Days before Joan Vassos’ late husband, John, died of pancreatic cancer in 2021, he shared one of his last wishes with his wife of 32 years: “He said, ‘You need to go out and live. You need to find someone else. We had a happy marriage. You’re a great wife, and I want you to find happiness again,'” she tells Life & Style exclusively.
The Golden Bachelorette — who got engaged to 61-year-old Chock Chapple during the November season finale of the show — is doing exactly that. She and Chock have been busy traveling (they participated in the finale of Season 29 of The Bachelor in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, in late March) and planning their upcoming wedding.
The retired grandmother of four, who’s based in Maryland, also serves as the ambassador of PanCAN PurpleStride, raising awareness and funds for pancreatic cancer. “John would be proud of me that I’m using my platform to do some good,” she said. Here, Joan talks to Life & Style’s Fortune Benatar about missing John and a potential TV wedding.
What would John think about where you are today?
JV: He’d be happy I’m living life. I don’t think he’d want me to mourn him for my whole life. There are days I think \[about how] I’ll never have my old life back, and that still makes me sad, but I know I need to move on. I had 32 wonderful years with John and I could have 32 more years with somebody else.
How’s it going with Chock?
JV: We’re having a blast. We’re in love and now we’re out \[of the Bachelor bubble] being real people going out to dinner with other couples and meeting each other’s friends and spending time with each other’s family.
How’s the long distance thing going?
JV: He still has a job \[in Kansas], and I’m busy with PurpleStride, the American Heart Association and my grand-kids. Life can get in the way, so you have to be really organized and make sure you set that time apart, which we are really good about. We have our next two months already planned. We talk like five times a day. I think we’ll end up here in Maryland because I have kids and grandkids here.
Do you think you’ll have a televised wedding?
JV: Originally I said, “We just spent all this time on film, let’s just do an intimate little wedding.” But as I’ve talked to people about the hope they felt after our show, it felt like we’d be leaving them at the doorstep and not inviting them to the final part of our journey. People are invested in us, so I feel like maybe we would if they asked us to do that.
Any advice for older singles?
JV: Do stuff that scares you. It’s scarier to do that as you get older be- cause you have more to lose. Going on the show was scary for me. I was worried I was not honoring John’s memory. I did something that made me extremely nervous, and it ended up having a great outcome.
You look amazing at 62. What’s your secret?
JV: I go on walks with my friends, so I’m staying healthy but doing it in a fun way. It’s about the connection. Being happy helps a lot!
