Note: The following story contains spoilers from “The Golden Bachelorette” Episode 9.
Joan Vassos’ journey on “The Golden Bachelorette” closed with a happy ending.
After dating 24 senior men on the ABC reality dating show, Vassos narrowed down her dating pool to just two final suitors: Chock Chapple and Guy Gansert. While both men were prepared to meet Vassos’ family and have a final date together before the leading lady made her choice, Vassos cut one man’s journey early.
Vassos and Chapple reunited in Bora Bora and Chapple met Vassos’ family and had their final date, which seemed to clarify things for “The Golden Bachelorette,” as Vassos arrived to Gansert’s hotel prior to when the couple was set to meet her family. Instead, Vassos told Gansert that her heart belongs to Chapple and wanted to “spare” Gansert the hurt of finding out her feelings after he potentially got down on one knee.
“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 … my heart belongs to somebody else now,” Vassos told Gansert in the finale episode. “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.”
With Chapple standing as Vassos’ final suitor, Chapple and Vassos met at a seaside altar to make their promises to one another, and Vassos finally said “I love you” to Chapple after abstaining from saying she loved anyone until the very end.
“We are living proof that no matter what life throws at you, that there is still hope, even at our age, I waited till this moment in this amazing location to tell you that I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” Vassos said. “I want to wake up next to you in the morning, and I want to kiss you when I go to bed at night”
Chapple then proposed to Vassos, and she accepted his proposal, exclaiming, “of course!” The happy couple is still together, and was greeted by Jesse Palmer on stage during the live finale. Their final surprise from the show was an all-access trip to Walt Disney World Resort with both of their families.
All episodes of “The Golden Bachelorette” will be available to stream Thursday on Hulu.