‘The Golden Bachelorette’: Who Will Be the Final Two? Fan Favorite Charles L. Reveals His Picks

It’s currently 11:18 p.m. in Suzhou, China, and The Golden Bachelorette fan favorite, Charles Ling, is wide awake and ready to party. Well, maybe not party, but he’s full of the same joyous energy that made him the breakout star of Joan Vassos’s season of The Golden Bachelorette.

“Because of tonight’s interview, I took a little nap this afternoon,” the 66-year-old retired financial analyst from Pennsylvania tells me over Zoom. “So yes, I’m full of energy now. Plus, guess what? With the good food I’ve been consuming in the last few weeks, if we get to do a kickball game again like we did on the show, we are not going to only win, we’re going to win big!”

If you watched the latest episode of The Golden Bachelorette—during which, spoiler alert, Mark was sent home—then you know the show just wasn’t the same without Charles’s gentle spirit and hilarious anecdotes. While it was fairly clear early on that Charles wasn’t going to go all the way considering his connection with Joan was more of a friendship and the fact he needed to work through the grief of his wife’s passing, he still provided a levity to the show that everyone from Joan to the men to us viewers at home responded to.

Charles has felt a lot of the love on social media, but he’s been traveling for “slightly over a month” in China, where the show doesn’t air, and therefore is still not quite prepared for the reception he’ll get when he’s back in the States.

He flies to Los Angeles later this month to attend the taping of the Men Tell All; until then, he’s focused on his last few days of relative anonymity. “I have more friends coming to visit me tomorrow, so I need to entertain them,” he says, admitting they won’t be talking about the show.

Of course, he is happy to talk about the show and the experience with us, which is what we did for way longer than our seven-minute interview was scheduled for. From his Chippendales dance to dipping his toe back into the dating pool, nothing was off-limits including the two men he predicts will make it to the finale. Will he be right? Read on.

A lifelong friendship.

Disney/Gilles Mingasson

Glamour: What has life has been like since the show started airing?

Charles Ling: I feel more optimistic now, and the future seems brighter for me. Some of the worries I had, they’re gone. Body-wise, I feel a little bit lighter than before.

That’s so sweet, and I’m so happy to hear that. What was it like the first time you were recognized in public?

Honestly, this is a very, very big surprise. I never thought I would have lots of great fans love me in the show. But here in China, they don’t air this program. So besides a few close friends and my families, the rest of the people don’t know yet.

Are you going to come to Los Angeles for the Men Tell All taping?

Yes, I’ll be there.

You’re not going to be prepared for what’s going to happen.

Oh boy. Should I wear a mask?

It depends. If you want people to bombard you and hug you, then come as you are.

Yeah, I’ll make it a kind of assessment when I’m there. Yeah. [Laughs]

You’ll be in our hearts forever, but when you went home, how hard were the days that followed?

It was very, very emotional. Of course everybody wants to stay to the end of the program and wants to be the lucky person to be chosen by Joan. But the reality, sometimes it can be different. So when I saw all the roses gone, and for me without getting one, I know, “Uh-oh, Charles, it’s time.” It was kind of sad because I don’t want to leave Joan and other gentlemen in the mansion, but at the same time I told myself, “Charles, this is the reality. You have to face it.” Of course it was not easy.

Even when I was on the bus to the airport, I asked myself, “Am I on the bus or I’m still in the mansion?” That kind of feeling. But once I’m in the hotel room, I said, “Uh-oh, that’s not my mansion room. Where’s my bunk bed?”

The guys felt your absence at the mansion. The most recent episode just wasn’t the same without you there. They should have just kept you around just because you made everybody happy. There’s enough room in the mansion. Just stay!

Yeah, it was sad for everybody, I can imagine. It was sad. When I hugged Joan, it was not easy that day, compared with other rose ceremonies. That night it was very, very hard.

The four remaining guys are Chock, Jordan, Guy, and Pascal. I know you love them all, but who do you think might be the best fit, the most compatible with her?

I joke with the people, and I say the final rose will come to one of them in my room.

In your room?

My roommates.

So the final rose will be one of the guys you roomed with.

Yeah. So [if] my guess is correct, it will be either Chock or Guy. I don’t know what will be the end [result], but this is my guess. During the days at the mansion, we always joke, and sometimes the guys would say, “Charles, what do you think?” And I say, “I have the data. I have the data.” So that become a very popular phrase. So anytime they got puzzled and couldn’t find an answer, they will come to me and say, “Charles, where’s the data?” I say, “Well, give me a minute. I’ll let you know if you pay me $10 or $20.”

So you have the data that it will either be Chock or Guy. That’s your prediction?

Yes. But, Jessica, I can be wrong, you know.

I understand. So basically, you’ll visit the happy couple in Wichita, Kansas, or Reno, Nevada, since that’s where Chock and Guy live, respectively. Which city would you rather visit?

It’s hard to call. I’ve never been to those cities.

Who do you talk to the most now since you’ve been off the show?

Quite a few guys, like Guy and Gary. And Mark. I talk to most of them.

We need a Golden Bachelor in Paradise, so you can all be together again.

Wow, that’d be nice.

Have women been reaching out to you on Instagram to go on dates? What do you say?

I have not responded yet due to the technical issues here. But when I return, definitely I will take the time, reply to them, and I would thank them, yes.

Are you prepared to go on a lot of dates?

Not really yet.

You’ll need a bodyguard then. Maybe Mark or Gary because you’re going to be in high demand.

Maybe Keith.

Or Keith. You’ve got options.

Keith, it will be safer for me.

So since you’ve been in China, what have your days been like?

I visited relatives, friends, teachers, so and so, and also I did some sightseeing. I really enjoyed it.

What did your friends and family think of your Chippendales dance?

They said, “Charles, you were insane.” Because first of all, I’m not a good dancer, even though I love to dance. And second they say, “Oh boy, how come you can be dancing like that?” I said, “I don’t know. I was brought into that room, and seems like there’s no other choice but to dance, so I tried my best.”

Chock, Pascal, Dan R., Charles L., Jonathan R., Keith, and Mark get their groove on during the Chippendales group date.

Disney/Gilles Mingasson

You did great. It was the fact that you were so game to do it, and it went to a great cause. And as much as you say that you felt lighter after being on the show, you made us happier just by watching you.

Thank you. I really enjoyed it, and I want to call this is a lifetime change opportunity. So anybody can have this kind of opportunity, I would advise, go grab it. You will not regret.

Well, I predict you’re not going anywhere. Just like you say you have the data, I feel like I have the data, even though I don’t. But I’m going to make a prediction that ABC is going to keep you around for lots of things.

Wow. Thank you. Let’s see. I trust your data.

Well, I know you need to go to sleep…

Am I allowed to tell my stories what I saw here?

Sure!

I think the food I ate, my roommates from the mansion will be jealous. And the cities I visited, they will definitely be jealous too. And they might say, “Charles, what if we set up a group tour for me as a tourist guy? And guess what? Pascal will pay everything.”

[Laughs] You need to pitch this to ABC, okay? A travel show to China, and you are the tour guide. I’m going to come with you all to document it.

Oh, sure. The guys and including yourself would not regret it. Just to give you one fascinating idea, I took out my friend today for lunch, and I think I spent about $30. You know what we ate probably will cost us about $150 back in the States.

We had a gorgeous soup with some special fish in the lake. The pork was cooked in the way, I think one of the few best in the last month. And we had a fresh water shrimp, they boil, but with a nice ingredient. And then one last one is the mixture of vegetables. They’re all fresh from the seasonal fresh vegetables. Boy, what a lunch.

And also another example, my last trip to Guilin, another gorgeous scenery city, so pretty. And I was there for six days, including the bullet speed trains, and four- or five-star hotels. All the expenses, including meals, cost me less than $1,000.

See, this show would be so cheap to produce. We’ve got to talk to ABC.

Yeah, I mean for $1,000 you can do so much around here. I’ll be very delightful as a free tourist guide. But tell your audience I cannot be a sugar daddy.

Oh my God. You cannot be their sugar daddy. This is too damn funny. I adore you, Charles.

Thank you, thank you.

Never change. Your wife was a lucky, lucky lady.

Yeah, I was lucky too, you know. We had a great, great life together. I really miss her.

I can only imagine. You definitely paid tribute to her on the show. I have a feeling that she was up there watching, and she got to see how loved she was.

Yeah. Thank you.

Well, I will see you at Men Tell All. I can’t wait.

I’ll look for you, and I can’t wait to see my mansion guys. And Joan.

And you know they’re going to make you sing the Mansion Men theme song. So practice that.

Sure, sure. “We are the mansion men,” something, something like that.

And come ready to dance.

Yes!