The Golden Bachelorette star Joan Vassos has compared Chock Chapple to her late husband John Vassos and explained how she found that comforting.
ADVERTISEMENT
Chock, a 60-year-old insurance executive from Wichita, KS, is one of the frontrunners on Joan's The Golden Bachelorette season.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
During their first one-on-one date, Chock opened up about how his late fiancee had tumors on her brain and died in his arms five months after her diagnosis. Chock recalled taking care of this woman in her final days and feeling "helpless" as her health declined.
Joan, for her part, had lost her husband John Vassos to pancreatic cancer in 2021, and she and Chock were able to connect over tragedy and the hope of finding love again.
ADVERTISEMENT
Joan shared with Us Weekly how Chock is a fixer -- and so was her husband.
Joan said she found it "weirdly comforting" to be around Chock, given he shared that same trait with her first love.
Chock also said that he had dropped everything to find the best medical care for his late fiancee after she got sick.
Hearing about Chock's dedication to his former partner made Joan optimistic about the future they could have together.
"I've had this feeling that I don't feel as safe as I used to when John was alive," Joan explained to Us.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I thought, '[Chock's] a person who would make you feel safe again.'"
Joan, however, clarified how John is "irreplaceable" in her heart and she wasn't looking for a clone or John 2.0.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
But Joan did have a "type" going into The Golden Bachelorette. She was looking for a gentleman, a family man and someone with an outgoing personality.
"I like a man who's gregarious, who walks into a room and people automatically gravitate to him," Joan shared. "John was very much that person."
ADVERTISEMENT
The Golden Bachelorette host Jesse Palmer recently told the magazine how there was an obvious "chemistry" and "connection" between Chock and Joan while filming the show.
"Chock was someone right away, when I was talking to him off camera, [I could tell] he's a man's man and he is an alpha -- that's just kind of how I put it," Jesse shared.
Jesse added how Chock is "a leader of men."
"[He's] someone who's wildly successful professionally and also has a really touching and unique personal story to him as well," Jesse said.
Joan had made it clear that she really liked Chock after their one-on-one date in Disneyland, and then Chock showed a more playful and silly side of himself during the striptease group date.
ADVERTISEMENT
Chock told Joan, "I am crazy about you," and Joan replied, "The feeling is mutual."
However, Chock's mother passed away during filming, and so Chock had to return home for the funeral arrangements and to make sure that his family was going to be okay.
Joan understood and was completely supportive of Chock leaving, but at the same time, she felt very upset.
Joan admitted there would "always be a question" in the back of her mind about what could have been with Chock if he chose not to come back and resume the show.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
Joan was therefore ecstatic when Chock did return to The Golden Bachelorette mansion for her, and she noted in a confessional, "I feel safe and I feel comfortable again, like I have a future and there's hope. I can see it now."
Interested in more The Bachelor news? Follow our Bachelor Nation News Page on Facebook or join our The Bachelor Facebook Group!