Golden Bachelor’s Lily Reeves Shocks Fans: She’s Rita Wilson’s Sister and Tom Hanks Helped Raise Her Daughters md18

The 72-year-old contestant opens up about her famous family, her one-night elimination and her surprising Hollywood tie

Lily Reeves’ time on The Golden Bachelor may have been brief, but her Hollywood connection runs deep.

The retired elementary school teacher from Pacific Palisades, Calif., is the older sister of none other than Rita Wilson, who’s married to Tom Hanks.

Reeves, 72, remembers when Wilson, 68, first introduced Hanks, 69, to their family after his early film roles. “I remember when she did Volunteers and she came home after the movie and she just went, ‘Yeah, I think I really like this guy, you know?’” she tells PEOPLE exclusively in a wide-ranging interview about her family ties and time in the show. “And so when she first met Tom, he wasn’t very huge.”

“They’ve remained… very, very humble people in a way,” Reeves says. “They’ve always tried not to raise their kids to be spoiled brats. You know, ‘You have to earn things and all that.’ And so I’m happy for her that she has the life that she has. I got to experience a lot of really, really cool things, through Rita and Tom.”

“I’ve been to the Oscars, I’ve been to the Golden Globes, I’ve been to the Emmys, I’ve traveled on private jets, I’ve done great things. And of course I couldn’t afford that on teacher salary. So that was through their generosity,” she says.

Reeves also recalled the first time Wilson brought Hanks to dinner. “I think I had them over for dinner and I was already divorced at the time. And [Tom] didn’t eat vegetables, I remember. It was like, he didn’t want to eat vegetables at that time. I think he’s changed his diet since then. But he was very, very funny. I mean, it’s like, we’re always laughing, you know, he’s just as you perceive him, that’s who he is. He’s a super, super nice guy and just easygoing and everybody loves him,” Reeves says. “And he really helped raise my daughters in a way.”

Reeves’ daughter Carly Reeves also made a name for herself after she was the first contestant eliminated on Claim to Fame. Carly was outed as the niece of Hanks in the premiere by fellow contestant Hugo after her ties to fame were hinted at with a park bench — from Hanks’ iconic movie Forrest Gump — earlier in the show.

“[My daughters] saw Tom more than, really, their dad a lot of the time,” Lily says. “And, you know, he was there kind of as an adult, a good adult figure for my daughters to look up to also. And so I appreciate that too. He’s been wonderful. That’s all I can say.”

Lily’s surprising Hollywood connection came up after her elimination from The Golden Bachelor during the first week of the show’s second season starring 66-year-old retired NFL player-turned-lawyer Mel Owens.

“I’ve been a fan of the show like forever, since it started,” Lily says of why she applied to be a contestant. “And when I saw that they were having a golden version for the first time, the first one, I right away said, ‘Oh my god, this is right up my alley.’”

She adds, “I love it because I don’t like online dating. Maybe I can meet someone, they’re going to do the vetting. It would be great.”

Lily previously applied for Gerry Turner’s first season and almost made it on. “I got pretty far and then I didn’t get on,” she says. She applied again after the Palisades fires, which destroyed her home. “That was a big change in my life,” she says.

When she finally stepped out of the limo, she was “definitely nervous.”

“We were the last limo to arrive, and I was the first one out of that limo,” she says. “To me, being a fan of the show, I’m like, ‘Holy crap, this is the Bachelor Mansion. I’m like, ‘Ah, there it is. You know? There he is. He’s standing right there.’”

Lily says she found Owens “really handsome” but didn’t get much time to talk with him before her elimination. “I’m not going to lie, I was really sad and really disappointed that I was eliminated night one,” she said.

Though Lily is still open to finding love, she admits she isn’t a fan of online dating. “I am, but I’m lazy too, so I don’t want to, I don’t like online dating. And I just won’t do it. It’s like too much work,” she says with a laugh.

Lily says she’s hopeful love might happen more organically. “If I can’t meet somebody playing pickleball, playing tennis, playing golf, you know, I do all of these things. I go dancing. I mean, I do all of this stuff. And yeah, I’m hopeful. I want to meet someone, it’d be great, but I’m not willing to put the time in to do it unless it just happens organically.”

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