EXCLUSIVE'Golden Bachelorette' Star Joan Vassos Wanted to Make Sure Fiancé Chock Chapple Was 'Fun' Before Falling in Love: 'I Was Instantly Attracted to Him'
The duo had an 'instant' connection.
Feb. 5 2025, Published 9:07 a.m. ET
Golden Bachelorette star Joan Vassos admits she was cautious about falling in love on the show before finding her fiancé, Chock Chapple.
"It's about bringing somebody into my life and them bringing me into their life and having fun — and that's what I feel like the second half of my life is about, and I wanted to make sure he was fun! I brought him on my Disneyland date, and I'm like, 'If you can't have fun there, then something is wrong with you!' We just hit it off from the second we met — to the point where producers were like, 'Could you acknowledge you're at Disneyland and point at something?' We were so focused on each other and getting to know each other. The conversation was so easy," the 62-year-old, who is shattering stereotypes about aging as part of Aspercreme’s “Act Your Age” campaign, exclusively tells OK!.
The pair got engaged during the finale of 'The Golden Bachelorette.'
"At Disneyland, I was like, 'He's my guy,' but I knew I had to be careful and make sure I gave everybody a chance," she continues. "The men gave up a lot to be on the show — you leave your family and your friends and work behind to come on the show. I owed it to everybody to go on a date with them. I developed a lot of feelings for people, but in the end, those all became friendships and Chock became the guy."
Early on, Vassos was "careful" about falling for someone right away. "People kind of hone in on somebody and then discover they're not the person they thought they were, so I was really careful about the feelings I had for him," she says. "In the beginning, I was like, 'Hold off. You have to make sure you give everybody a chance, you don't know what's going to happen with this.' But on night one, I was instantly attracted to him, and that's important! He knew all about my family and had done his research. He came on the show for a reason."
Joan Vassos made sure to chat with all the guys on her season.
Since getting engaged during the season finale, which aired in November 2024, Chapple got down on one knee and proposed to Vassos, whose first husband, John, died from pancreatic cancer in 2021 at the age of 59.
"Everything was new! I loved that we could introduce each other to our friends," the blonde babe says of life after the show. "It's very odd to date in such a bubble — you're so isolated! You are only with producers and people that are part of the show, and then I got to finally say, 'I'm engaged! Here's my guy!' I went to Wichita, Kan., and met all of his friends. We're slowly doing normal things, which is what I love the most."
One of those things includes spending a lot of time in the Big Apple, as the pair want to live here for some time. "We'd like to be there for at least a year and have this adventure route," she says. "It's something we both always wanted to do when we were younger, so we're finally doing that. We spent a lot of time in New York trying to find a place, but even when we're not looking for a place, we enjoy being there! We've gone to some Broadway shows and we just love walking around the city. We're finally at a place in our lives where we can spend time together and do stuff that's fun."
The reality stars are looking to be in New York City for a while.
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Vassos isn't shy about posting her jaunts on social media since she's so happy. "People are skeptical about this process. They're like, 'Can you actually find love that quickly? Can it be sustained long-term?' I feel like we have to prove that to people, but we are still in love!" she shares. "I am walking this fine line of saying we really are a couple, we're in love, we're making a life together and we didn't do this for fame. We just want to show people our journey. I don't want to desert people who watched the show!"
Joan Vassos' husband died in 2021.
Since the mom-of-four has a whole new lease on life after appearing on the dating show, she was the perfect person to team up with Aspercreme for their “Act Your Age” campaign. Backed by surprising new survey data showing boomers are happier and more active than ever, Vassos is busting myths and redefining what it means to “act your age.”
"I love this campaign!" she states. "I feel like it was almost made for me because I've always thought age is just a number — it shouldn't define what you can do. People keep telling me I've changed their attitude about the second half of their life — from my recent engagement to my everyday adventures. It's always been important for me to stay active and be around the people I love and do fun things with them."
Joan Vassos loves this second half of her life.
"We're at an age in our life that we can make time to do it. We're not raising families anymore, we actually have free time," she adds. "I finally get to travel! Me and Chock have all these adventures planned! Let's face it: at this age, it comes with a little bit of a cost, which is why I love this partnership because it's all about empowering people to keep doing things that make them happy. It makes it really easy because they have these great products. I love the roll on applicator — you just apply it directly to whatever hurts. It also doesn't smell! You can be super discreet and not feel like an old person putting on medicine. I feel like I can still be young and taking care of my little problems and not have everybody know about them. My life has become more about making memories and focusing on the fun things without having to worry about the pain anymore!"
