Golden Bachelorette’s Joan Vassos reacted to online rumors that she both died and broke up with fiancé Chock Chapple.
Joan Vassos wants you to know that she’s still very much alive.
The Golden Bachelorette cleared the air after online rumors said she had died in an accident.
“First of all, I didn’t die,” Joan quipped to host Ashley Iaconetti during the Almost Famous podcast on Dec. 8. “There were rumors that I was in a tragic accident. So, I didn’t die.”
The 62-year-old also addressed the rumor mill’s concerns about the status of her and fiancé Chock Chapple’s relationship, to whom she got engaged at the end of her Bachelorette season in November 2024.
“I also didn’t breakup with Chock,” Joan clarified. “So, I’m alive and I’m still with Chock. We didn’t break up.”
She also addressed the root cause of the breakup rumors, which originated after a Thankgiving-themed gratitude post she shared on Instagram didn’t address Chock directly.
“I talked about Thanksgiving because I was like, ‘I’m thankful for family, my friends’ or whatever,” she added. “I consider him family. So, I didn’t say Chock individually because he’s my family. And I got so much crap. Everyone’s like, ‘They broke up.’”
Instead, the private school administrator is still alive, engaged and looking forward to the holidays with her fiancé.
“We do have plans for the holidays,” Joan exclaimed. “We got an Airbnb in New York for most of December and into January. So, we’re going to be together a lot. And then he’ll be at my house with my family for Christmas.”
And while the Bachelor Nation couple have their plans set, Joan admitted that balancing their extended families during the festive season has made things a bit tricky.
“We’re kind of a work in progress now that there are grandkids,” she shared. “That makes a big difference. I always do Christmas. I will keep that, and I get to keep it because I have grandkids now. And even though my kids are grown, I now get to have Christmas because they come over to my house.”
Joan and Chock’s busy holiday season makes up for the time the pair recently spent apart as the Golden Bachelorette was working on a special project. Still, Chock revealed how they found a way to make it work.
“We’ve made a commitment to see each other every other week,” Chock told E! News in September. “We haven’t had this real life that people normally have because you’re living in the same town, you see each other all the time.”
Luckily for the duo, they have a game plan to help navigate their time apart.
“Joan and I, from the fantasy suites, made a commitment that we would talk every day,” he continued. “So, we talk at least twice a day, and it’s great.”
