The Golden Bachelorette’s Gary Levingston thinks his godmother, Tina Turner, would’ve been supportive of him attempting to find love on the show.
“I think she would say, ‘Enjoy your journey because it’s something that’s very special for you,’” Gary, 65, exclusively told Us Weekly at the Men Tell All taping. “She would’ve laughed because she probably wouldn’t have believed that I was going to do anything quite like this.”
Gary recalled Turner — who died at the age of 83 in 2023 — giving him “words of inspiration with many books” which he called “motivational” and lifted him “spiritually.”
“She was a very private person, so each word that she did offer were words of wisdom, and I didn’t take them lightly and I still carry them to this day,” he said. “I think that’s what she’s looking down from heaven saying.”
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While Turner would’ve embraced his stint on The Golden Bachelorette, Gary thinks she might have had some pointers for his Chippendales performance. (During an October episode of the show, Kaitlyn Bristowe hosted a strip-tease group date with the men — who got a lesson from the OG Chippendales.)
“She’d probably say, ‘Why did you open your shirt?’ I think the way they did that in slow motion — I was a little embarrassed at first because you want to be fit like Jonathan [Rone], but at 65, those days are long gone,” he told Us. “So I think she would’ve probably said, ‘What were you thinking about? What were you thinking? What were you thinking?’”
Gary pointed out that the group date was benefitting Stand Up to Cancer, which would’ve made Turner proud of him for being all-in on the performance. He added, “That would’ve probably brought her into a place of saying, ‘Good for you. I’m glad you went for it.’”
While Gary did not find The One in Joan Vassos, he’s walking away from the experience with a close-knit bond to several of his cast members.
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“I think the biggest thing that contributed to the closeness that we established was us feeling safe,” Gary told Us. “A safe place to be vulnerable and a safe place to let our walls down, and a safe place to say, ‘I’m pulling for you,’ and a safe place to say, ‘What can I do to help you,’ in a safe place of you don’t have to be this big bad guy, you can just be who you are.”
Gary noted that he and Joan’s fellow suitors “all gathered around each other.” He added, “We all rooted for each other and we couldn’t do anything wrong because we were supporting each other.”
The Golden Bachelorette finale airs on ABC Wednesday, November 13, at 8 p.m. ET
With reporting by Mariel Turner
