Bachelor Nation
Chock Chapple Shades Joan’s Ex Gerry Turner for Blaming Theresa Split on Distance
Chock Chapple subtly threw some shade at Gerry Turner while discussing how he and Joan Vassos make their long-distance relationship work.
The couple appeared on the Thursday, January 30, episode of the Dear Shandy podcast when Chapple referenced his fiancée’s Golden Bachelor ex.
“I think with a previous relationship, with no names, sometimes it just doesn’t work out, and then they’re going to blame it on the distance,” the insurance executive said. “[But] a lot of relationships just don’t work.”
When Turner and Theresa Nist announced in April 2024 that they were divorcing after just three months of marriage, they cited not being able to decide on a place to live as the reason for the split. However, Nist later hinted that there was more to it than just that. “It’s not just the location thing,” she said on the Almost Famous podcast in November. “You really can’t know someone in four weeks. I’ll just say that. That’s all I can say. I don’t want to say any more than that.”
In December, Turner announced that he had been diagnosed with cancer shortly before he and Nist called it quits. He mentioned that the diagnosis may have also contributed to the split, which Nist said wasn’t the case for her. However, she reiterated, “Part of it was the distance, but that wasn’t the only part. That’s all I will really say.”
From the beginning of her Golden Bachelorette journey, Vassos has made it clear that she would not be relocating from where her family lives in Maryland. Since getting engaged to Chapple, who lives in Kansas, the two have committed to making long-distance work.
“It’s better than we thought,” Chapple shared. “We just really enjoy each other. We talk three to four times a day. Every morning, every afternoon, at least [once] in the evenings. The communication’s been fantastic. You always prefer to live together, but we’re making the best of what we have.”
Vassos agreed, explaining that absence has made the heart grow fonder for the pair. “My limit is about 10 days [of not seeing him],” she said. “About 10 days, I’m really missing him. We try to get together about every two weeks, but two weeks is too much, it feels like. These little times apart that we do every couple of weeks or every week, actually weirdly strengthens our relationship a little bit. We have to make an effort to be together, so when we’re together we’re doing something really cool.”
