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Spilling the tea!
Bachelor Nation saw Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple fall in love and get engaged on the very first season of “The Golden Bachelorette.”
The happy couple stopped by for a chat with BachelorNation.com during “After the Final Rose” to give an update on wedding plans and reveal how they make long distance work for their relationship.
Check out our exclusive conversation with Joan and Chock below.
Bachelor Nation: Hi Joan and Chock, it’s so great to see you! It’s been about four months since we saw you two get engaged in Tahiti. How have things been since then?
Joan: Great! We are so good! I mean, we see each other like every other week. We make an effort. We kind of combine our schedules every month and see where we can see each other, so it’s been great.
Chock: And the only reason why we don’t is because we have something going on like a kid’s birthday, grandkid’s birthday, I’m doing something with a nonprofit, or something like that.
J: Yeah, but we make an effort to see each other and if we don’t see each other in about 14 days, we both start to miss each other. So that absence makes the heart grow fonder is really true.
BN: We’re so glad to hear that long distance has been going well! Do you have any advice for other long-distance couples on how to make it so successful?
C: Yes! Make it work and check your calendars. We’re always checking our calendars.
J: It does take effort; it’s not as easy as, “Hey, let’s get together tonight because you’re right down the road,” so you have to make an effort. But it’s actually a fun way to kind of do it. I don’t have to go to Wichita, he doesn’t have to come to Rockville, we can meet in fun places. Like, we’ve been to Cancún, and we meet in L.A. all the time, we go to New York. So with our meetings, we find something fun to do. We get great opportunities and we try to make it work for us. But you still have a life. Just because we’re engaged and we’re in love and I plan to spend my future with him doesn’t mean you have to spend every minute together.
C: And the secret from my aspect is Joan’s in charge. So I just show up and it works out that way.
BN: We love that advice! And speaking of the future, are there any wedding updates?
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J: Yeah! I think we’re really enjoying where we are right now and I think if we put that pressure on us, we won’t enjoy what we’re doing now. So there’s no rush. We don’t have a biological clock, we’re not having kids, so I think when the time is right we’ll know it and we’ll go and do it! But right now what we’re doing is perfect.
C: And Joan has a son getting married this summer and then probably another one getting engaged.
J: Yeah, so I have family weddings I’m dealing with, which is wonderful and all happy things. So we’re gonna take a back seat to all that.
BN: Wow, congratulations, that’s so exciting! Lastly, do you have any advice for Grant and Juliana now that they’re engaged, since it was only a few months ago you two were in their position?
C: I think everyone says follow your heart, but do what you think is right. And if you need more time, if you’re ready to get engaged, it’s pretty simple. And it is a leap of faith.
J: And be a couple. Try to tune out the outside chatter, because people are really critical of this process and they don’t understand how well it really can work if you really want it if you’re in the right place in your life. So, concentrate on being a couple and don’t let everybody else influence you.
BN: Thank you so much for chatting with us, Joan and Chock! We love your love!
