Joan Vassos and Gerry Turner have continued to stay in contact after she left his season of The Golden Bachelor.
“We are really good friends still,” Vassos, 62, said on the Wednesday, January 22, episode of the “Two Jersey Js” podcast. “We stay in touch.”
Vassos exited the show, which aired in 2023, to take care of her daughter who had recently given birth. Turner, 72, ultimately ended his season engaged to Theresa Nist, with whom he tied the knot in January 2024. Three months later, Us Weekly broke the news that Turner filed for divorce the same day that they revealed their split on Good Morning America.
When asked whether she thought Turner may have wanted to give their relationship another shot after his split from Nist, 71, Vassos replied, “I’m not gonna comment.”
While it’s unclear when Turner might have tried to reconcile with Vassos, she went on to star as the first-ever lead of The Golden Bachelorette, which aired in 2024, and accepted a proposal from Chock Chapple in the season 1 finale. While Vassos and Chapple, 61, are planning to say “I do” in the future, the pair are not in a rush to walk down the aisle.
“I think that we all kind of maybe learned a lesson from Gerry and Theresa that maybe that was too quick and they probably don’t want to make that mistake again,” Vassos said. “I certainly am not in any rush to get married. I am actually really happy right now, just not having anything to do.”
Golden Bachelorette’s Joan Vassos Weighs In on Gerry, Theresa Divorce
Chapple, for his part, has the same mindset when it comes to their upcoming nuptials. In an Instagram Story on January 14, Chapple shared that the couple is “asked all the time” when they plan to exchange vows.
“Somebody today at lunch said, ’[20]25?’” Chapple recalled. “And I said, ‘Maybe at the end of [20]25 or [20]26.’”
Chapple shared that he and Vassos are continuing to get “closer” while “having a lot of fun together just getting to know each other.” He added, “So it’s time well spent.”
For now, the pair are searching for a place in New York City to live near their East Coast children. (Joan shared four kids with late husband John Vassos, while Chock welcomed two children with ex-wife Heather.)
“This first year, obviously, we have to kind of figure out life. Chock has a business in Kansas. I have kids and grandkids and Maryland. I’m not leaving Maryland, but he does have obligations in Kansas,” Vassos told Us. “We know that we’re gonna spend time in Maryland and in Kansas, but then we have this really fun plan because both of us have always dreamed — and we’re finally at this weird stage in life for making this dream come true — that we live in a big city, and, specifically, we’ve always wanted to live in New York. So Chock surprised me and said, ‘I want us to go find a place.’”
