SPOILER ALERT! This article contains details from the season finale of The Golden Bachelorette.

Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple can officially go public with their happily ever after!

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The Golden Bachelorette ended on a happy note Wednesday night, with Vassos affirming his feelings for Chapple and introducing him to his family in Bora Bora. After their final date, Vassos realizes that she is willing to accept a proposal from Chapple, should it come, and decides to preemptively end things with runner-up Guy Gansert.

When Chapple gets down on one knee, Vassos not only says yes, but she tells him she loves him for the very first time. Find more detailed recap of the final episode here.

In the interview below, Vassos and Chapple spoke with Deadline about their engagement and what’s next for the happy couple.

DEADLINE: Joan, is there anything about directing a season of this show that surprised you or didn’t expect?

JEANNE VASSOS: Honestly, it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Obviously, I thought dating 24 men was going to be a challenge. I didn’t count on all the emotions bubbling up. I thought, “This is going to be a pretty joyful journey of getting to know people, exploring connections, and exploring relationships.” » About halfway through the season, or maybe the third week of the season, it kind of hit me. I had all these emotions that I didn’t know I had bottled up and I had to work through them before I could really explore relationships. A lot of it was due to my late husband passing away and discovering these feelings that I never really had to deal with because I hadn’t been in a relationship.

At that point, I was kind of developing feelings for Chock, and all of a sudden I was like, “How does this work?” How can I let go of John and let Chock in? Should I do this? (I had to) kind of work on a lot of things. So it was surprising. I wasn’t counting on that. I definitely would have explored that before coming on the show, if I anticipated it, but I never did. But the fact that it’s such an accelerated journey requires processing those feelings very quickly, and that encouraged me to do that, and I feel like I did. I got where I needed to. Here I am, sitting with the second love of my life, and I’m so glad I did it, but it hasn’t been an easy journey.

DEADLINE: Chock, what was going through your mind as you walked towards Joan before the proposal?

CHAPPLE OF SHOCK: I do what I call a self-check. The day before, Joan came to visit me in the bungalow, which was simply beautiful. We spent some time on the couch and then came out and hugged each other for a kiss. And I had spent three weeks trying to get this person to tell me they loved me, and they wouldn’t. And we had this kiss that just solidified (our feelings). So it was the power of a kiss that just solidified the fact that we were good. We were making the right decision, she was comfortable with me and that told me she loved me. That’s what it was. Then we headed to the private island and I had no butterflies. None, none. The only thing I was really worried about was our hair, because it blew so much.

DEADLINE: It seemed to be very windy.

CHAPPLE: It was very beautiful, but it was a fantastic day. The only thing that could have been better about today and yesterday is if my mother had been able to experience it.

DEADLINE: How did you make the decision to return to the show and pursue Joan after losing your mother?

CHAPPLE: When this happens, no matter how old you are, you struggle to make the right decision. So I was able to spend a week with my mother in Oregon. I’m from Kansas. She lived in Oregon. I couldn’t get her to come back to Kansas. She says, “This is my home in Oregon. » So I was able to get a caregiver out. This is the same caregiver we used when Kathy, my fiancée, had brain cancer. So Crystal was there. (She’s) just a great person, just a godsend. And it happened during filming. Then I went to Joan and said, “I have this dilemma,” because we had taken care of everything for my mother, end-of-life matters. Everything was taken care of. And Joan really pushed me, and she said, “You need to go see your father-in-law.” You have to be there for him. So I left, and it was George who, after about three days, said, “You have to go back.” He said, “We’ll take care of it.” There’s nothing you can do here and I want you to move on with your life. So I wouldn’t be here without George.

DEADLINE: How have you spent the last few months keeping your engagement a secret?

VASSOS: Oh my God, it was hard. Fortunately, we were able to see each other. So if we had to be apart and not see each other, we probably would have relied on our friends and family a lot more, but we need to be together. We do these things called happy couples tours, which The Bachelor arranged for us, and we had five. So that’s a lot, and you can work four or five days at a time. So we were together, getting to know each other better and falling more and more in love, really, and it was really important to spend time together and not let the outside world encroach on us. I think allowing ourselves to experience this part of the journey really solidified our relationship. We are so ready to come out now. But this time was really precious.

CHAPPLE: And we knew it would pass.

DEADLINE: What are you most looking forward to now that you can talk openly about it?

CHAPPLE: It really moves our lives forward, and because we couldn’t, because of confidentiality, really say or do much, and now it’s wide open. We are looking for a location in New York. We’re just ready to bring families together and start living, having fun, traveling, taking care of life.

VASSOS: I just want to do something really simple, like go to dinner together. We’ve never done this, so I made reservations for tonight. We’re finally going out to dinner.

DEADLINE: How did the apartment search go?

CHAPPLE: Well, we’re leaving tomorrow afternoon, and on Monday we have an appointment with a real estate agent. And for privacy reasons, if we didn’t have this with a production company, we would already have the space. So we couldn’t let this leak go. So, during December, we will take care of everything.

DEADLINE: What would be your biggest advice to anyone looking for love in their golden years?

CHAPPLE: As we get older, appearance is no longer so important. It may be more important to one person than another, but it’s a matter of compatibility, and you have to get to know that person, and that’s a leap of faith. You have to say, “They have the same morals, the same beliefs, the same attitudes,” that sort of thing. You may be compatible. Because you’re going to be spending time with this person, especially if you’re retired, and you better make sure you’re compatible and like each other.

VASSOS: Most people are hopeful and perhaps hope to find someone, but hope without action will not lead to success. So I think you have to be really brave, and it’s harder as you get older, because you’re established in your life and, is it worth the risk? Or are things just good enough and I’m not going to go ahead and try? So if you really, really want it, hope is not your strategy, you have to take that leap of faith and do something about it.

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