After weeks of dining, dancing and dating her way through 24 potential life partners on ABC TV’s “The Golden Bachelorette,” Maryland grandmother Joan Vassos has found her Prince Charming.
The first season of the first-ever spinoff of “The Bachelorette” featuring a single woman of a certain age came to an end Wednesday night in Bora Bora.
With her Maryland family by her side, Vassos, 61, made the decision to follow her heart to a new journey with Chock Chapple, a 60-year-old insurance executive from Wichita, Kansas. She left behind Guy Gansert, a doctor from Las Vegas, who was unable to find a way to resuscitate their connection.
Chapple, who had to navigate the death of his beloved mother during the filming of the show proved to have the right touch for Vassos, who wanted someone with a big personality and a spark for life to jumpstart a new beginning.
He won over Vassos’ son and daughter, promising he was not a replacement for their late father. “I’m just here to make your mom happy,” Chock said.
Vassos, who lost her husband to cancer after 32 years of marriage, is a mother of four, a grandmother of two and lives in Montgomery County.
In an interview with The Baltimore Sun last month, Vassos said she was thinking carefully about who to let into her life and her heart.
“When you’re younger, when you have more of a tendency to pick the person that is the most fun, or that you’re most attracted to or there’s something about them, but you need to look deeper and make sure they’re going to give you what you want in the long run,” she said.
In the finale, Chapple asked Vassos to marry him but they don’t appear to be in a hurry. Perhaps it’s a lesson learned from “The Golden Bachelor” star Gerry Turner and his pick, Theresa Nist, who immediately announced that they would wed in a live television ceremony. Within six months, the couple had divorced.
Vassos and Chapple plan to take their families to Disney World. They may also spend some time in New York together. But overall, the couple appeared happy and ready to give their relationship a chance outside of the TV lights.
“Everybody deserves to have love and give love,” Vassos said on Wednesday’s episode. “Take the leap of faith, find your person.”
The “The Golden Bachelorette” is available to stream on Hulu.