Golden Bachelorette’s Joan Vassos Addresses Rumor She Almost Died

by

Joan Vassos wants you to know that she’s still very much alive.

The Golden Bachelorette cleared the air after online rumors said she had died in an accident.

“Just to clear things up, I’m still here!” Joan joked to podcast host Ashley Iaconetti on December 8th. She was responding to rumors that she’d been in a serious accident, adding, “I definitely didn’t die.”

The 62-year-old also responded to rumors about her relationship with her fiancé, Chock Chapple. She got engaged to him at the end of her season of The Bachelorette in November 2024.

Just to be clear, I’m still with Chock – we haven’t broken up, and I’m doing fine.

I was so relieved when she finally explained what was going on with all the breakup talk! It turns out it started because people overanalyzed a Thanksgiving post she put up on Instagram. She usually tags Chock in her gratitude posts, and when she didn’t this time, everyone jumped to conclusions. It was a simple oversight, and she clarified it all, which was great to hear.

I mentioned Thanksgiving and how I was grateful for family and friends. I think of Chock as family, so I didn’t single him out when I talked about it. But people reacted badly, assuming we had broken up because of it.

The school administrator is doing well and excited to spend the holidays with her fiancé.

I’m so excited – we’ve got big plans for the holidays this year! My partner and I rented an Airbnb in New York City for most of December and into January, which means we’ll have tons of quality time together. And the best part? He’ll be spending Christmas with me and my family at my place. It’s going to be a really special holiday season!

Although the couple from The Bachelor have holiday plans, Joan shared that coordinating with both of their large families over the festive season has been a little challenging.

Having grandkids has really changed things for us, in a good way. It’s made traditions even more important. I’ve always hosted Christmas, and now I definitely will continue to do so – it’s wonderful having the grandkids and my grown children come home to celebrate with me here.

Joan and Chock are enjoying a bustling holiday season, which helps them reconnect after being separated while Joan filmed a special project for The Golden Bachelorette. Chock shared how they managed to stay connected despite the distance.

In September, Chock told TopMob News that they agreed to meet every two weeks. They explained that being in the same city and seeing each other constantly felt like a normal, everyday experience they hadn’t had before.

Luckily for the duo, they have a game plan to help navigate their time apart.

Joan and I promised each other we’d talk daily after our time in the fantasy suites. We now speak at least twice a day, and it’s been wonderful.

For more stars who have been “killed” off by the internet, keep reading…

 
 

Steve Burns, the original host of Blues Clues, is baffled by the persistent rumors about his death. Even during his time on the show, false stories circulated claiming he had passed away. Burns, who is very much alive, recently shared how damaging this hoax was to his mental health.

Speaking on Rainn Wilson’s Soul Bloom podcast in May 2025, he explained, “When so many people you’ve never met tell you that you’re dead, it’s incredibly difficult, especially when you’re already struggling with depression.” He added that there was nothing he could do to stop the spread of the rumor.

Even after leaving the show in the early 2000s, people continued to tell him they thought he was dead, which he found incredibly unsettling.

Lil Tay recently clarified that reports of her and her brother’s deaths were false, explaining her Instagram account had been hacked. She told TMZ she and her brother are safe, but she’s deeply upset and trying to process the situation. She described the last 24 hours as traumatic, filled with worried calls from family and friends while she worked to resolve the issue.

Queen Elizabeth II has passed away, but back in September 2022, a false report about her death circulated online. Hollywood Unlocked, a media outlet, mistakenly announced she had died six months before her actual passing. Jason Lee, the CEO of Hollywood Unlocked, defended his initial report to BuzzFeed News, stating he was confident in the information. He even pledged to publicly admit the mistake if it turned out to be false, and move on to other news.

Who is behind these fake stories? Over the years, rapper Eminem has been the target of numerous false reports claiming he has died. The latest one began in August 2023 with a viral “R.I.P. Eminem” page on Facebook. A representative for Eminem confirmed to The Sun that he is, in fact, alive and well, and asked people to stop spreading false information they find online. This hoax joins a long history of similar false reports about celebrities.

In 2014, after false reports of his death in a car crash circulated online, Seinfeld actor Jerry Stiller used Twitter to let fans know he was, in fact, “alive and well.”

Chloë, the actress known for her role in Carrie, was upset to discover false rumors circulating in 2013 claiming she had died in a snowboarding accident. She shared on Twitter that she’d received frantic calls from worried family and friends, and angrily denounced the reports as untrue and malicious, assuring everyone she was alive and well.

 
 
 

A false report circulated on Facebook claiming Jim Carrey died in a plane crash in 2012. However, his representative confirmed to TopMob News that the actor is alive and well.

The country singer quickly debunked rumors of her death, which had circulated online claiming she’d died in Austria. In a 2012 tweet, she jokingly confirmed she was very much alive, saying, “I would love to be filming a movie in Austria, but I definitely did not fall off a mountain! I’m alive and kicking!”

 

To dispel rumors that he’d died of a heart attack in 2011, Jon Bon Jovi shared a photo with the current date, jokingly writing, “Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey!” He assured everyone he was alive and doing well, and that the picture was recent.

 

The rapper quickly debunked rumors about her death in 2011 with a tweet: “I’m Great ppl 4 all who keep asking! Alive and well! Enjoy ya night tweeps!” She followed up the next day, saying, “Yeah, it’s sad someone was so unhappy they’d create such a cruel rumor! It just motivates me to work harder and prove them wrong!”

Following false reports that the Oscar-winning actor was injured in a snowboarding accident in 2011, his representative confirmed to TopMob that he was actually working on a film set in Atlanta.

In 2011, a fake Facebook page announced that Jackie Chan had died, and rumors quickly spread online. This wasn’t the first time false reports about his death had circulated – similar gossip had appeared earlier that same year.

When rumors spread in 2011 that he had fallen off a cliff in New Zealand and died, the actor used Twitter to debunk them. He tweeted, “I’d like to meet whoever is spreading rumors about my death and let them feel what a dead man’s foot feels like.”

Back in 2009, false rumors circulated online claiming the rapper had died in a car accident, causing the hashtag “RIP Kanye West” to become popular on Twitter. His then-girlfriend, Amber Rose, quickly debunked the claims, posting a tweet stating that the rumors were untrue and not funny.

After false reports circulated in 2009 claiming he had passed away, actor Zach Braff created a video to reassure everyone he was still alive. In the video, he jokingly explained he was on set filming the opening sequence for Scrubs, saying it felt a bit like dying, so the rumor wasn’t completely off base. He even involved his Scrubs co-star, Donald Faison, in the playful hoax.

Zach explained that he’d made a rather specific request: he wants his friend to sing an R&B rendition of ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’ at his funeral, should he pass away.

That year, false rumors spread that the Academy Award-winning actor had gone missing while camping in the Palo Verde Mountains of California. Matt Damon quickly dismissed the reports, joking about them during an appearance on The Late Show With David Letterman. According to TMZ, he said, “I haven’t heard, but I feel pretty good.”

As a lifestyle expert, I remember back in 2009 when Britney Spears’ TwitPic account was briefly hacked. It was a bit of a scare! Someone posted a concerning message saying it was a “sad day,” but thankfully, her team quickly clarified that it wasn’t true. They assured everyone she was perfectly fine, enjoying a relaxing day at home. It just goes to show you, you can’t always believe everything you read online!

There’s a superstition that bad news comes in threes, and fans were understandably worried when rumors spread online that Jeff Goldblum had died on the same day as Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. However, he quickly put those rumors to rest by appearing on The Colbert Report and joking about the story. He quipped, “No one will miss Jeff Goldblum more than me. He was not only a friend and a mentor, but he was also, um, me.”

Despite rumors in 2010 that he had fallen from the Kauri Cliffs, the Top Gun actor was actually in New York City at the time.

A representative for Tom Cruise told TopMob News that the claims are false. They stated that Cruise is not currently in New Zealand and hasn’t visited recently, calling the reports inaccurate and based on unreliable online sources.

Rumors started spreading rapidly and were very damaging. Throughout 2008, Miley Cyrus had to constantly deny false stories, like one claiming she’d been in a car accident involving a truck and another, even more shocking, that she had died in a drunk driving incident. Thankfully, none of these rumors were true, and Miley continues to be herself.

Back in 2007, someone falsely reported on Wikipedia that comedian Sinbad, whose full name is David Adkins, had passed away from a heart attack. Wikipedia quickly acknowledged it was vandalism. A representative for Sinbad confirmed to Reuters that he was, in fact, alive and well, and enjoying life.

When a false rumor spread in 2006 that actor Will Ferrell had died in a paragliding accident, he largely dismissed it.

Ferrell’s publicist told TopMob in an email that they became aware of the rumor this morning and addressed it immediately. They considered it a clear fabrication and didn’t bother trying to find where it started.

In 2001, some Texas DJs sparked a national scare by falsely reporting that Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake had been in a car accident. The report claimed Timberlake was in a coma and Spears had died. However, their representatives quickly denied the rumors, stating that both singers were perfectly healthy. A label representative told TopMob, “There is no truth to the rumor circulating around the world that Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake were involved in a car accident… Spears and Timberlake are in great health.”

Oh my gosh, you will NOT believe the crazy rumor! People started saying Paul McCartney died back in 1966 and they replaced him with someone who just looked like him. Can you even imagine?! But Paul has shot it down SO many times. My absolute favorite was when he was on Saturday Night Live and Chris Farley – bless his heart, he’s gone now – basically grilled him about it. And Paul, totally deadpan, just said, ‘Yeah, I wasn’t really dead!’ It was hilarious, and honestly, just proved how ridiculous the whole thing is. He’s the real Paul, always has been!

Read More

2025-12-09 18:48