The 'Golden Bachelorette' Couple Tell All: 'It's a Little Scary, But You've Got to Take a Leap of Faith'

Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple reveal what's happened since they got engaged on national TV

Tim Appelo,

AARP

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Published November 15, 2024

Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple

Disney

Joan Vassos, 61, the first Golden Bachelorette, accepted Chock Chapple's proposal, and on Nov. 18 they'll start shopping for a new home in New York (keeping their homes in D.C. and Kansas). They told AARP how their love has bloomed off camera, and what they want to tell AARP members who are longing for romance.

In the three months since we saw you on TV in The Golden Bachelorette finale, what has changed in your relationship?

Joan: Well, we talk every day. But more importantly, we got to do these “Happy Couple” visits — Bachelor producers find a house in LA for you to go spend five days together. At the end of the season, we got engaged, and had time together finally to see if it was really the right thing. And I'm reporting to you right now that it was! We fell more and more in love, and had great times — like individual time, where we didn't have any influence from the outside world, and it was just the two of us as a couple to really get to know each other.

Chock: Joan's intellect — and her competitiveness. She is very competitive. People on the show thought I was competitive. I'm here [puts his hand out], she's there [raises hand high].

Jesse Palmer looks at the ring on Joan Vassos' hand with Chuck Chapple sitting next to her.

Disney

Joan: We played tennis, and I don't like to lose.

Chock: She. Does. Not.

Joan: Get that ball back over the net, and hope he doesn't! We did crossword puzzles together, we did stupid things like jigsaw puzzles. You just entertain yourself, which was really fun. The thing that I found out is what a caregiver he is. Like, I'm at home, expressing something that's concerning me in my life. Next thing I know, I'm getting a text message, or he's calling me back, saying, ”I called this guy and he can do this.” He's trying to solve my problems for me, which is so nice. I've been navigating life by myself for a while, and you know, that's kind of lonely, and it's nice to have somebody that you know is going to help you.

**Does the Golden Bachelorette ‘journey,’ peculiar as it is, work better than just dating in the natural world?**

Joan: I absolutely think, oddly, that it does, I've seen a lot of Bachelor successes over the years, certainly some, you know, not successful journeys. [The Golden Bachelor’s Mr. and Mrs. Gerry Turner divorced swiftly, but as of October, 27 Bachelor Nation couples out of 60 seasons of shows were still together, according to Entertainment Weekly.]

But ours absolutely was. The producers knew me, because I came off a Golden Bachelor season and gotten close to them, and they vet tens of thousands of people to find a good match for you. It's like the greatest dating service in the world. And then they put you in this great situation to make it successful. They let you have dates, and they give you epic gigs that you don't have to plan, and it's just you getting to know the other person. And although it's a quick journey — maybe it's too fast for some people — If you make a connection early on, and explore it, I think it's enough time. I know it's enough time — we did it!

Chock: Joan has figured this out, that if I'm not doing something, I'll take a nap. It's just how I built. I'm like a shark, either moving or I'm gonna take a nap. So I stay busy. I'll do her laundry. I've done the dishes, I've cooked. I'm not from the South, but it's a little bit of Southern gentlemanship.

Chock: That you can find love at any age. You can get lucky like I did. But you've got to put yourself out. You can't just stay at home, you've got to meet people, you've got to show some interest, and you've got to be willing to love. And I don't think anybody should date if they're not willing to love.

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Tim Appelo covers entertainment and is the film and TV critic for AARP. Previously, he was the entertainment editor at Amazon, video critic at Entertainment Weekly, and a critic and writer for The Hollywood Reporter, People, MTV, The Village Voice and LA Weekly.