Tired of dating apps and trying to meet someone organically, Joan Vassos took an unconventional path to find love: She went on a reality television show.
The 62-year-old widow from Rockville met 24 eligible men on The Golden Bachelorette, which aired last fall on ABC. The finale ended with Vassos getting engaged to Chock Chapple, 61, an insurance executive from Wichita, Kansas.
“Meeting people at this age is surprisingly a lot more fun than you would ever imagine,” says Vassos, a mother of four and grandmother of three.
Vassos, who is on a leave of absence from her alumni relations job at the Landon School in Bethesda, still has her Rockville home and Chapple has his in Kansas, but the two are searching for an apartment in New York City.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
How was the experience different from what you expected?
I saw for many seasons the people [on The Bachelor/The Bachelorette] would develop feelings for more than one person. I thought there’s no way you can really do that. You can. It was very, very unexpected. You form really quick bonds with them because you’re talking about really big life events like ‘How did you get here?’ Usually it was a death or a divorce.
How long did filming take? What was that experience like?
From the middle of June to August [in 2024, seven weeks of taping]. You don’t have your phone. You are pretty isolated. You’re doing this really on your own, which kind of helps. You don’t have a lot of outside influence. You spend a lot of time processing.
Did you have set criteria or just go with your gut?
I didn’t have set criteria, but I did have a picture in my mind. I wanted somebody who melded into my family. I have two sons and two sons-in-law over at my house all the time. We always grill and they sit outside together, they smoke a cigar and drink a beer. I pictured if the person I picked could be out there with those guys I love.
What are some local places you hope Chock will love?
He actually loves Maryland already. We have a deli right around the corner from me, Brooklyn’s Deli, and he’s already a regular. [Glenwood’s, formerly Stanford Grill]—I want to bring him over there. I also really want to bring him to Glenstone in Potomac. He hasn’t seen Annapolis yet. We are dying to get down to the beach, probably Ocean City—it’s where I grew up going.
What’s it like being back in public with him now that you’re so recognizable?
It’s fun. For so long, people have said, ‘Are you guys real?’ Yeah, we’re real. So having him with me kind of validates that. I feel like the more we’re out there, they recognize we really are real. I think I have Maryland now convinced.
What’s your thinking on a private versus a public wedding?
Originally I thought we’ve done everything so publicly, it’ll be really nice just to have family and friends. But the more I think about it, it’s pretty crappy to bring everybody along and then not let them see the real finale. The real finale is, ‘Did it really work?’ And I want to show that it did. So I feel like the right thing to do would maybe be a televised wedding, but it just kind of depends on the logistics.
What are your favorite reality shows to watch these days?
I’m a Bachelor watcher, obviously. I can’t wait to watch somebody else doing this journey. I love The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
This appears in the March/April 2025 issue of Bethesda Magazine.
