As Taylor Swift says, love is golden and nothing proves that more than The Golden Bachelorette spoilers and Joan’s winner. Joan Vassos, who self-eliminated in 12th place on The Golden Bachelor Season 1 with Gerry Turner, was announced as the first Golden Bachelorette in May 2024, two months after ABC greenlit The Golden Bachelorette for a first season.
Joan, a 61-year-old Private School Administrator from Rockville, Maryland, sent herself home in Week 3 of The Golden Bachelor to be with her daughter, who was having a medical emergency. Joan is a mother of four and grandmother of two who was widowed after 32 years of marriage when her late husband, John Vassos, died in 2021 from pancreatic cancer. He was 59 years old.
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“I did not want to spend my life alone, so I knew that I had to take action, but my heart wasn’t there at all,” Joan told CNN in May 2024 of why she applied to be on The Golden Bachelor. “I was saying to my friend, ‘How in the world do you date now? Look around this restaurant. Everybody here is a couple. Everybody my age is married. All my friends are married.’” Once she got home, Joan saw a casting call for The Golden Bachelor on TV. “I was like, ‘The universe is talking to me,’” Joan said.
Joan’s Golden Bachelorette season started filming in late June 2024 and finished filming in early August 2024. Filming lasted for around one and a half months. In an interview with The Wrap before The Golden Bachelorette finale aired, Joan explained why Fantasy Suites were so important for her to picking her Golden Bachelorette winner.
“We got to talk about what life would be like together and and even the difficult things — how you figure out kids and grandkids and parents and all of those things,” Vassos said. “You talk finances, you talk about home life … it’s when you dive deep — you really do — and see if this could really work, because this is your time. Fantasy suites leads up to the final rose.”
Joan, who didn’t have sex with any of her finalists, also added that her Fantasy Suite dates were filled with “lots of hours” of “just talking” and that the off-camera time with her finalists was important to “protect your own privacy and protect your family’s privacy. “It was exactly what you need,” she said. “I can’t imagine doing this journey without having done that.”
But what happened to Joan exactly? Did she get engaged? Did she find love? Reality Steve’s Golden Bachelorette spoilers, including who Joan’s winner was, answers most of those questions. Read on for what happened during Joan’s Golden Bachelorette season ahead.
Related: Which couples are still together from The Bachelorette?
Chock Chapple, a 60-year-old Insurance Executive from Wichita, Kansas, got the first One-on-One Date of The Golden Bachelorette Season 1. For the date, Joan and Chock went to Disneyland in Anaheim, California, where they were seen talking on a bench near Sleeping Beauty’s castle and standing from a balcony on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
Gil Ramirez, a 60-year-old Educator from Mission Viejo, California, was edited out of The Golden Bachelorette Season 1 to receive less screen time after People reported in September 2024 that Gil’s ex-girlfriend filed a temporary restraining order against him on June 11, which was days before production began on The Golden Bachelorette.
Gil’s ex-girlfriend was granted a temporary restraining order citing “harassment — emotional.” “Despite telling him to not contact me, come to my house — he made repeated unwanted contact with me, family members and friends,” the ex-girlfriend claimed in the request for a domestic violence restraining order, though she also clarified she had not been physically injured by Gil. “25 attempts daily via phone, texts, video. Although lives an hour away — showed up at places I frequent to confront me on a daily basis.” A judge granted a temporary restraining order that same day.
A source close to production on The Golden Bachelorette told People that a background check was conducted on Gil—like all contestants on The Bachelor franchise—however, the restraining order didn’t come up because “this filing occurred in the brief period between completion of our thorough background investigation and exhaustive vetting process, and the beginning of production.”
The source also confirmed that, due to the news of Gil’s restraining order, The Golden Bachelorette has “further edited his already limited screen time and minimized him in promotional assets moving forward.” News of Gil’s restraining order also came after The Bachelorette Season 21 winner Devin Strader was also exposed for having a restraining order against him in 2017 after he was arrested for burglarizing an ex-girlfriend’s home in Louisiana.
Mark Anderson, a 57-year-old Army Veteran from Leesville, Louisiana, went home before Hometown Dates and did not make it to Joan’s final four, according to Reality Steve. Reality Steve confirmed Mark was eliminated before Hometown Dates because he was in an Instagram Story posted by his son around the time Joan filmed her Hometown Dates. Mark is also the father of The Bachelor Season 28 winner, Kelsey Anderson, who is engaged to Joey Graziadei. He previously appeared as part of Kelsey’s Hometown Date on Joey’s Bachelor season.
Joan’s final four who received Hometown Dates on The Golden Bachelorette Season 1 were Jordan Heller, Chock Chapple, Pascal Ibgui, and Guy Gansert. Joan’s four Hometown Dates was an increase from the three Hometown Dates Gerry Turner had on Season 1 of The Golden Bachelor.
Jordan is from Riverwood, Illinois, but now lives in Chicago; Chock is from Wichita, Kansas; Pascal is from Glencoe, Illinois, but now lives in Chicago; while Guy is from Reno, Nevada. According to photos shared by Reality Steve, Joan and Pascal went to Hometown Coffee & Juice in Glencoe, and Joan and Jordan went to the Chicago Riverwalk.
Jordan, a 61-year-old Sales Manager, was sent home in fourth place at the rose ceremony after Hometown Dates, according to Reality Steve.
Joan’s final three who received Fantasy Suite Dates on The Bachelorette Season 1 were Chock Chapple, Pascal Ibgui, and Guy Gansert. Pascal, a 69-year-old Salon Owner from Glencoe, Illinois, went home after Fantasy Suite dates, while Guy, a 66-year-old ER Doctor from Reno, Nevada, was sent home by Joan in the final two. Guy is also the ex-husband of former Nevada Senate member Heidi Gansert.
Joan revealed in an interview with The View on September 20, 2024, that she didn’t have sex with any of her three finalists during her Fantasy Suite Dates because she didn’t want to sleep with more than one man. “I would never have a physical relationship with more than one person,” she said. “I said [that] right away. I wanted to do fantasy suites because there’s a lot of value being able to talk to someone without cameras. So I said, ‘I want to do fantasy suites, but I don’t want a bed in there. I’m taking that off the table.’”
She also explained that Fantasy Suites were more about “emotional intimacy” than a “physical relationship” for her. “The men were also very respectful about that and kind of liked the idea,” she said. “They thought it was a good idea. I’m not judging anyone else the way they did it, just for me, that was the way to do it.”
Pascal Ibgui, a 69-year-old Salon Owner from Glencoe, Illinois, self-eliminated in the finale three on The Bachelorette Season 1 as he wasn’t in love with Joan, according to Reality Steve, which put him in third place.
An October 2021 filing for a temporary restraining order against Guy Gansert, a 66-year-old ER Doctor from Reno, Nevada, resurfaced during Joan’s Golden Bachelorette season. Per the filing, Guy’s ex-wife, Heidi Gansert, claimed that he “physically tried to threaten” her. Heidi also alleged that Guy “motioned like he was going to shoot me with his hand shaped like a pistol.”
“This was an unfortunate situation that occurred during an incredibly stressful time for me and my former spouse and was ultimately resolved when she voluntarily dismissed her request for a protective order,” Guy wrote in a statement in October 2024 in response to the restraining order. “Together, we crafted a resolution that was agreeable to both parties.”
He continued, “My ex-wife and I recently asked the court to seal her application for the protective order as we had hoped to maintain privacy for our family. But, I know that being in the public eye comes responsibility.”
A source told Us Weekly that The Golden Bachelorette‘s production learned from Guy during the show’s backgruond check that an application for a temporary protective order was filed against him by Heidi but confirmed that it was never granted as his ex-wife voluntarily dismissed the application shortly after the filing, so he was cleared to continue through the casting process.
Joan addressed Guy’s restraining order filing in an interview with The Viall Files in October 2024. “The Golden franchise is a little bit unique because we come here with a lot of past. We’ve lived a lot of life and it doesn’t completely surprise me that there are things that they’re maybe not proud of later on,” she said. “I never saw that side of Guy or of anybody. My interactions with all the guys were pure and lovely and I would have never had any indication that there was any kind of past that he had. I had no idea what the interactions with his ex-wife were at that time.”
She continued, “He was so kind to me and he was so open and he was so vulnerable. He cried. He talked about, you know, finally feeling happy for the first time in so many years. I never in a million years would have guessed that there was any kind of past there.”
She added, “I still believe that he’s a kind and good person. You know, maybe he made a mistake. I don’t know. I don’t know anything about [it] other than what you guys know.”
Chock Chapple, a 60-year-old Insurance Executive from Wichita, Kansas, was the winner of The Golden Bachelorette Season 1, according to Reality Steve. Joan gave Chock her last rose at the final rose ceremony in The Golden Bachelorette Season 1 finale, which he accepted. Reality Steve could not confirm whether Joan and Chock got engaged.
Reality Steve previously reported that Guy Gansert, a 65-year-old ER Doctor from Reno, Nevada, was Joan’s winner, however, he later corrected himself and reported that Joan chose Chock and sent Guy home in the final two. He also originally reported that Pascal Ibgui, a 69-year-old Salon Owner, from Glencoe, Illinois, was Joan’s runner-up and self-eliminated in the final two. Reality Steve later corrected himself maintaining that Pascal self-eliminated in the final three.
Joan and Chock are also still together, according to Reality Steve. Joan hinted that she and her Golden Bachelorette winner were still together in an interview with Good Morning America before The Golden Bachelorette‘s premiere, in which she said she was “very happy” and had the support of her children, daughter Ally and son Nick, who Chock and Guy met in The Golden Bachelorette Season 1 finale. Chock also told “The Viall Files” podcast prior to the finale that Chock was one of the few Golden Bachelorette contestants she could see a future with immediately after meeting during limo entrances.
While Joan and Chock are still together, it wouldn’t be surprising if they didn’t last, given what happened to the first Golden couple, Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist. Three months after they got married in The Golden Bachelor’s Golden Wedding special, Gerry and Theresa—who got engaged in The Golden Bachelor finale in November 2023—announced they were divorcing.
“Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations and we’ve looked closely at our situation, our living situation and so forth and we’ve kind of come to the conclusion, mutually, that it’s probably time for us to dissolve our marriage,” Gerry said in a joint interview with Theresa on Good Morning America in April 2024.
Theresa explained during the interview that she and Gerry chose to divorce because they couldn’t decide on where to live, given their families were in different states. Gerry is from Indiana, while Theresa is from Shrewsbury, New Jersey. “We looked at homes in South Carolina, we considered New Jersey, and we just looked at homes after home,” Theresa said. “But we never got to the point where we made that decision.”
In her interview with People, Joan also confirmed that she doesn’t plan to move away from Rockville, Maryland, where she lives with her family, to be with her Golden Bachelorette winner, which could become an issue for her relationship with Chock, who is from Wichita, Kansas. “I would never want to leave my family,” Joan said. “My kids and my grandkids all live really close to me and not being close to them all the time would not work for me. They’re the most important people in my life. I felt that anybody that I would be a good match for, they would have the same family values as I have and would not want to leave their family.”
If Joan and Chock got engaged, it’s almost certain the ring was designed by Neil Lane, a celebrity jeweler, who has created engagement rings for The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise since 2008. Former host Chris Harrison told Entertainment Weekly in 2016 that Bachelor Nation couples must stay together for a set amount of time, otherwise they need to return the free engagement ring to Neil Lane. “There’s some rule, after a certain number of years, you get to keep it anyway,” he said. “But after months… it goes back.”
Lane told StyleCaster in 2016 that he doesn’t know what happens to the rings after couples break up, but that he creates them with the goal that the couple stays together. “I make rings hoping that people stay together forever, but after they get the ring, I don’t have a say in it, and what happens after that, I don’t know,” he said. “Where the ring goes, I have to say, I don’t really know. I just say it goes to ring heaven.”
Read The Golden Bachelorette’s official biography and fun facts for Joan’s winner, Chock, below:
“Chock is quite the catch! He’s kind, loves adventure, and has had a successful career owning his own business. Chock has a very full life with his kids, his adorable black Lab Super Tubbs, and his work, but he knows he’s missing the one thing he wants most — love. Chock truly believes love can be found at any age and is enthusiastic about finding that spark again. He’s hoping this is his moment to meet the adventurous, compassionate woman he’s been looking for. When Chock isn’t working or spending time with his kids, he loves exercising and rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs. His guilty pleasure is shopping, and he can’t resist a good sale! Chock is totally a relationship guy, so let’s see if Joan is the long-term love he’s been dreaming of.
Fun Facts:
• Chock is a self-proclaimed grill master.
• Chock once went nighttime shark diving in Australia
• Chock hopes that Chevy Camaros with T-tops make a comeback.”
Joan and Chock got engaged in The Golden Bachelorette finale. Prior to the finale, however, Joan hinted in an interview with People in September 2024 that getting engaged wasn’t important to her on The Golden Bachelorette, especially after Gerry Turner’s divorce from his winner, Theresa Nist, following The Golden Bachelor Season 1.
“I said all along I didn’t need to leave engaged,” Joan said. “My goal was to leave in a committed relationship. I wanted to have somebody I saw a future with and that we wanted to see how it works in the real world outside of the Bachelor bubble. I didn’t want to go through all of this and be at the same place I was when I came to the mansion.”
Joan also told People that she also didn’t plan on moving from Maryland, where she lives with her family, for her Golden Bachelorette winner. (After their breakup, Gerry and Theresa cited distance and their disagreement over where they should live as the main reason for their divorce.)
“I would never want to leave my family,” Joan said. “My kids and my grandkids all live really close to me and not being close to them all the time would not work for me. They’re the most important people in my life. I felt that anybody that I would be a good match for, they would have the same family values as I have and would not want to leave their family.”
