Joan Vassos, the first-ever Golden Bachelorette, has officially found her fairytale ending with insurance executive Chock Chapple.
In the season finale of the ABC series, which aired November 13, the 61-year-old private school administrator chose Chapple, 60, sending runner-up Guy Gansert packing after a heartfelt family meeting in Bora Bora.
“It actually happened,” Vassos told the cameras. “I know where my heart is at and I know what I have to do.”
As he was waiting for her on a picturesque beach, Chapple was unaware that he was the last man standing, admitting he was nervous because Joan hadn’t yet said “I love you.”
However Vassos explained she had been saving those words for the proposal, and when the moment arrived, she told him she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.
“I am so absolutely happy to be in your life and that you’re in mine,” Chapple told Vassos as he proposed. “Joan, you will never be invisible to me. I’m going to tell you that I love you every day, I promise that.”
During the “After the Final Rose” special, host Jesse Palmer revealed that the couple are still together, dubbing them the franchise’s “newest Golden Bachelorette couple.” The pair then received a family trip to Disney World, a nod to their first date at Disneyland.
Since the finale, the pair have kept their relationship private.
“We’ve been in hiding for three months,” Vassos shared on Good Morning America. “We’ve spent a lot of time together just kind of falling more and more in love.”
The executive added, jokingly: “We have dinner plans every night for the next four months – we’re so tired of being stuck inside.”
Now that they’re going public, the administrator reflected on their journey. “This feels so good. I’m looking at our family and friends who we’ve never gotten to be with together, so it’s so nice to finally be able to share our love and our story and our future with them.”
Meanwhile, on Instagram, Vassos shared a celebratory video of her showing off her ring with him by her side, captioning it, “I said YES!.”
The next day, Chapple posted photos from their engagement in Bora Bora with the simple caption, “I love you @joan_vassos.”
Although no wedding plans are set yet, she told Good Morning America that she wants to enjoy a “normal life” before planning their nuptials. Chapple, however, said he’s confident: “She’s going to marry me. It’s just a matter of time.”
The couple are already looking ahead to their future together, and the next chapter might just include a televised wedding. While Vassos initially envisioned an intimate ceremony, she told People that they’re now considering something bigger.
“I feel like everybody that has gone through this whole journey with us ... it’d be fun for them to see maybe chapter two of us actually starting a life together,” the Golden Bachelorette said. “This was a message of hope for people our age, and I think that the message still needs to be honed a little bit.”
Their journey as a couple began with thoughtful gestures, like when Chapple gave Vassos a heart-shaped keychain after meeting her family on the show.
The gift symbolized both his commitment to her and his vision for their future, which includes building a home together in New York City. The couple plans to split their time between Maryland, Kansas, and New York City as they navigate the next steps of their relationship.
