Editor’s Note: This story is SPOILER-FREE, but if you want to know how Joan Vassos' season is rumored to end, you can check out The Golden Bachelorette Season 1 spoilers here.
The dad energy was strong in Bachelor Mansion this week, as The Golden Bachelorette made its debut on the 2024 TV schedule. Twenty-four men ranging in age from 57 to 69 showed up to woo Joan Vassos, sharing stories about their kids, grandkids and hopes for the future. In true dad form, a couple of the guys gave the mansion a once-over, and their hilarious appraisal of their living quarters’ different amenities has gone viral. Bachelor Nation can’t get enough of Jack Lencioni and Charles Ling, and I hope they avoid being eliminated by Joan long enough for more of these odd-couple moments.
With this being the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelorette, it was different to see a large group of 60-something men overtake Bachelor Mansion in hopes of finding love with 61-year-old widow Joan Vassos. I was personally caught off-guard by the “dad” of it all, because of course these guys — specifically Midwestern caterer Jack Lencioni and Charles Ling, a retired financial analyst from Pennsylvania — were poking around the home, checking the bones and what not. Take a look at the scene from the premiere that’s going viral on TikTok:
@lovetoseeitpod ♬ original sound - Love To See It
Jack Lencioni was thrilled with the mansion’s gorgeous pool — which I totally get — and his whole, “You do go in the pool, right?” was giving strong vibes of the I Thing You Should Leave spoof where dating show contestant Ronnie (Tim Robinson) is “just there for the zip line.” (The Golden producers doubled down on that in the preview of what’s to come, when another contestant straight-up said Jack was just there for the cannonballs.)
The caterer also described part of their temporary home as a “hippie den” and found what he thought might be a “winery.” I also love when he estimated seeing about 72 decorative candles on the wall.
At one point Jack Lencioni fired up the stove to prepare Joan Vassos some dinner, but Charles Ling definitely wanted to take ownership of the kitchen. He seemed surprised that everything was functional, turning on the gas burner and banging on the counter as if to test its strength. Charles was pleasantly surprised by the fully stocked refrigerator with “lots of meat.”
It was all pretty adorable, and fans seemed to relate to this behavior, leaving comments on the TikTok video that included:
- this is soooooo dad – Sydney laforge
- not him patting the counters like “quality👌” 😆 they are so cute – Jenna
- Omg they’re so sweet! 🥰 Just a couple dads doin dad things 🤣 – now4dogs
- It’s like when your dad sees your new apartment for the first time and has to check everything to make sure it’s all sturdy lol – sefharas
- Have they checked the thermostat yet? 😂 – NerdyMedic3712
In fact, many said this scene alone would inspire them to watch Joan Vassos' season, and many implored someone to give Charles L. and Jack their own spinoff. They commented:
- I’m going to need a spin off show of these two tomorrow thx – KellyCaseyCo
- neeeed a home tour series from them 😭 – Zillow
- Imma need HGTV to get in on that! – Your Girl Jay
- Yeah I need a spinoff of these two bc 😭😭🤣🤣 – angeladenn
I agree that I wish we’d gotten to see a full house tour by them, because I’d be especially interested to know what they thought of the bunk beds, given that their sleeping accommodations sounded pretty nightmarish.
Either way, some people were apprehensive about watching The Golden Bachelorette after being burned by Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist’s divorce, but I found that scenes like this in Wednesday’s premiere proved that this show is bigger than the relationship. I can only hope we’re in for more of these wholesome, hilarious moments from our group of dads.
New episodes air at 8 p.m. ET Wednesdays on ABC and can be streamed the next day with a Hulu subscription.
