Jesse Palmer Reveals Which Celebrities Should Join Bachelor Nation (Exclusive)
For Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple, finding an apartment in New York City has been quite the journey.
While the Golden Bachelorette and her fiancé fell in love with a place back in December, it looks like the NYC pad didn’t end up getting their final rose.
"I'm so bummed about the place," Joan confessed to E! News in an exclusive interview. "That place was perfect, and the guy took it off the market. We put in a bid along with other people, and he took it off the market. Nobody got it. That was really bizarre. So that was really sad because that seemed like a really good place."
Still, she’s maintaining a rosy outlook and hoping they’ll fare better this spring.
"The inventory is pretty low, and I'm really picky about where I want to be, like what feels comfortable to me," the 62-year-old explained. "It’s not like we don't have a home to live in. He has a home, I have a home. We have probably too many homes. So getting a place in New York—although it's something we're dying to do and we want to be there—finding the right place is more important. So I think we need to wait till the inventory in the spring gets a little more open and there's some more places to look at because right now there just aren't that many."
As the apartment hunt steals their attention for more than just a sec, Joan continues to live in Maryland and Chock still resides in Kansas. Even with the roughly 1,200 miles between them though, their romance continues to bloom and the reality star says the couple try not to go more than two weeks without seeing each other.
"We're pretty conscious about making sure things are scheduled, and we look pretty far down the road," she noted. "So a lot of things have been happening kind of organically. We have opportunities that people are flying us to places, or we're flying to places to do things for opportunities that we've gotten because of the show. So that has spurred on a lot of the travel, and a lot of us being together, and a lot of the fun that we actually got to have."
Instagram / Joan Vassos
When their schedules aren’t totally packed, they’ll arrange a little hometown date.
"He already has me coming to Wichita because he has some events he wants me to attend with him, and I have the same thing in DC—I have things I want him to be at with me," Joan added. "So, we're pretty good about it, but we never go more than 14 days. That's a long time. Fourteen days is about our limit."
So while long-distance relationships aren’t always a bed of roses, it appears to be working for them.
"I feel like 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' is kind of true," she said. "And so I love it that I miss him so much when I see him. That feels really good. I'm so happy to see him. It's not like, 'Oh, I see you every day.' It makes me joyous. It’s something I look forward to every time we see each other."
Disney/Christopher Willard
However, the school administrator said she and the insurance executive don’t plan to live in different states forever.
"I think that he will move to the east coast," she told E!. “So his kids don't live in Wichita anymore. He actually doesn't have any family in Wichita. So, they live on the east coast. They live in North Carolina, which is not that far from Maryland. So, I mean the plan is for him to eventually move to Maryland. Right now, he has a business though in Wichita that he needs to be attentive to.”
It’s a topic Joan says she’s been open about from the start.
"I'm not leaving Maryland," she shared. "I made that clear from the very beginning that my kids and my grandkids are there, and I'm not leaving them. So that was kind of the deal from the beginning. And he loves Maryland. He’s kind of figuring his way around the state, and so far so good."
Whether they’re traveling (with a vacation to Mexico also on the books), hanging out with friends and family or just keeping Bachelor Nation updated on their lives together, Joan and Chock remain busy. In fact, she recently partnered with Aspercreme—which strives to help fight arthritis and joint pain with its range of products—to provide support as she remains on the go.
“My life has become more active,” Joan explained of partnering with the brand. “I do more things, and I have something that helps me know that, at the end of the day if something hurts, it’s not gonna be a big deal. I get to keep doing everything I want to do because I have the Aspercreme.”
To check in on more Bachelor Nation stars, keep reading.
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App