Tanner Tolbert is a bit confused as to why producers thought it was a good idea to add the Golden Bachelor contestants into the Bachelor in Paradise mix.
“It’s weird to me,” Tolbert, 38, shared on the Tuesday, June 24, episode of Kaitlyn Bristowe’s “Off the Vine” podcast. “We actually liked watching the Golden [Bachelor] stuff, but I feel like they’re trying to jam [it] down our throat at every turn.”
Tolbert, who met his wife Jade Roper during season 2 of BiP, added that every Bachelor franchise seems to have a Golden Bachelor contestant included.
“That’s fine on its own entity, but I don’t know if we need to mix it,” he explained. “Like, are they going to be living in the same house? Are there going to be two separate camps?”
Bristowe, 40, chimed in, asking Tolbert if they’re going to use the same “boom boom room.”
“I don’t know if I would feel as comfortable hanging out with grandpa next door,” he replied.
Tolbert noted that he doesn’t want the Golden Bachelor contestants to “lose their purity in Paradise,” but also doesn’t want the young people to feel the urge to be “kind and respectful” the whole time.
“We want both of those camps to stay separate,” he shared. “I’m a little worried about it.”
Earlier this month, ABC announced that The Golden Bachelor’s Leslie Fhima and The Golden Bachelorette’s Gary Levingston would be joining BiP season 10. The other cast members include Jess and Lexi from Joey Graziadei’s season, Alexe, Bailey and Zoe from Grant Ellis’ season, Brian, Hakeem, Ricky, Jeremy, Spencer, Sam M. and Jonathan from Jenn Tran’s season, former Bachelorette winner Dale Moss, Justin Glaze, Kyle Howard and Kat Izzo.
While it’s unclear whether the Golden members will solely date each other or find a connection with a younger cast member, bartender Wells Adams previously told Us Weekly that people should be open to the possibility of an age-gap romance.
“This happens all the time in the real world. Look at Bill Belichick right now. It’s happening in front of us,” Adams, 41, explained in June. “I don’t know if it will, but I think it’ll be cool to have the Goldens around. The thing that I love about The Golden Bachelor so much is they’ve lived so much more life that their advice, their conversations, the stakes for them are just so much bigger. I think that’ll be a good thing for them to impart on all these young kids.”
While some cast members are excited for the twist, others kind of see the Golden members as more of a place to turn for advice including Moss, 36.
“I’ve definitely got older women in my dating history,” he told Us in June. “I don’t even think about someone’s age [or the] gap. I think The Golden Bachelor [stars] they’re going to be more guidance and friendships. I can just say that very, very clear. No shade!”
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