ABC, you NEED to make “Golden Paradise” happen.
Jack Lencioni may have done his last cannonball into the mansion’s pool, but he’ll remain a Bachelor franchise legend forever.
The gregarious, 68-year-old caterer from Chicago won viewers over the second he stepped out of the limo belting Frank Sinatra on The Golden Bachelorette series premiere. He solidified his status as a fan favorite later in the evening by giving himself an epic tour of the Bachelor Mansion. (“Look at this place! I mean, we’ve got a freaking pool that’s unbelievable!”)
Though he and Golden Bachelorette Joan Vassos, 61, didn’t make a love connection, Jack has no regrets about his time on reality TV — and he’d even be willing to look for love in Mexico on (the still entirely hypothetical) Golden Paradise.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You came out of the limo singing “My Way.” Did you discuss any other limo-exit ideas with producers, or did you always know you wanted to sing?
JACK LENCIONI: We had actually talked about a spaghetti and meatballs type thing, because I was known for my meatballs. We talked about different foods that I might come out of the limo with. But then Brian, one of my producers, came up with, “Hey, I think you should sing.” And so they did that and it was quite strange. But yeah, it was all good.
It was very memorable. Also, it might’ve been hard for Joan to eat spaghetti when she was in that beautiful gown.
Good point. I think that’s why they changed it.
This was your first reality TV experience. What would you say was the most challenging part of being part of a reality TV show?
It was probably being away from the family and missing my three grandchildren, and my two daughters. [On last week’s episode], I mixed that up and I said I had three daughters and two grandchildren and my daughter’s going, “Hey, who’s the third one?” [Laughs]
How has your family reacted seeing your on the show?
It’s so funny because in the beginning they didn’t like it at all. My ex-wife didn’t like it, but now all three of them are enjoying it and having a ball with it. Somebody put in [a headline], that “Jack’s family doesn’t like him being on the show.” They didn’t follow up with the fact that they all like it now!
Let’s talk about last week’s episode. How did you decide to do sock puppets at the talent show?
Okay, so I wanted to possibly sing at the talent show because I can do that a little bit. I’ve never done a sock puppet show before, but we were just discussing that and somebody thought it was funny and it was. If I would’ve had a brain, at the end of the performance when I was doing it, I could have had the sock puppet sing. It would’ve been funnier than hell. [Laughs]
What did you think of Pascal’s reaction to your reenactment of the snoring drama? He was not amused.
You’ve got to have a sense of humor. Pascal’s a nice guy. Sometimes I got on his nerves because I’m a little more unrefined. That’s a good way of saying it.
You gave us a great tour of the Bachelor Mansion on night one. What were the best and worst parts about living there?
The Bachelor Mansion was just wonderful. I mean, who lives in a mansion for a couple of weeks? It was absolutely beautiful. The pool was fabulous. Okay, I guess so if you were going to say what you didn’t care for — we had the bunk beds. I’m a little claustrophobic, and when you see there’s a bed right above you, so that was a little… But besides that, it was all good. How could it be bad?
How do you think your approach to dating will change now that you’ve had this experience on the show?
I really don’t know how it’s going to change because I’m just the kind of guy that goes with the flow.
Have any ladies hit on you since you’ve been back?
There have been a few that have sent me different things and it’s kind of comical. Like, “Hey, if you’re in LA, I’ll give you a tour,” or, “If you’re in Florida, we could get together” and blah, blah, blah.
We’re early on in Joan’s journey, but from what you observed, who are the guys who have the best connection with Joan?
In my opinion, the best was Chock. He and Joan went to Disneyland and he brought me back a couple of toys for my grandkids — that was so cool. Don’t get me wrong, Jordan’s a really good-looking guy and real nice guy. Jonathan’s built like a football player, he’s just a real good-looking guy.
Are you familiar with the show Bachelor in Paradise?
I’ve never seen it, but I’ve heard about it a lot.
Okay. Fans really want there to be a Golden Paradise with contestants from Gerry and Joan’s seasons. If ABC greenlights the show, would you be willing to look for love on TV again?
In a split second. Who gets to do this stuff at my age? I mean, my God, you go and ask me to do something, I’m going.
