The Golden BachelorettestarJoan Vassos had a plan in mind when she began her season, but her actions during and after the show indicate that the producers might’ve interfered and manipulated her into changing her mind. Joan, a 61-year-old private school administrator from Rockville, Maryland, ended her season by getting engaged to Chock Chapple, a 60-year-old insurance executive from Wichita, Kansas. They shared a deep connection throughout the season.
BeforeThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1began, Joan spoke about her plans for how she wanted it to play out. From adamantly stating that she wouldn’t move away from her family to not making an engagement and marriage a priority from the outset, she knew exactly what she wanted. However,Joan’s reversals during and after the show seem to prove that the producers might’ve gotten in her ear, and persuaded her to change her mind.
Joan Vassos & Chock Chapple Got Engaged
Joan Didn’t Think An Engagement Was Necessary At First
Before Joan began herGolden Bacheloretteseason, she emphasized that she didn’t think that an engagement was a necessary part of the process. In an interview withCNN,Joan revealed that she wasn’t sure if she’d get engaged at the end ofThe Golden Bachelorettebecause she thought that people need time to get to know each other before taking such a big step together.
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Joan explained,“If it ends up in engagement, I’m open to that. I do believe this process works. I’ve seen it work for so many couples on The Bachelor, so I believe in the process.“Joan added,“If it ends up in engagement, that’s great.If it ends up in, you and I are going to get to know each other better in the outside world, that’s perfect also.”
However,throughoutThe Golden Bachelorette,Joan’s focus did turn to engagement, and it seemed to become more and more important to her as the weeks went by. This could’ve happened because she was forming such strong connections with the men, but it also could be because the producers manipulated her into ending the season with an engagement. There have been many rumors over the years that the franchise producers force the issue, and Joan’s about-face on it seems to indicate that it’s true.
Joan Vassos & Chock Chapple Are Moving To New York City
Joan Swore That She’d Never Leave Her Family
When Joan first began herGolden Bachelorettejourney,she was adamant that she wouldn’t leave her family, who lives in Maryland. They include her four adult children, her three grandchildren, her mother, and her mother-in-law from her first marriage to her husband of 32 years, John, who passed away in 2021 due to pancreatic cancer. In herCNNinterview, Joan revealed that, when she was a contestant onThe Golden Bachelor, lead Gerry Turner had asked her how they’d work out their relationship when he lived in Indiana, and she lived in Maryland.
Joan shared,“My answer to him was – and it still is my answer –I think you almost have to live a dual life.“Joan then insisted,“I’ll never leave my family. They are the most important people in the world to me obviously, and I would expect that to be the same for the person that I end up with because family is so important to me, that would have to be a key part of their personality.”
Joan added,“You have to be willing to … travel and be with that person and maybe spend a couple of months or a couple of weeks at a time … and then maybe eventually, you figure out a destination that would work for you and your families orhave another house where everybody gets together.”
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During their finalGolden Bachelorettedate,Chock gave Joan a keychain of a red heart lock, and he told her that he wanted to move to New York City with her. After the show, Joan and Chock revealed that this is now their plan. In an interview withPeople, Chock revealed,“We’re going to be going back and forth between Kansas to Maryland and to New York. We’ll have a full-time place in New York and whenever we get the opportunity, we’re going to be there. We’re going to get it figured out this next year.”
Joan explained that she’ll be spending time with Chock and his family in Kansas, and then"he’ll do the same thing in D.C. Butwhen we want to be alone together, we’ll probably be in New York.“This is happening quite quickly, as Joan and Chock flew to New York City on Friday, November 15, and planned to begin looking at apartments in Manhattan’s West Village on Monday, November 18. Joan said,“That’s what we think right now.”
It’s a bit startling to hear that Joan changed her mind from not leaving her family in Maryland to spending two-thirds of her time away from themin either Kansas or New York. Although she did say that the time would have to be split, it’s surprising that she’s agreeing to have a full-timehome in New York City with Chock.
However, if the producers convinced Joan to agree to this, then it’s not that shocking.Joan could’ve ended up leaving the show alone if she didn’t bend a bit about not leaving Maryland, so the producers might’ve persuaded her to change her plans to make her relationship with Chock work.
Joan Vassos Said She’d Be Open To A TV Wedding
Joan Previously Said She Didn’t Want To Rush Into Marriage
After Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist got engaged at the end ofThe Golden Bachelor, they got married on July 21, 2025, in a lavish, televised event called the Golden Wedding. However,just three months after they tied the knot, they announced that they were getting divorcedbecause they couldn’t decide where to live because neither one of them wanted to leave their family.
In Joan’sCNNinterview, she shared that she didn’t want to get married right away, but it wasn’t onlybecause of Gerry and Theresa. She shared,“I probably won’t rush into a marriage right away– and not only because of what happened with Gerry and Theresa.I think it takes some time to really get to know somebody.Out in the wild, in the real world, you need to spend some time there.”
In November 2024, Theresa appeared onThe Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast, and revealed thatshe felt pressured to get married because ABC offered to pay for her and Gerry’s wedding, but with a time constraint. However, Theresa shared that she and Gerry had faith and hope that they were eventually going to be married, so they accepted the network’s offer. It’s clear that ABC pressured Theresa and Gerry into getting married by putting a time constraint on the offer to give them the Golden Wedding. Theresa also expressed that she and Gerry didn’t know each other well enough when they got married.
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In an interview withExtraTV, shared via Instagram, Joan revealed that she and Chock are going to get married, butshe’s"not dying to plan a wedding yet.“Joan shared that they want to"exist outside the Bachelor Nation eye, and just be a couple together.“They haven’t even been to a restaurant together yet.
However,Joan also revealed that she originally thoughtthat she wanted to have an intimate wedding, because she already had a big wedding in the past, butnow she’s open to having a televised one on ABC. She said that fans who watched The Golden Bachelorette"deserve to see the beginning of chapter two. Like us getting married. It’s just kind of a great ending to the story that it actually really does work. And that this journey that they saw really ended up in what they had hoped for us.”
This stunning reversal of Joan’s feelings about having a big wedding is very suspicious. It seems very convenient that she originally wanted an intimate event, but now is open to having millions of people watch her marry Chock on TV. However, it’s easy to imagine that the producers want to redeem the franchise after Gerry and Theresa’s divorce, and so they might’ve made an attractive offer to Joan and Chock to televise the event within the next few months like they did with Gerry and Theresa, which would be way too soon.
Hopefully, Joan will stick to her original plan of not rushing into marriagebecause it would be a shame to see her and Chock repeat Gerry and Theresa’s mistake of tying the knot before they knew each other well enough to become husband and wife. The manipulation of Gerry and Theresa by ABC was despicable, but, hopefully, Joan and Chock have learned from it and won’t allow themselves to be coerced into a similar situation.
Although it’s perfectly acceptable for Joan to have changed her mind duringherGolden Bachelorettejourney, especially since she was at first speaking in hypotheticals, but now has fallen in love with Chock, her reversals are also very convenient for the producers. Therefore, it appears that they’re once again pulling the puppet strings behind the scenes. Hopefully, Joan isn’t compromising herself in order to fulfill what she perceives to be her duties as the Golden Bachelorette. This is Joan’s real life now, and she should do what’s right for her. If she does, thenJoan and Chock will live happily ever after.
Sources:CNN,People,The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast,ExtraTV/Instagram
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.
