Why ‘Golden Bachelorette’s’ Joan & Chock Aren’t Rushing to Get Married (Exclusive)

“The Golden Bachelorette’s” happy couple Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple are dishing on their future together!

“Extra’s” Billy Bush spoke with Joan and Chock after their engagement was revealed on the finale.

Joan shared that they aren’t rushing to plan their “I dos” yet, explaining, “We are going to get married, but I think we just want to exist outside the Bachelor Nation eye and just be like a couple together, like go out to dinner together. We’ve never been to a restaurant together.”

“We haven’t had any public time together. We haven’t met each other’s friends, really,” Joan noted. “Last night was the first time we were in a car together. There are all these things we need to explore before we start planning a wedding.”

So, when the time comes, would they consider a TV wedding?

Joan answered, “So, I originally thought that I wanted something intimate, I’ve had a big wedding before… At this point, I feel like everyone who has invested in this journey and watched the show, I feel a little bit like they deserve to see the beginning of chapter two.”

Joan and Chock also opened up about learning that they could still love their late spouses while making room in their hearts for somebody new.

In 2021, Joan lost John, her husband of thirty-two years, from pancreatic cancer. The following year, Chock’s fiancé Kathy died after a brave fight with brain cancer.

Joan and Chock believed it was divine intervention that they met on “The Golden Bachelorette.” Chock commented, “That’s the only logical explanation.”

As for the key to finding love on the show, Joan said, “Once I learned I could still love John and find room for someone else, I could finally let it in.”

Joan shared that both she and Chock got their partners’ blessings before they died. Joan elaborated, “They actually each told us while they were both on the verge of passing, ‘You need to find love, you’re both still young.’”

The two are still early in their relationship, but already have nicknames for each other! Chock revealed, “She calls me ‘Big Guy’ and I call her ‘Honey.’”

Joan quipped, “We sound like really old people, don’t we?”

Now, new adventures await Joan and Chock as they fly to New York City to begin some house-hunting.

Chock and Joan revealed they have an appointment with a realtor in just a few days and are thinking of setting down roots in Manhattan’s West Village.

Joan noted, “Easy walking, go out and there’s already hubbub kind of around you. We live, you know, he lives certainly in a quiet area, he’s from Kansas. I’m from D.C., but I live in the suburbs, so we’re ready to live the city life a little bit.”

They’ll have some Bachelor Nation alums to hang out with there as well! Joan shared, “There’s a lot of people that, like, get this journey that we’ve been through, so it’s fun to be with them because it’s just easier a little bit. So, Charity and Dotun live in New York City and so do Serena and Joe… We’re going out to dinner, the six of us, on Monday night together.”