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 ofThe 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 herBachelorjourney appeared to end, it was just getting started.
After the massive success ofThe Golden Bachelor, the network announced that there would soon be a female-led version ofTheBachelorspin-off. Though there were plenty of great options among the women Gerry had rejected, Joan was chosen to beThe Golden Bachelorette.Chock was among 24 singleGoldenmenwho traveled to the iconicBachelormansion to date Joan. After a competitive season, Joan gave her final rose to Choc, andthe 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 thecast ofThe Golden Bachelorseason 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.
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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 ofThe Golden Bachelorearly because it was too overwhelming to start dating again so soon after her late-husbands death. She seemed more ready in time forThe Golden Bachelorette,but sheconstantly talked about her late husband with deep affectionthroughout 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 ofThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 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 betempted to let ABC pay for a lavishGolden Bachelorweddingas 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 beThe Golden Bachelorette, she was interviewed byCNN, 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 Bacheloretteseason 1 ended withJoan enthusiastically accepting Chock’s proposalas 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 singlemen 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 onThe Bachelorseason 28 alongside his daughter, Kelsey Anderson, was cast as a contestant onThe 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 and69-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 byBachelor 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
Theinaugural season ofThe Golden Bachelorended 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. AfterThe Golden Bachelorfailed 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 ofThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 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 clearChock didn’t like sharing Joanwith 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, andshe 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 thatlosing 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 duringThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1 finale,Joan and Chock expected to live happilyever after as they left the show arm in arm. The following day, the newly engaged couple was interviewed byPeopleandshared 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 andJoanhave 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 ofthe couple, butbuying 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 ofTheGolden Bachelorette.
61 years old
Private school administrator
60 years old
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.
