– Joan Vassos stars on the inaugural season of ABC’s “The Golden Bachelorette.”
– She previously appeared on “The Golden Bachelor” but left early, during week three.
– Joan told Business Insider that her season of “Golden Bachelorette” is emotional, adventurous, and fun.
Joan Vassos is happier than ever after getting another chance at love on the inaugural season of “The Golden Bachelorette.”
Joan, 61, joined the “Bachelor” franchise when she appeared on the first season of “The Golden Bachelor,” which starred Gerry Turner, in 2023. Joan and Gerry had a promising start, bonding over being widows (her husband John died from pancreatic cancer in 2021). But after connecting with Gerry on their one-on-one date in week three, she self-eliminated from the show to spend time with her daughter, who was experiencing postpartum depression back at home.
Now, Joan is reprioritizing herself on “The Golden Bachelorette,” and it worked out well for her.
“I came out such a happier person than I was when I went in,” Joan told Business Insider ahead of the series premiere. “And I didn’t know that I was not happy going in.”
Now that the finale has aired, we know the reason why: Joan got engaged to her final pick, Chock.
Joan and Chock got engaged on the season finale
Joan and her final two suitors, Chock and Guy, headed to Bora Bora for the last week of the “Golden Bachelorette.”
Chock met Joan’s family first, and the moment was unexpectedly emotional for him. During their date afterward, Chock told Joan that he loved her. However, Joan didn’t say it back because she made a commitment to wait until the end of the journey to say that to anyone.
The next day, when Guy was scheduled to meet Joan’s family, the Golden Bachelorette broke up with him. Joan said that her heart belonged to someone else and she wanted to spare Guy the further heartbreak of meeting her family and not making it to the finish line.
Then, Chock proposed to Joan and she accepted and gave him her final rose.
Joan previously described her season as emotional, adventurous, and fun
Being the Golden Bachelorette came with its own unique set of challenges for Joan, who previously said that her experience with Gerry on “The Golden Bachelor” opened her heart up to the possibility of a future with another man.
“Emotional” was the first word that came to mind when asked how she’d describe her season.
“All of us discovered things about ourselves that we didn’t know that we were going through, and we got through those journeys together and we came out so good at the end,” Joan told BI.
While the season certainly has serious moments, fans have seen Joan and her suitors enjoying themselves, too.
“We got to do some really fun dates that we probably never would’ve done on our own,” she said. “You typically do the vacations that you’re comfortable with or you do your outings with your friends that you’ve done before. So, we got to do some really adventurous things.”
That sense of adventure ties into Joan’s overall message for fans.
“I want everybody to know that dating is fun,” she said.
“We just had a really good time together because we were enjoying each other’s company,” she added. “When you’re at this age and you’ve had a lot of life, you let go of the little stuff and it’s just about making each other happy.”
