It was another big night for Joan Vassos! And we’ve got the Golden Bachelorette recap you need to help you make sense of it all!
Joan has officially made a name for herself as one of the most beloved Bachelorettes (golden or otherwise) in franchise history.
Of course, she dealt with a lot of heartbreak along the way, but the winding path eventually led her to the happy ending she so richly deserves.
Who Proposed to Joan in the Finale?
After meeting her kids (and enduring some initial awkwardness), Chock Chapple got down on one knee in Bora Bora.
“I’m just here to make your mom happy,” Chock told Joan’s son and daughter. And he seemed awfully sincere about it.
The happy couple are still engaged, and they’ve revealed that they plan to move to New York City together.
We couldn’t be happier for them. Here’s hoping they last a bit longer than Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist!
Now let’s take a look back at how we got to this point:
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Who Self-Eliminated In the Fantasy Suite Round?
After a season of ups and downs, it was finally time for the all-important Fantasy Suite Round.
It’s a week that’s designed for the star and the suitors to get to know each other on a more intimate level. But there’s usually a bit of heartbreak involved, too.
This time around, it was Joan who was on the receiving end of the old “it’s not you, it’s me speech.” And the words came from a very unexpected source.
French-born salon owner Pascal had been a fan favorite from the moment he stepped out of the limo on night one.
But he probably gained a few haters when he self-eliminated last night. But to be fair, Pascal handled the delicate situation as well as could be expected.
“I don’t think I could get to the place where you want me to be. I know what love is. I care about you as a friend. But I’m not in love. I can’t be there,” he said.
“I need that spark. I just don’t have it.”
Both parties were clearly upset, but Pascal deserves credit for his honesty.
And with that, Joan was down to just two remaining suitors — Guy Gansert, Chock Chapple. Let’s take a look back at how we got to this point:
The Golden Bachelorette: Who Got Sent Home During the Hometown Round?
On this week’s episode, Joan met the families of her remaining suitors. Yes, it was the all-important Hometown Round.
And once again, Joan was forced to send one of her guys packing.
This time, it was Jordan Heller, a 61-year-old sales manager from Chicago, who departed with a minimum of drama.
“Time was not our friend,” Joan said as she walked Jordan out. He agreed, and they parted ways on friendly terms.
And with that, it was down to the final three! Let’s take a look back at how we got to this point:
The Golden Bachelorette Recap: Who Got Sent Home In Week 5?
So who got kicked to the curb ahead of the all-important hometown round?
Well, it was Joan’s toughest elimination yet, and some fans were shocked by her decisions at the rose ceremony.
With Mark eliminated during a difficult conversation earlier in the episode, we were down to Keith, Jordan, Jonathan, Pascal, Chock, and Guy as we entered the ceremony.
And to the surprise of many, Jonathan and Keith were sent packing. Jonathan and Joan seemed to enjoy a special connection, and Keth, as you may recall, received Joan’s first impression rose back on night one.
That means Joan will be meeting the families of Jordan, Pascal, Chock, and Guy.
The Golden Bachelorette Recap: Who Got Sent Home In Week 4?
It might not have been the most dramatic episode ever, as Jesse Palmer so frequently claims. But there were certainly some sad goodbyes this week.
Charles, Gary, Dan, and Gil were all sent home in an absolute bloodbath of a rose ceremony.
The herd needed to be thinned as Joan entered her home stretch, and frankly, some of these guys hadn’t exactly distinguished themselves. But fans were quite sad to say goodbye to Charles.
The Golden Bachelorette Recap: Who Got Sent Home In Week 3?
The episode opened on an emotional note, as Joan received a call informing her that her beloved 91-year-old mother had fallen ill.
But being the trouper she is, Joan opted to continue her search for love.
Following a luxurious one-on-one date with Pascal (complete with Wayne Newton cameo), it was time for another rose ceremony.
This time around, Gregg, a retired university vice president from Florida, Charles K., a portfolio manager from California Kim, a retired Navy captain from Washingon, were all sent home.
None of them seemed to have a whole lot of chemistry with Joan, but eliminations are always sad.
The Golden Bachelorette Recap: Which Suitors Got Sent Packing In Week 2?
The guys moved into Bachelor Mansion; Joan hosted her first two group dates … and sadly, she was forced to further thin the herd by sending home four more contestants, including a fan favorite.
Talk about an eventful night of television:
Not surprisingly, Joan revealed she felt “crappy” ahead of the night’s another rose ceremony.
“I am so grateful, so if you don’t receive a rose tonight, I am so sorry,” Joan told the guys before she started handing out roses. And she seemed sincere. “I care about you deeply. I can’t say that enough.”
Bob, a chiropractor from Marina Del Rey, California; Christopher, a contractor from West Babylon, New York, Michael a retired banking CEO from Denver, North Carolina, and fan favorite Jack, a caterer from Chicago who memorably serenaded Joan when they met, were all sent home.
While she still has 14 very eligible bachelors remaining, Joan was clearly heartbroken by the cuts.
Let’s take a look back at how she got to this point.
Who Got Sent Home on Joan’s First Night?
Make no mistake: Joan Vassos is fully prepared for her second shot at true love.
The first-ever Golden Bachelorette dubbed herself “the luckiest person in the world” on this show’s September 18 premiere, as she accepted the lead role three years after her husband passed away from pancreatic cancer.
Among the most memorable suitors… Chock brought some chicken noodle soup; Kim arrived in his Navy uniform; and Jack serenaded his possible future wife with a version of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.”
“This is a crazy journey, but people find love in lots of different ways,” Joan said to her group of contestants inside of the mansion. “Like, I don’t know if I’m being naïve, but I think it could really work, so I can’t wait to get this journey started.”
(Joan, of course, is being naive. It never works. Just ask the latest Bachelorette, Jenn Tran.)
The men then went ahead and made their pitch to The Golden Bachelorette.
Joan’s Big Debut
“When I found out it was you, I was 100 percent in,” Pascal told her, for example. “If it wasn’t you, Joan, I wouldn’t be here today. I just want you to know that.”
Gregg and Joan, meanwhile, donned Hawaiian shirts and sipped tropical cocktails, while Gil played tee ball with her and Charles K. and Joan raced in motorized chairs.
“I just want to talk to her all night long,” Charles K. said to the camera.
Another suitor said he got hit by lightning and needed 12 minutes of CPR to be revived, while yet another made dinner for Joan and another wrote her a poem.
Joan Vassos cornhole with Keith and felt an immediate connection. “
We have a lot of things in common,” she said. “It’s exciting. I can picture being with him.”
She then gave this aspiring husband her first impression rose.
“This journey is scary and you just made me feel safe,” Joan told Keith. “You have this calm voice and you’re just like, this big teddy bear kind of guy. I don’t know, it just felt good to me.”
Cut to the rose ceremony, where Joan told her fellas that she’d been “dreading this moment.”
“If you leave, you have already won,” she said. “You are here and you have shown the world that you have heart and you have a sense of adventure and that you are looking for love and you’re doing it in your golden years. And you’re a great example to everyone.”
In the end, Vassos extended roses to Dan, Jonathan, Mark, Guy, Charles K., Gil, Gary, Pascal, Chock, Kim, Christopher, Gregg, Charles L., Jordan, Bob, Michael and Jack.
From there, a preview for the rest of the season featured Joan saying “I love you” to Mark, as well as Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner making his return to ask her:
“Have you considered the possibility that your guy is not here?”