The Golden Bachelorette couple Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple have announced a new relationship milestone, and it’s a win for the troubled Bachelor franchise, which had another tough year. Joan and Chock got engaged during the season finale of The Golden Bachelorette season 1 in 2024, and they’ve been in a long-distance relationship ever since.
Although the Bachelor franchise has been in turmoil for years, plagued with scandals and unsuccessful seasons, The Golden Bachelorette season 1 stars Joan and Chock’s latest relationship milestone is a wonderful thing that could inspire future Bachelor couples and remind viewers why they fell in love with the shows in the first place.
The Golden Bachelorette’s Joan Vassos & Chock Chapple Are Finally Moving To New York City Together
The Couple Has Been Planning A NYC Move For Over A Year
Joan and Chock got engaged at the end of The Golden Bachelorette season 1 in late July 2024, but they never moved in together, choosing instead to keep their respective homes in Rockville, Maryland and Wichita, Kansas. However, during the finale, Chock had asked Joan if she’d like to move to New York City with him after the show, and she’d said yes. Fans were concerned, though, when that move never happened, despite the couple’s attempts to find an apartment in the Big Apple.
Now, in an interview with Us Weekly at iHeartRadio’s 102.7 KIIS FM’s Jingle Ball on Friday, December 5, 2025, Joan announced that she and Chock are “finally” moving in together in New York City after over a year of having a long-distance relationship. She revealed that they’ll be spending the month of December there. Joan said, “We decided that we just wanted to be there to start the whole month of December because it’s just so magical in New York City.”
Joan shared that she’s moving from Maryland with “all [her] stuff” on Monday, December 8, 2025. She added, “[Chock is] joining me on Thursday. I have a couple of friends who are coming to help me move in, and then we’re going to be there ‘till January 7. Maybe we’ll find a place.”
Joan admitted that she and Chock underestimated how challenging it would be to find a place to live in New York City, which was why the move took so long, and why they still don’t seem to have a permanent home there. She shared, “We had no idea how hard it was to rent a place in New York and how busy we were going to be.”
Joan & Chock’s Relationship Milestone Is A Win For The Bachelor Franchise
They’ve Beaten The Odds
After so much turmoil for the Bachelor franchise in 2025, Joan and Chock’s relationship milestone of finally moving in together is a win because they’ve beaten the odds. 2025 began with Grant Ellis’ Bachelor season, which was heavily criticized for his indecisiveness, as he was torn between winner Juliana Pasquarosa and runner-up Litia Garr until the very last minute before his engagement. Although Grant proposed to Juliana, and she accepted, they broke up just a few months after their finale aired.
Bachelor Nation was also outraged when, shortly after 66-year-old former NFL player Mel Owens was cast as the star of The Golden Bachelor season 2, he announced that he only wanted to date women aged 45 to 60, and that he’d cut any woman over the age of 60 from his cast. Although Mel ended up giving a promise ring to 62-year-old Peg Munson during his finale, most fans couldn’t get past Mel’s original comments.
In addition, Bachelor in Paradise fans were upset with the show’s season 10 twist, which included a monetary prize. After the series took a year-long hiatus, fans were disappointed that it came back with a completely different format.
Another blow to the Bachelor franchise was The Golden Bachelor season 1 star Gerry Turner’s tell-all book, Golden Years: What I’ve Learned from Love, Loss, and Reality TV, which revealed the truth about how miserable he was before the Golden Wedding with his now-ex-wife, Theresa Nist. This led to a public feud between them.
However, Joan and Chock have proven that relationships from the Bachelor franchise can last if they’re done right. Unlike Gerry and Theresa, who practically ran down the aisle after their season ended, Joan and Chock have taken things very slowly. They’ve spent the past year really getting to know one another before jumping into living together or marriage.
Joan and Chock’s long-lasting relationship is evidence that the Bachelor franchise is still relevant, as long as the couples stay grounded and allow their love to grow naturally after the show. They’ve stayed together for a lot longer than most recent Bachelor Nation couples, which is a fantastic sign that their relationship will last forever. Joan and Chock’s decision to take things slowly after The Golden Bachelorette will help them to live happily ever after.
