Joan Vassos has explained why she and Chock Chapple ended their engagement, saying they ultimately realised they were not “each other’s person”.
The couple became engaged during the first and, so far, only season of The Golden Bachelorette in 2024. Vassos, 63, announced their split in an Instagram Story in early November 2026.
Joan Vassos reflects on the engagement
Speaking in an interview published on Friday, Vassos said she believed their relationship had a genuine chance when Chapple proposed.
“When Chock got down on one knee, I was like, ‘I think I can do this. I’m ready to make this leap of faith,’” she told People. “I actually have enough faith in this relationship to think that it might really succeed, that we might really get married.”
She said she had also told herself: “If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out.”
Over the following two years, Vassos and Chapple began combining their lives. She also supported him during a health scare that led to him having his prostate removed.
However, Vassos said they eventually accepted that their relationship was not going to lead to marriage.
“I grew immensely in that time,” she said. “I figured out what I need from a relationship. I figured out that I can actually fall in love with somebody again. It wasn’t like any part of this relationship was ever miserable. It’s just we weren’t each other’s people. I’m grateful for the whole thing, even though the ending wasn’t what I wanted.”
Vassos felt guilty about disappointing fans
The Golden Bachelorette star also said she had been extremely nervous about telling fans that the engagement was over, because she felt guilty about disappointing people who had drawn hope from their relationship.
“Right when we first got engaged and came off the show, I got so many messages from people saying, ‘You’ve given me hope that there’s a second chapter in my life. I’m going to get back on a dating site, I’m going to make an effort to meet somebody,’” Vassos said.
She added: “That’s exactly what I wanted, and I hope that these people keep going in that right direction and that I didn’t shatter their hopes.”
