Joan Vassos Reveals Why Golden Bachelorette Engagement Ended
By @sharedot · · 6 pages
- Celebrity
- Joan Vassos
- Chock Chapple
- Golden Bachelorette
- Bachelor Nation
Joan Vassos tells People she and Chock Chapple split because 'we weren't each other's person,' saying she feels guilty about letting fans down.
The split and the confession
Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple announced the end of their engagement on Nov. 6, each sharing matching statements on Instagram after two years together.
Days later, the 63-year-old Golden Bachelorette star sat for a Nov. 13 interview with People, telling the outlet the couple simply "figured out that we weren't each other's person, and that's okay."
When Chapple proposed on the show's 2024 finale, she had told herself she was "ready to make this leap of faith" — and that "if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out."
Why the breakup stings for Bachelor Nation
Vassos admitted to People she still feels "guilty" about the ending, saying, "I feel like I let a lot of people down."
According to USA Today, fans had flooded her with messages after the engagement, saying she "gave me hope that there's a second chapter in my life" and inspired them to rejoin dating sites.
USA Today also reports Vassos felt heavy pressure going into her season because the original Golden Bachelor couple, Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist, had announced their divorce shortly after their finale aired.
She noted reality TV made it hard to truly know someone, since "nobody is completely themselves on camera."
A two-year engagement that 'did all the things'
Us Weekly reports the couple shared major milestones during the engagement: two of Vassos's sons got married, three grandbabies were born, and the pair supported each other through Chapple's August prostate surgery after a cancer scare.
"When you go through something medically, that really tests a relationship, and I felt like we did so much of this really well," Vassos told People, per Us Weekly.
"It wasn't like any part of this relationship was ever miserable. I'm grateful for the whole thing, even though the ending wasn't what I wanted."
What's next for the first Golden Bachelorette
Vassos told People she remains hopeful about love, saying, "I don't feel like just because this relationship didn't last that I don't have a relationship in my future."
Per USA Today, she wants her next partner to be funny like her late husband John, who died in 2021 from pancreatic cancer, and loves "a good banter."
For now, though, she is holding off: dating "sounds a little daunting," and she says dating at her age "takes a lot more effort" than it does when you're young.