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Fans of “The Golden Bachelorette” already want one of Joan Vassos’ suitors to be the next “Golden Bachelor.”
Two weeks into the inaugural season of the senior-centric ABC dating show, fans are calling for Charles Ling to get his own show. Ling, 66, is a retired financial analyst, per his official ABC bio. The father of two hails from Malvern, Pennsylvania. Like Vassos, he lost his spouse several years ago.
Fans Fell in Love With Charles Ling During a Prom-Themed Date
On the September 25 episode of “The Golden Bachelorette,” Vassos’ suitors dressed in tuxedos for a prom-themed group date. Ling was one of several men who revealed they didn’t go to their prom while in high school.
Most of Vassos’ men hit the dance floor and either danced with Vassos or mingled. But when the camera shot over to Ling, he was seen sitting on the bleachers alone.
In a confessional, he admitted, “Prom is a little bit new to me. In general, I’m a very confident person. But after my wife passed away, sometimes I shut myself and I isolated in a sense, because of the sorrow and sadness.”
Vassos later got Liong onto the dance floor and sat down with him for a one-on-one chat. Ling then told her that his wife passed away six years prior. “It was very tough,” he said. “I only dated one lady, which was my wife. And I was dated by my wife only one man.”
He said after several years his daughters told him he could be sad about his loss but not sad every day for the rest of his life. “Today is the first happiest day for me since my wife passed away,” Ling said of the prom.
Fans reacted on Instagram, with some dubbing Ling, “The People’s Prom King.”
In the comment section to a TikTok video of the scene, one fan wrote, “Charles needs to be bachelor. I need him to find someone 🥰.”
“Give him his own season!!! We need to find him love! ❤️,” another agreed.
Several fans admitted they were “crying” over the scene with Ling.
“When the camera zoomed in and he’s just sitting there watching everyone…he deserves the most 🥺,” one commenter wrote.
“Charles deserves everything good in life 🥹💖😩,” another fan wrote.
“Give him his own season RN!!!” another agreed.
Nick Viall Also Called For Charles To Be the Next ‘Golden Bachelor’
In his “Golden Bachelor” intro, Ling shared that he had been married to his wife for 36 years before she died suddenly.
Speaking on his podcast “The Viall Files,” former “Bachelor” star Nick Viall petitioned for fans to“protect Charles at all costs.”
“How adorable is Charles? Literally the only person him and his wife ever dated,” Viall said, before addressing the sudden death of Ling’s wife from an aneurysm. “I mean God, my heart breaks for what that man the state of mind that man was in when that happened. …I mean the wisdom this man has… When he was sitting there in the bleachers during prom by himself, my heart died.”
Viall captioned a TikTok post of the segment with, “Charles L for Golden Bachelor.”
Viall was critical of the original “Golden Bachelor” Gerry Turner. In 2023, he told Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” podcast that it was “tough” to watch the 72-year-old widower’s love journey given allegations that his dating history was different than he presented on the show.
“It’s tough to watch an entire season of Gerry selling this entire narrative that all he’s been doing since the passing of his wife was cry, play pickleball, and occasionally [have] this weird one-on-one moment with some hand lotion,” Viall said. “And in reality, we come to find out that the body was barely cold before he started dating. And it opens up a lot of questions about what was going on.”
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight just ahead of “The Golden Bachelor” premiere, Turner stated, “I haven’t dated in 45 years.”
Soon after, an exposé from The Hollywood Reporter alleged that Turner jumped back into the dating pool just a few months after his wife of 43 year, Toni, died in 2017. A specific live-in relationship with a woman named “Carolyn” was detailed.
Viall clarified that while Turner was “allowed” to date after his wife’s death and “didn’t cheat on anyone,” he felt that Turner should apologize for misleading viewers.
Turner ended his “Golden Bachelor” run with an engagement to Theresa Nist. The couple divorced in April 2024, just three months after their televised wedding.
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