Are ‘Golden Bachelorette’ Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple Still Together?

Warning: This story contains spoilers for “The Golden Bachelorette.”

It was a love story for the (golden) age! In the emotional finale of “The Golden Bachelorette,” Joan Vassos chose her winner on the island of Bora Bora.

Her decision came down to Chock Chapple, a 60-year-old insurance executive from Wichita, Kansas, and Guy Gansert, a 66-year-old emergency physician from Reno, Nevada. In the end, she chose Chock—the man who repeatedly said he was “in love with her.”

Joan, who lost her husband John Vassos to pancreatic cancer in 2021, was a former contestant on “The Golden Bachelor.” She left the season voluntarily to care for her daughter, who had recently given birth.

“I feel happy about my future now that it looks a lot brighter. Shock is the cause of all this,” Joan said in a confessional interview.

What Happened in the ‘Golden Bachelorette’ Finale?

Chock emerged as a frontrunner early on, but his connection with Joan was cemented after meeting her grown children.

The meeting was emotional – Joan’s son Nick initially appeared to bow as Chock kissed Joan on the lips as a way of greeting.

But her children came around. Chock promised that he wasn’t here to “replace” their late father in any way shape or form.

Joan and her children also marked the difficulty of her moving on romantically. “If I loved dad so much, would I be able to fall in love again?” Joan asked. Nick cheered her on, saying he and his sister were “proud” to see her “taking risks” and proud of the “incredible strength” she is showing.

Chock, for his part, said he felt “good” and called her family “good people.”

After the date, Chock declared his love for Joan. Even though Joan didn’t answer, it was enough for her to decide that Chock would be her future husband. She realized was worthy of love – which came into question after her breakup with Pascal Ibgui.

The episode before the finale, Pascal, a salon owner from Chicago, broke up with Joan on an emotional cruise in Tahiti and told her he didn’t feel a strong connection.

“It just makes me feel like I’m unlovable,” Joan said at the time of the breakup. “If he couldn’t love me, how could anyone love me?”

And before Guy had a chance to meet Joan’s family, Joan broke up with him. During the “After the Final Rose” special, she clarified that she was “getting there” with Guy, but they needed more time.

“It was really, really hard at the end to say goodbye to you because in any other situation I would have been with you because we would have had more time,” she said. “It was absolutely nothing you did. I’ve missed you. It’s been really hard being away from you.”

She said she hopes she and Guy remain friends and can double date.

Chock suggested on the beach

Heading into the final scenes, Joan and Chock shared that they felt ready and excited to get engaged.

Joan said she wants to “spend the rest of her life” with Chock. She had lost hope for her future – and he helped her bring it back. Chock, meanwhile, said he couldn’t believe he found this “incredible opportunity” at this point in his life.

In his proposal, Chock said he was “so absolutely delighted” to be in her life and to have her in his. He acknowledged their late spouses and said he would “honor” John by “loving her every day.”

Joan also acknowledged the difficulty of getting Chock to step away from filming because his mother died. This, she said, was the moment she knew she couldn’t complete the show’s journey without him.

“We’re living proof that no matter what life throws at you, there’s still hope, even at our age,” Joan said, going on to tell Chock that she loved him for the first time.

And with that, Chock got down on one knee and proposed with a Neil Lane ring (obviously). She gave him the last golden rose.

After the proposal, the happy couple FaceTimed with Joan’s mother from the beach, who expressed her shock and joy at meeting her daughter’s new partner.

“I never thought in a million years I’d feel love like this again. Ever,” Joan said.

So are Joan Vassos and Chock still together?

Host Jesse Palmer revealed Joan and Chock as the franchise’s “newest ‘Golden Bachelorette’ couple,” indicating that they are still together.

The couple confirmed this in an interview.

“This feels so good. I look at our family and friends that we never got to be with, so it’s so nice to finally be able to share our love and our history and our future with them,” Joan told her loved ones who sat in the audience.

“I couldn’t be happier and I want the world to know that,” Chock said. He then spoke up for his fiancée for her behavior on the show. “I want to tell the world, the fans, how classy Joan is and the respect she gave all the other guys,” he added.

Since their engagement, Joan and Chock have been able to spend quality time together out of the public eye.

“We cooked, we played crossword, I mean we did everything,” Chock said.

Jesse, as a surprise at the end of the finale, said the show sent both their families on a trip to Disney World and earned lots of applause from Joan’s grandson.