Reese Witherspoon’s daughter, Ava Phillippe, made a surprise appearance at the Golden Bachelor finale on Thursday, November 30.
“Am I crazy or is Reese Witherspoons daughter at the golden bachelor finale??? #TheGoldenBachelor,” one viewer questioned on X (formerly Twitter), sharing two photos of someone who looked like Ava, 24, in the audience.
ABC executive Robert Mills was quick to weigh in and confirmed Ava was indeed in the crowd.
“This is her,” he wrote. “Her mother Betty is here as well. #TheGoldenBachelor.”
Mills was referring to Ava’s grandmother and Reese’s mom, Mary Elizabeth “Betty” Witherspoon.
Other Golden Bachelor viewers couldn’t get over who Ava was sitting next to.
“Is Ava Phillippe sitting next to Joey on #TheGoldenBachelor ?” one social media user posted, referring to the forthcoming Bachelor, Joey Graziadei. Another person added, “Was that Ava Phillipe (Reese Witherspoon’s daughter) next to Joey? #TheGoldenBachelor #GoldenBachelor.”
A third posted, “I wonder why she’s there and why is she next to Joey.”
The grandmother and granddaughter duo were members of the first-ever Golden Bachelor live finale and were joined by members of Bachelor Nation including Charity Lawson, Zach Shallcross and Rachel Recchia were also in the audience as they watched Gerry Turner wrap up his journey to find love.
Gerry, 72, is set to give his final rose to either Leslie Fhima or Theresa Nist.
While he nearly turned down ABC’s initial offer to become the franchise’s first-ever Golden Bachelor lead, fans have loved watching the Indiana native’s journey to find love.
“As I was dating [before the show], I was looking for the person that I would spend the rest of my life with regardless of the label,” Gerry told Us Weekly exclusively in September. “And as I got closer and closer to the process started in the show, I really kind of came to realize that I did indeed want to be married, that I wanted that commitment, that two-way street. And so as I got into the show, that was my objective.”
Before his stint as the Golden Bachelor, Gerry was married to his high school sweetheart, Toni, for 43 years before her sudden death in 2017.
Gerry did say that he was forced to “give up a lot of my personal freedoms,” when opening his heart to finding love, but it was worth it in the end. When reflecting on Toni’s thoughts about his journey, Gerry told Us that she would be “excited” about the “good conclusion” of his season.
