The Golden Bachelorette‘s debut season came to a close on Wednesday night, and after watching 61-year-old Golden Bachelor alum Joan Vassos open her heart up to 24 seasoned studs, Bachelor Nation finally learned how her second search for late-in-life love ended.
When speaking to Decider ahead of her premiere, Vassos said she consider herself a happier person after her Golden Bachelorette experience, explaining, “I can say I have an original ending and it ended exactly like it should. I’m in the right place.”
An emotional Fantasy Suite Week featured one of Joan’s Top Three contestants, Pascal Ibgui, self-eliminating after realizing he wasn’t in love with her, the Golden Bachelorette lead considered the fact that she could end her journey alone. She still had two seemingly all-in men with her on the wild ride, so the hour-and-a-half conclusion saw Joan choosing between 60-year-old Chock Chapple and 66-year-old Guy Gansert.
After final dates, family intros, difficult conversations, and lots of tears, Joan followed her heart and got her “original ending” as promised. You’ve seen the elaborate fan theories that made cases for each man winning — and even Joan ending up alone. Now it’s time to head to Bora Bora to get the real story. Then, after the wild ride, we’re headed back to the studio to break down the dramatic conclusion with franchise host Jesse Palmer, Joan’s Top Two Golden Guys, and a live audience.
Looking for a Golden Bachelorette finale recap? Wondering if Joan Vassos got engaged to Chock Chapple or Guy Gansert? If she left the show in a committed relationship? If her and her winner are still together today? Or if she ended her Golden Bachelorette journey alone?
We’ve got a detailed breakdown of The Golden Bachelorette finale and the live After The Final Rose event. Here’s everything to know about the last leg in Joan’s journey.
Who Won The Golden Bachelorette? Did Joan Vassos Get Engaged To Chock Chapple Or Guy Gansert?
The Golden Bachelorette finale predictably picked up on the heels of Pascal’s Fantasy Suite Week self-elimination. Joan was tearfully taking in Pascal’s parting words and fearing for her future, but before she got too deep in her own head, The Golden Bachelor‘s Nancy Hulkower came to the rescue for another much-needed check-in and some healing hugs.
“It just makes me feel like I’m unlovable,” Joan told her friend. “You know you’re not unlovable. You’re not unlovable, Joan… You are so deserving of love. And I know you had it before and you can have it again. You deserve this and you’ve gotta give yourself the chance,” Nancy replied, reminding Joan that she still had two men who were crazy about her remaining.
Following the cathartic heart-to-heart, Joan got back in the Golden Bachelorette groove and hopped on the Star Breeze to Bora Bora to reunite with her family. Ahead of intros, Joan admitted she could see a future with both Guy and Chock, so her family’s opinion carried a lot of weight. She excitedly greeted her daughter Allie and her husband Noah, along with her oldest son Nick and his fiancé Brooke. She caught them up on the highs of her journey, but also the lows — specifically how much she missed their dad, John.
“My biggest fear is even though my kids wanted me to find love, actually seeing me with a person is gonna be emotional for them,” Joan told cameras. Despite Joan’s reservations, the crucial intros commenced. First up, Chock, who was admittedly nervous to meet the fam, but got a warm welcome from everyone and had some deep, necessary chats.
Before Chock caught the crew up on their journey he made sure to kiss Joan in front of her kids! Bold move, Chock. Bold. Move.
Joan’s son Nick said his first reaction of Chock was that he seemed “genuine,” and during one-on-one time with him, Chock assured Nick that he loved his mom and wanted to spend his life with her. Nick stressed how high his expectations were, because his dad was so great, and Chock assured him he wasn’t there to replace John. Though Nick was initially concerned, he left the chat feeling hopeful. Meanwhile, Joan and her daughter had an emotional conversation about how much she wanted a partner, and Joan told Nick that she feared he would be mad at her for moving on from his father.
After Nick assured Joan that her kids were “so proud” of her for going on her Golden Bachelorette, Chock’s family visit was declared a success and the two embarked on their final one-on-one date of the journey. “I can truly see myself with Joan the rest of my life and what a special feeling that is,” Chock told cameras, noting that his biggest fear is rejection. Nevertheless, Chock vowed to put his heart on the line and let Joan know exactly how he felt.
Joan assured Chock that she felt good about their relationship, and he gave her a letter that promised he’d love and make her feel safe the rest of her life. He also gave her a keychain as a symbol of his commitment and a promise to pick out a place together in New York City. Joan was overwhelmed (positive) and said the gesture took her breath away. Chock told her he wanted to marry her, spend the rest of his life with her, and he finally said, “I love you.” Joan said the words made her feel “like a new person,” but she didn’t say them back because she promised herself she’d only say them to one man at the end of the journey.
It was clear that Chock wanted a response and was a bit let down by her silence. He put on a brave face in the moment, but he told cameras that she didn’t say the words back to him before a proposal it would be a big problem. “I’m not gonna feel comfortable proposing to someone if they haven’t said that they love me,” he admitted.
Next up? Guy’s introduction to Joan’s family — or not?! Ahead of his visit, Guy told cameras that he’d fallen in love with Joan and he intended to propose. Joan walked through the rain to meet him, but the vibes felt off — and not just because of the downpour. Joan told cameras that she couldn’t stop thinking about her date with Chock and realized she had to break things off with Guy before she risked hurting him even more. *GASP!*
To say Guy was blindsided by the news would be a severe understatement. Joan sat him down, told him she put her whole heart and soul into the journey, and got right to the point.
“My biggest hope and fear were that I would have strong feelings for at least one person, and the scary part was that I would have to send somebody home. So I’m here to tell you that my heart belongs to somebody else,” Joan told Guy. “I care about you so so so much, and I know we talked about being seen, and I want you to know that I saw you at every rose ceremony. I saw you on every date. I care so much about you — my heart just belongs to somebody else now, and instead of putting you through meeting my family and showing up on the last day I wanted to spare you all of that, because I care so much about you. I’m so sorry I did not want to hurt you I swear. This was the last thing I wanted”
Guy broke down in tears and embraced Joan as he processed the break-up. He cried on her shoulder and finally replied, “I felt so good today. I fell in love with you I was ready to let it all out. This is not what I was expecting at all. There’s no changing your mind?”
“I love you, but I love you in a different way,” Joan said.
Guy told her that he planned to tell her kids he’d fallen in love with her and was even going to propose, to which Joan thanked him for loving her like that and continued to apologize. She told Guy that he’d always be part of her life, and after an emotional hug and kiss, the two parted ways.
Though Joan was overwhelmed with guilt, she was confident that her heart belonged to Chock. And without further ado, we headed straight to proposal day.
Though Chock was worried that Joan had yet to say “I love you” back to him, he suited up and risked his heart being ripped out because as he said, “she’s that important to me.”
Joan put on a stunning white dress and waited for Chock at a stunning beach. When he arrived the two embraced and Chock got right down to it. “We’ve had a magical journey…you’re the most giving, selfless woman I’ve ever met in my life,” he said, vowing to honor her late husband John by loving and caring for her every day. “Joan, I love you and I want you to be in my life.”
Joan told him that from their first one-on-one she thought she saw a future with him, and that it was the first time she felt that since her husband died. “We are living proof that no matter what life throws at you that there’s still hope, even at our age,” she explained. After finally telling Chock she loved him, he kissed her, got down on one knee, and popped the question.
Joan happily accepted the ring, and Chock accepted the final rose with all his love. They hopped on FaceTime with Joan’s mom, who said “What a nice-looking couple,” and we’re not crying, you’re crying! Everyone’s crying! And yes, the couple is still together! The happy couple joined Jesse Palmer on stage to catch Bachelor Nation up on their relationship.
Were Reality Steve’s Golden Bachelorette Spoilers Correct?
As we know from Joey Graziadei’s season of The Bachelor and Jenn Tran’s unexpected Bachelorette ending, even Bachelor Nation’s favorite spoiler, Steve Carbone, aka Reality Steve gets it wrong sometimes. He got his initial predication for Joan’s finale wrong this season, but ultimately, his updated spoilers were correct.
Reality Steve initially named Guy Gansert as Joan’s Golden Bachelorette winner, then in a September 18 Instagram post, he changed his tune, saying, “Joan is with Chock Chapple. I do not know if they got engaged or not.” So yes, in the end Reality Steve was right and they’re engaged!
What Time Will The Golden Bachelorette Finale Be On Hulu? How To Watch The Golden Bachelorette Finale Online:
As is the case with every Bachelor Franchise show, all episodes of The Golden Bachelorette will be available for next-day streaming on Hulu. That means that Episode 8 (aka the finale and After The Final Rose special) will be available to stream on Hulu starting Thursday, November 14.
That said, we’ve learned from past Bachelor franchise finales that upload times vary. Typically, new episodes of The Golden Bachelorette hit Hulu by 5:00 a.m. ET, but historically, live finale events are often delayed. That means it it may take longer than you’d like to stream the finale on Thursday, November 14. (With The Golden Bachelor finale, the episode was uploaded and available to stream before 1:00 p.m. ET, but the time shifts each season.)
Though there may be a delay in The Golden Bachelorette finale hitting Hulu, rest assured the episode is scheduled to be added to the platform at some point on Thursday, November 14. The franchise loves to keep Bachelor Nation in suspense, so just consider the wait part of the finale experience!
