Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple ended their engagement one week shy of two years since ABC aired their Bora Bora proposal. They're the third Golden couple to part ways.
Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple of ABC's The Golden Bachelorette have ended their engagement, one week shy of two years after the network aired their proposal on Nov. 13, 2024.
Vassos shared the news on Instagram, and Chapple posted a nearly identical message, TV Insider reported Friday, Nov. 6. "Sadly, our journey hasn't turned out the way we had hoped," Vassos wrote, "and we have decided to end our engagement."
She opened by looking back. "Two years ago, Chock and I took a leap of faith and got engaged," she wrote, "hoping we had found our forever."
The two spent those years "sharing our families, amazing adventures, laughter," and leaning on each other through hard times, she wrote. She ended on a warm note: "We truly want each other to be happy." She added that she's "grateful for the chapter we shared."
They're the third Golden couple to split. Mel Owens and Peg Munson, from the second season of The Golden Bachelor, parted ways last month. Munson shared that news in an Instagram video on Oct. 21, TV Insider reported.
The franchise's first couple, Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist, married in a live ABC special in January 2024 and filed for divorce about three months later.
Here's Chapple's proposal from the 2024 finale:
How did Joan and Chock meet on The Golden Bachelorette?
Vassos first showed up on Turner's season of The Golden Bachelor in 2023. She left early to deal with a family emergency, TV Insider noted. ABC brought her back in 2024 as its first Golden Bachelorette.
She was 61 at the time, a widow, mother and grandmother from Rockville, Maryland. Chapple was 60, an insurance executive from Wichita, Kansas, AARP reported.
The season premiered in September 2024. The finale aired live on ABC on Nov. 13 and streamed on Hulu the next day. In it, Chapple proposed on a windy beach in Bora Bora. "Of course I'll marry you," Vassos told him.
Runner-up Guy, a 66-year-old doctor from Reno, Nevada, went home after Vassos told him her heart "belongs to somebody else."
Why did Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple break up?
Neither one gave a reason. The statement says only that their journey didn't go the way they hoped, and both seem to be keeping it kind.
Distance came up often, though. Chapple's home is in Kansas and Vassos' is in Maryland. The couple had talked about getting a place in New York City while keeping both houses, TV Insider reported.
In August, Vassos told the In My Hometown podcast that their visits had stretched from every two weeks to every three weeks to once a month. "We're evolving," she said. "We haven't figured out what our future looks like."
Fans had wondered about the couple's status for more than a year. Vassos pushed back on split rumors more than once before this week's announcement.
Is The Golden Bachelorette coming back to ABC?
ABC hasn't announced a second season of The Golden Bachelorette or a third season of The Golden Bachelor.
There's no Bachelor show of any kind on ABC this fall. It's the first fall since 2019 without one, Deadline reported in May. That's a change for the Golden shows, which had owned the fall slot three years running.
The franchise isn't going away, though. Rob Mills, Walt Disney Television's executive vice president of unscripted, said in April that "The Bachelor is back mid-season, Paradise will be next summer." That puts The Bachelor in early 2027 and Bachelor in Paradise in summer 2027, Reality TV World reported.
Mills also said the Golden shows are part of that plan. "That also goes for The Golden Bachelor and whoever else's story we can tell," he said.
Where can you watch Joan's season of The Golden Bachelorette?
Joan's season aired on ABC, and episodes streamed on Hulu the day after each broadcast. Both are owned by Disney. Jesse Palmer has hosted every Bachelor Nation show since 2021, including the Golden seasons.
As for Vassos and Chapple, neither has shared what's next. Based on their posts, they're wishing each other well on the way out.
Article compiled and written by Kambrea Pratt (editor-in-chief), Derek Gibbs (beat editor) and the Pirates & Princesses newsroom. Pirates & Princesses is part of WebReef Media.
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Hat Tips:
TV Insider (Nov. 6, 2026), the statement, Chapple's matching post, the long-distance details, Vassos' podcast comments and the Owens and Munson split
BachelorNation.com (Nov. 6, 2026), Vassos' Instagram statement
TV Shows Ace (Nov. 6, 2026), the third Golden split and the couple's shared Instagram message
AARP (Nov. 14, 2024), the finale date, the Bora Bora proposal, ages, hometowns and runner-up
Good Morning America (Nov. 14, 2024), the finale and proposal location
Reality TV World (April 23, 2026), Rob Mills' comments on The Bachelor, Bachelor in Paradise and the Golden shows
The A.V. Club and Deadline (May 12, 2026), ABC's Bachelor-free fall 2026 schedule
Swooon (2026), Golden Bachelorette Season 2 status and Jesse Palmer's hosting run
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