the network announced that there would soon be a female-led version of The Bachelor spin-off. Though there were plenty of great options among the women Gerry had rejected, Joan was chosen to be The Golden Bachelorette.Chock was among 24 single Golden men who traveled to the iconic Bachelor mansion to date Joan. After a competitive season, Joan gave her final rose to Choc, and the couple got engaged during the final rose ceremony. Though Joan and Chock seem happy, it can sometimes appear as if they're trying too hard to look like a happy, loving couple.
8Joan Will Never Be Over Her Late Husband
Chock Can Never Replace John Vassos
Joan knows what it feels like to find true love, only to lose it. Before joining the cast of The Golden Bachelor season 1, she was a lonely widower grieving for her late husband. Joan was married to John Vassos for 32 happy years before he passed away in 2021 after a battle with cancer. With their four children grown up and out of the house, Joan found herself alone for the first time since she met her late husband. She loved him deeply, and never expected to see herself reentering the dating pool later in life.
Joan decided to jump into the deep end of the dating pool and restart her love life on national network television. There's even speculation Joan left Gerry's season of The Golden Bachelor early because it was too overwhelming to start dating again so soon after her late-husbands death. She seemed more ready in time for The Golden Bachelorette, but she constantly talked about her late husband with deep affection throughout the season. Joan often expressed profound guilt about dating other men, despite John being long gone. Now that the cameras have disappeared, it's unclear if Chock can replace John.
7Chock Could End Up Divorced Again
Odds Aren't In Their Favor
Long before joining the cast of The Golden Bachelorette season 1, Chock was married to Heather Chapple (with whom he had two children) for twelve years. Joan got to meet Chock's college-aged children, Tyler and Taylor Chapple, when she traveled to Kansas for Chock's hometown date. According to Chock, he and Heather have always co-parented their children without problems, and are on friendly terms with one another.
The fact that Chock is on good terms with his ex-wife is admittedly a good sign, but the fact that he's divorced isn't.
According to census data, second marriages come with a higher risk of divorce than first marriages, so the chances are already against Joan and Chock. Though Joan is taking a major risk by getting engaged to a divorced man, they're not married yet. Joan may be tempted to let ABC pay for a lavish Golden Bachelor wedding as they did for Gerry and Theresa, but she'd be better off avoiding walking down the aisle with Chock.
6Joan Will Regret Getting Serious
She Should Have Listened To Her Instincts
After ABC announced Joan would be The Golden Bachelorette, she was interviewed by CNN, and she told her interviewer she had no intention of rushing into marriage. She argued that people needed more time to get to know each other before entering into such a serious commitment. Joan's reluctance to get engaged went out the window when Chock got down on one knee and pulled out a sparkling diamond ring.
The Golden Bachelorette season 1 ended with Joan enthusiastically accepting Chock's proposal as he slipped the ring onto her finger. It's possible that Joan changed her mind about getting serious after meeting Chock, but the excitement may be temporary. Once the first flush of new love wears off, Joan may come to her senses and realize that the showmance was never real.
5Joan May Realize She Chose Poorly
Chock Wasn't Joan's Best Option
Joan sent plenty of impressive single men home on the way to giving her final rose to Chock. Several amazing suitors, like 66-year-old Charles Ling and 62-year-old Jordan Heller, were sent home throughout the season. The saddest elimination was that of 58-year-old Mark Anderson. Mark, who'd made his television debut on The Bachelor season 28 alongside his daughter, Kelsey Anderson, was cast as a contestant on The Golden Bachelor.
Hopes were high that the retired Army veteran would swoop in and easily win Joan's heart, but hopes were quickly dashed.
Joan never gave Mark a chance, preferring the company of other men, like 66-year-old Guy Gansert and 69-year-old Pascal Ibgui, so they never connected. After a painfully awkward one-on-one date, Joan tells Mark something is missing between them, and, in a scene posted to YouTube by Bachelor Nation, she sends him home before that night's rose ceremony. If things don't work out with Chock, Joan may wonder if Mark was the one who got away.
4The Golden Bachelor Curse Will Continue
Unlucky In Love
The inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor ended with Gerry giving his final rose to 70-year-old Theresa Nist. Just a few weeks later, the two were quickly married in a lavish televised wedding generously paid for by ABC. They announced their divorce after three months of matrimony. Gerry and Theresa should never have gotten married, and they simply got carried away by all the manufactured romance and excitement.
Once the cameras stopped rolling, the septuagenarian newlyweds soon realized that they were not a good match. Now that cameras have stopped rolling for Joan and Chock, they may experience the same fate. After The Golden Bachelor failed to result in a happy couple, there was a lot of pressure on Joan to right the ship and save the brand, but it's unclear whether Joan and Chock will be any luckier in love than Gerry and Theresa.
3Chock's Possessiveness Will Define Him
Putting On A Show
Joan and Chock had instant chemistry, and he even got her first solo date, a dream date to Disneyland. They met beloved Disney characters, enjoyed the rides, and shared a romantic kiss beneath the famous Magic Kingdom fireworks display. Their next date was decidedly less magical. During an episode of The Golden Bachelorette season 1, Joan took Chock and several of the men on a group date to a bowling alley. Everyone seemed to have a great time, but it was clear Chock didn't like sharing Joan with the other men.
Chock got used to having Joan all to himself, and he couldn't seem to adjust to the group date dynamic.
Chock kept sitting down right next to Joan and putting an arm around her. It was disrespectful to the other men, but Chock didn't seem to notice or care. As for Joan, she didn't ask Chock to back off, and she seemed to like his possessive behavior. It seemed to make her feel special and wanted, but it's unclear if she and Chock were putting on a show.
2Chock Will Continue To Mourn His Late Fiancée
The Most Devastating Loss Of Chock's Life
Like Joan, Chock lost a great love. After his marriage to Heather ended in divorce, Chock met Katherine Elizabeth White Goree. Chock and Katherine were engaged for nine years before she was diagnosed with cancer and passed away in 2022. During Joan and Chock's first solo date, he said that losing Heather was the most devastating loss of his life.
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. It's clear that Chock loved his late fiancée deeply, and the fact that he's still close to her family could suggest that Chock isn't ready to move on yet. If Chock and Joan are mourning late loves, their relationship might be manufactured, whether they know it or not.
1Joan & Chock Will Regret Buying Property Together
They Should Look For A Short-Term Rental Instead
After getting engaged during The Golden Bachelorette season 1 finale, Joan and Chock expected to live happily ever after as they left the show arm in arm. The following day, the newly engaged couple was interviewed by People and shared their plans for the future. “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 .”
Since announcing their plan to buy property, Chock and Joan have been posting photos on Instagram of themselves in New York City, possibly looking for an apartment. Joan and Chock look blissfully happy in every photo of the couple, but buying property together at this stage in the relationship is a recipe for disaster. Before making such a massive purchase, they should spend more time together. Once the rush of new love wears off, they may realize their entire relationship was manufactured by the producers of The Golden Bachelorette.
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Joan Vassos |
61 years old |
Private school administrator |
Maryland |
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Chock Chapple |
60 years old |
Insurance Executive |
Kansas |
