Gregg on his Golden Bachelorette exit: 'I don't think Joan liked me that much'

Looks like Pascal, The Golden Bachelorette's high-maintenance Frenchman, is going to have to find someone else to do his laundry.

Alas, Gregg Lassen — the jovial 64-year-old from Florida who signed up to do Pascal's wash for $100 a load — did not receive a rose from Joan Vassos on this week's episode of Golden Bachelorette. The retired university vice president bonded with Joan on night one over their mutual love of the beach, and he remained a fun and upbeat presence in the Bachelor mansion.

Gregg and Joan share a tropical cocktail on 'The Golden Bachelorette'.ABC
Entertainment Weekly caught up with Gregg to talk about his first reality TV experience, his (alleged) snoring problem, doing Pascal's laundry, who he thinks has the best connection with Joan, and more.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: On night one, you and Joan bonded over your love of the beach. What were some other moments you had with Joan that we didn't get to see?

GREG LASSEN: Truthfully, I don't think Joan liked me that much. There's 24 awesome men there, so it was a pretty competitive environment — and boy, she handled that so well.

On paper, we had so much in common that I was pretty relaxed about it. I gave her the sand dollar, and we talked about the beach being her happy place. Then for our next adventure, we had a fake beach setting. There was a short shot of that on the show, and she enjoyed that. Then our third chance was to play a little disc golf, which was my favorite sport. The production company set that up in the driveway of the mansion. That was great, but it was very clear to me very quickly that there were other men that she was more interested in — and honestly, that was fine. I'm in love with half of the guys in the house, so when she was dating other people, I was like, "Well, that's one of my new best friends." So I was just happy for them.

Do you think being on the show will change your approach to dating in the real world?

I've kind of fallen right back into my normal routine. My wife's been dead for three years, and it took me a while to get back into the swing of things. I was married for 33 years, but it's not that hard to meet other people. I'm outgoing, and I meet a lot of people, so I'm ready to date again, and it's not that big a deal.

Is anyone sliding into your DMs since you've been back?

Well, that part's funny. I wasn't really prepared for that. I haven't had an Instagram page until I got on the show. There's an awful lot of really lovely, supportive people, and a few are bold enough to say, "Hey, you're cute. I'm cute. Let's get it on." I'm staying with my youngest daughter right now up in the mountains, and she's like, "Dad, just don't." [Laughs]

It is really heartwarming to be my age and have people find me attractive from a distance. The people that have bothered to slide into my DMs — I had no idea what that meant — but they are very precise in why they find me attractive and desirable. It's sweet because I like hearing that I'm funny and that I'm intelligent. And the guys, we really just really bonded, and I want the best for my new brothers. I love that. We would stay up late at night and talk, my roommates and I — Pascal, Dan, and CK were my roommates — and I'm so close to those guys now.

Didn't Pascal kick you out of the room because of your snoring?

I mean, I love that that happened, because he's just such a cute guy and not like anybody I would've normally met. The first night we're having these conversations and we stayed up really late. And of course, if I'm overly tired, that's when the snoring really happens. So yeah, I woke up to Pascal leaning over me hitting me with a pillow. But I volunteered to go sleep downstairs.

Pascal and Gregg on 'The Golden Bachelorette'.ABC
Did you have to do that more than one night?

Every night! Yeah, from the first night on. Jack was already sleeping on one of the sofas downstairs, and he left me the rose ceremony room. So I felt a sense of history. We'd stay up late, we'd have our little four-boy chat and talking about life and the universe and everything. Then when it was time to go to bed, I'd grab my blanket and my pillow and they'd kiss me goodnight and I'd go downstairs.

You took Pascal up on his offer to do his laundry for $100 a pop. Approximately how much money did you earn during your time at the mansion?

I didn't take a dime from that guy. I love him like a brother. The background to that story is that we've gone into the mansion and we found out we were roommates, and I liked him instantaneously. He's just such an interesting person, and I'm a globalist, so I've spent a lot of time in France. He was really almost afraid of the experience, that he was going to have to fend for himself. Our room was right next to the laundry room, and I'm like, "Look, I'm ready to do a load of wash." And I asked all three of them. I'm like, "Dan, CK, Pascal, I'm about to do a load of wash. Just give me your stuff and I'll put it in there."

Pascal's eyes [went wide] and he was like, "Really?" I was a little bit afraid, though, because his clothes are worth more than my clothes. We were just goofing around and I'm like, "Well, what do I get out of this?" And he is like, "I will pay you!" He's invited me to come stay with him in Chicago, and I'm going to take him up on that. The three Chicago guys all became close to me, so I want to go hang out with Pascal. Jack and I have already been talking, and he's hilarious. And then Jordan and I turned out to be fraternity brothers, not in the same school, but I was at the University of Wisconsin when he was in the same fraternity at the University of Iowa. So I can't wait to get up there and hang out with all of them.

Gregg catches a catnap by the pool on 'The Golden Bachelorette'.ABC
Based on what you saw, which of the guys do you think have the best connection with Joan?

Well, that's fascinating because she didn't appear during the process to have a particular type. I mean, I love Keith, who got the first rose. Keith's such a fanboy of the show that he was almost overwhelmed by that experience, so Joan couldn't have made a better pick there. He is just a big teddy bear and a lovable man. Then there's the whole Pascal thing. Their first date was of course a really cool date, and I could see her eyes light up when he was in the room. And I know Chock well enough to know that he is just a really solid guy, but you take those three, and then Jordan and Jonathan — each one of those men, fantastic men in their own right, but you couldn't really find a commonality between the five of them.

They all have really different strengths and attributes, and so I know she'll be fine because she had a great variety of people, and I know of at least five people that she could connect with. At our age, you don't have to hit 100 percent. We all have learned how to live alone and with other people, so I don't think she's going to have a problem. Any one of those guys would be fantastic.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The Golden Bachelorette airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

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