I'm Convinced The Golden Bachelorette's Joan Vassos & Chock Chapple Are Putting On A Front (Their Troubling Habit Bothers Me)

I'm convinced that The Golden Bachelorette season 1 couple, Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple are putting on a front, as their annoying habit bothers me. Joan was chosen as the first Golden Bachelorette lead after she made an impression on producers and viewers in The Golden Bachelor season 1.

Joan was vying for lead Gerry Turner's heart against 21 other Golden women. Joan, a widow like Gerry, was a frontrunner, but self-eliminated to be there for her daughter, who had just had a difficult pregnancy. Joan drew in fans with her personable and likable demeanor and honesty.

During Joan's season, she had 24 Golden men pursuing her, but Chock was her top choice all along. Now, with The Golden Bachelor season 2 with lead Mel Owens set to film soon, Joan and Chock are obviously holding onto the last bit of their relevancy and the spotlight, which I find troubling.

Joan & Chock Have Been Together Over A Year

The Golden Bachelorette Season 1 Filmed In July 2024

The Golden Bachelor season 1 was filmed in Summer 2023 and ran in Fall 2023. Joan's Golden Bachelorette season was filmed in July 2024, and concluded airing in November 2024. This means that Joan and Chock became engaged sometime in July or early August 2024, meaning that they've been engaged an entire year.

Outwardly, they've expressed the desire to get to know each other outside of the Bachelor Nation bubble, but they haven't been scaling back their involvement with the spotlight and franchise to match that notion.

Unlike Gerry and his winner, Theresa Nist, Joan and Chock have not made any wedding plans, and I think they seem oddly content continuing to remain an engaged couple. It leads me to believe that there is a purpose Joan and Chock's engagement is serving.

Joan & Chock Give Their Relationship No Privacy

They Share Everything Online

Since stepping into the public eye and becoming reality TV celebrities, Joan and Chock have relished their stardom. I can tell they relish it because of how they've been acting since gaining notoriety.

On social media, Instagram specifically, Joan and Chock constantly post. While Joan posts a bit more than Chock, I don't see either of them being fazed by having no privacy in their relationship.

The pair is always doing Q&A videos together or detailing the nature of their trips, family and friend hangouts, and Bachelor Nation events. I don't feel there is any mystery in Joan and Chock's relationship interactions, but I do think their lack of privacy points to a larger front. Joan and Chock seem content being icons at the expense of their privacy.

Joan & Chock Are Living Separate Lives

Their Relationship Is Long Distance

Joan and Chock initially had all these plans for their living situation together, but none of that seems to have panned out. They were going to split their time between Joan's native Maryland, Chock's native Kansas, and then they were going to buy a place in NYC together.

The NYC plans have never come to fruition, and Joan and Chock spend what seems like all of their time running around the country to see each other and make content. In essence, I think they are living separate lives as a long-distance couple because their schedules and logistics are never cohesive or seem enjoyable given the effort. But I believe there is a greater purpose to their long-distance endeavors.

Joan & Chock's Influencer Lifestyles Are Their Focus

Was Being Famous The Goal All Along?

To me, I feel Joan and Chock are completely swept up in the limelight and what being the faces of Bachelor Nation is affording them. Joan has fashioned herself a full-time influencer and content creator.

Joan's posts involve selfie videos of herself cooking, doing self-care, trying on clothes, or interacting with her family or Chock. Joan's heavily into the fashion niche, and she has partnered with several brands that offer her free clothes. Moreover, Joan gets a lot of free perks from advertising skincare brands.

Chock is more of a Witchita/Kansas-centric influencer, but he, too, enjoys the recognition and perks that come with being well-known and from promoting businesses.

I see their long engagement and lack of a legitimate plan as red flags denoting that their influencer and jet-setting lifestyles are more important to them.

It seems to me that Joan and Chock have a master plan when it comes to finessing all they can get out of their relationship. Since they both love the attention and rewards they're receiving from their Golden Bachelorette notoriety while not taking steps to make their connection better, I think their relationship is a front at this point.