Nearly four months after Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple went public with their romance, they’re still in a long distance relationship — and don’t have plans to change that anytime soon. With distance being part of the reason that Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist‘s relationship didn’t work out, many The Golden Bachelorette fans are skeptical that Vassos and Chapple will be able to make it work.
Vassos appeared on the I Do, Part 2 podcast and gave an update about how things are going as she and her fiancé navigate living in Maryland and Kansas, respectively.
“People see this as a negative, I think it’s actually really fun,” she gushed. “I think it’s hugely positive for us right now. We get to have all of these really cool experiences together. I could see one day, maybe next year, the year after, five years from now, I’d be like, ‘Oh, it’d be nice to have you around, cook dinners together, live a more normal life,’ but right now, this is really fun and I’m not looking to change it.”
Vassos and Chapple have had a whirlwind few months since The Golden Bachelorette finale, which has given them many chances to see each other at public appearances. “We get invited to enough things right now that we organically see each other once every couple of weeks anyway,” she explained.
However, they’re dedicated to “making an effort” when they’ve gone too long without meeting up. “If we’re not seeing each other every 10-14 days, we plan something,” she continued. “So the few times we haven’t had a reason to meet, he’s come here or we’ve been to New York City. We just went to Cancun, so we went on vacation together. We’ve done a good job at making sure we see each other. … Absence makes the heart grow fonder is kind of a thing I believe in. When we see each other, we’re really happy to see each other.”
And, yes, they’re still searching for a place in NYC that they can use as a getaway, but it’s still proving difficult. “We’re trying to find a place, but it’s really, really hard to find something in New York, to be honest,” Vassos shared. “They just disappear. The second they come on the market, they’re gone. But we’re still working on that and it’s still out plan.”
Next up, Vassos will be visiting Chapple in Kansas, then they’re taking a trip to visit his father in Oklahoma.
