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.
Joan & Chock Give Their Relationship No Privacy
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.