Chock Chapple Shares Sweet Tribute To Late Mother – Fans React

One of the leading contestants on The Golden Bachelorette, Joan Vassos’ frontrunner, made an unexpected yet short departure from the show upon receiving the news of his mother’s passing.

Chock had just shared his concerns about his mother’s health with Joan during their one-on-one date, feeling more optimistic than ever about their potential future together. However, the following day, cameras captured him outside the mansion in tears while speaking on the phone with his mother’s caregiver, Crystal, who informed him that his mother had passed away at 4:45 a.m.

“This morning, producers came and got me and said my mother passed away,” he explained, adding that while he knew her death was inevitable, expecting it didn’t make the reality easier.

Chock took to Instagram to share his love for his mother by posting a few childhood photos with her, along with a more recent picture he took before joining the show.

He captioned the post saying, “Miss you every day, the best mother I could ever ask for.”

Joan offered her heartfelt condolences, and the two connected over a shared guilt for not being there for their loved ones during their final moments. While Chock was on his Golden Bachelorette journey when his mother passed, Joan shared that she was sleeping in another room when her husband died.

“That’s one of the reasons I care for you. You’re a caregiver. You won’t feel good unless you’re giving care,” she said. “So you go and check on all those people, but remember you’ve got to do this too for yourself. You have to honor your mother and you have to take care of your family. That’s exactly what I would think you would do.”

Chock recognized that he needed to go home to handle personal matters, but he left the possibility of returning open. To the delight of Joan and Bachelor Nation, he did make his way back to the show.

“My mother was a great woman. She was a great mother, a great wife, she loved her husband to death. I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better mother…I never would have picked another woman in my life to be my mother,” he says, with tears in his eyes. “We knew it was coming, but it never makes it any easier. From the high last night of getting the rose and really connecting with Joan, I mean. I just felt it was off the charts. I was really happy, and that’s just not gonna happen now. I don’t want to go home, but I’ve got to take care of a lot of stuff.”

“I left Gerry to be with my family. Very similar. I left when things were looking really positive for us,” Joan said. “It makes me really sad, because I know he and I had a really intimate conversation yesterday about the future. It’s just what happens in life. My heart goes out Chock. My heart’s breaking for him.”

By the end of the episode, it’s hard to imagine Bachelor Nation not supporting the Joan and Chock pairing, especially after she expressed, “I feel like he came back so quickly for me. I feel safe again, comfortable again. I can see it now.”

Here’s how fans reacted to Chock’s exit and his re-entry on the Golden Bachelorette.