The Golden Bachelorette: Joan Vassos and Her New Beau Talk About the Moment They Knew They Were in Love

The star of The Golden Bachelorette, Joan Vassos, has found her happily ever after. Vassos, who was part of the first season of The Golden Bachelor and was then chosen to be the first Golden Bachelorette, didn't just end the show with love, she ended it with a ring on her finger, put on her hand by Chock Chapple. And Vassos promises that's not for nothing. She's taking that commitment seriously.

"I'm absolutely going to marry him," she told TV Guide the day after The Golden Bachelorette finale aired on ABC, which Bachelor fans will agree is a nice reassurance considering how many show couples have ended up not even getting married, not to mention the marriages that have ended in divorce. But Vassos and Chapple, who was one of the early favorites — he had the very first one-on-one date, at Disneyland, no less — seem very focused not just on each other, but on the life they're going to build together going forward.

And though the way they met is very unorthodox, the two are just enjoying the freedom to actually be together, in public. "Now we can actually do what people do on a first date," Vassos told us. "We've never done that."

She makes a fair point. She and Chapple have gone to Disneyland and to Bora Bora but had never been able to simply hold hands and have a quiet meal at a restaurant together until now. But the future the two imagined, the one that proves that life and love doesn't have to end at a certain age, is now at their fingertips. And the two seem very ready to enjoy it.

The day after the season finale and making their relationship public to the world, Vassos and Chapple discussed the experience of being together in public, the moment they knew they were "it" for each other, and whether they'd consider a televised wedding.

How was the first day of being a public couple, and being able to talk about being a couple? That's so exciting!

Joan Vassos: It's really nice, we've been hiding for months and months and you know, all of our friends and family kind of suspected something, but you don't tell them and then you're finally able to blurt it out. So, it feels really good.

This is probably very different for the two of you, but when did you know? What was the "it" moment for both of you? The one where you know this was the person for you?

Vassos: I think it started really, really early. At the Disneyland date, as a matter of fact. He was my first ever one-on-one date. I asked him because I felt like I already had a strong connection to him and wanted to kind of explore that early on to see if I was right. And we had the greatest date. It was like we'd been together for a year. Talking was so easy. The back-and-forth banter was fun. We were at Disneyland, but it was kind of just background noise, it was just us together. And we had a great time at Disney, we interacted with the characters and stuff, but it was really about us getting to know each other. And we really did.

So, I had a hint that he was a pretty strong candidate really, really early on. I think when it really hit me was kind of a sad moment in the show, not really a happy one. It was when he was leaving because his mom had passed away and he had to go home, go see his stepfather. And I was worried immediately that even though he kept promising me he was coming back, that maybe he wouldn't. That he would find something at home that would make him decide this wasn't as good as he thought it was going to be.

You know, she had been sick for a long time. So, they had made a lot of plans already and he was just going to check in on George, make sure he was okay and to check in with Crystal, the caregiver. And I was worried that he would get there and it wouldn't be as sad as he thought to be away from me, and he wouldn't come back.

And that was the moment I knew how much I cared about him. I thought… I can't continue this journey without him, because there will be too many questions in my mind if he doesn't come back, questions about whether he would have been the one.

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Chock Chapple: For me, it was when I met Joan outside on that infamous Bachelor Nation bench at the Bachelor Mansion. And I was still in a quandary, because my mother's passing was anticipated. We just didn't know when. I was able to spend a good amount of time with her before going on the show. I spent the entire week before filming started. And when it happened, we'd had everything prepared and there was a caregiver that I took from Wichita back to Oregon where my mother was living.

And I went to Joan and I said, "What do I do?" And she looked at me and she goes, "You're gonna go spend time with George. You absolutely are." So, it was my decision, but Joan helped push me in that direction. And the whole time I missed her. And what was really beneficial for me was George going, "It's all OK here, go back, go on the show. And I told him that I was really, really interested in Joan, had strong feelings for her. And he said, "Just go, go, it's all good."

The Golden franchise in general, both The Golden Bachelor and The Golden Bachelorette, are really going against the stereotype that when you reach a certain age your life ends and you don't get more love, you don't get to find new things. How does it feel to be part of sending that message that you can still find love, you can still discover things you enjoy? That it's never too late?

Chapple: Well, I personally just experienced it. I feel it, I believe it, but I experienced it. That it doesn't end when you're in your 60s or 70s. But it's not just love, what was interesting too about the show was the camaraderie of the guys. And while it showed, it was even deeper than what you people saw. We called it, Jordan and I called it, unpaid or free group therapy.

Because when there'd be a date, the person was usually gone the entire day. So, the rest of us could just sit around and talk. And we had great sessions and great people time, we call it guy time, where you talked about everything in life and that was very, very enjoyable. But also, I think, unlike the other Bachelor shows, there really wasn't any drama on this. And the feedback I got from fans is that it was good. It was refreshing, especially in today's world, where drama, you know, fuels headlines. And it was just nice that it was a great love story. And fortunately, I was involved with it.

Vassos: For me, I felt like all along, even before it even started, I wanted this journey not to be just about myself and these 24 other men. I wanted people that were kind of in the same situation, in their 50s or 60s or 70s or whatever age, that were looking for love to see themselves in our journey. And maybe picture their life possibly being different because we were doing it. And they could see that it was possible. So, I always felt like that message of hope was the more important overall message. Not whether I ended up with somebody, but that it's possible to do it.

Now that you are a couple out in the open and can do things, is there something you were looking forward to doing together? Or was just going out in public holding hands enough?

Chapple: We were actually able to do that last night [November 13]. At the end of the show last night, we had a coming out engagement party. And we probably had 200 people at a local place here in LA, friends and family. And it was just incredible. I mean, there were just so many people. It was so fun.

Vassos: We just ran out of gas. I mean, at midnight, I was done. My daughter and I just spoke and she said she got in at four o'clock in the morning.

Chapple: Yeah, the party continued without us. She was partying with some of the Bachelor guys, some of Joan's family, and friends. It was just a great evening.So that was a great way to kick it off because we had to have this confidentiality, this privacy, and now we are out and then things are going to settle. They're not going to ever truly settle down, but they are in a way. We're going to just concentrate on our relationship or holidays with the kids, finding the right place in New York City, and just getting on with our life.

Vassos: Yeah, and for me, it was something really small. Like you said, holding hands. We had never gone out to dinner in a restaurant together.So, I made reservations to go out tonight [November 14] for dinner, just the two of us. And now we can actually do what people do on a first date. We've never done that.We went to Disneyland on our first date. We've done epic huge first dates. We were in Bora Bora.So, it's time to just do what normal people do.

What does the future look like? You're moving to New York together, but beyond that? Have you thought about wedding planning? Would you want a televised wedding?

[Chapple points to Vassos while laughing]

Vassos: Definitely in the future. I want it. We want it. Absolutely. He asks me daily, "So, when are you going to marry me?" And I'm absolutely going to marry him. I just think we both feel that it's nice to not have a lot to do in the near future. You know, we're not doing all this Bachelor stuff, which we have been so fortunate that we got to do, but it's going to be nice to just be a couple and just be the two of us for a little while.

So, we're going to do that through January and then maybe start thinking about it. And I think it is on the table a little bit that we would possibly do a televised wedding. Originally, I thought, no, that's not really me, I'd rather have something small and intimate, just our friends and family. But the more I think about it, because again, I love that this message is not just about us. It's about people our age doing this and seeing kind of the end of that journey or maybe the next chapter of actually getting married and starting a life together, and that would be something nice to share. So, I think maybe we're up for that.

All episodes of The Golden Bachelorette are now available to stream on Hulu.