As Grocery Store Joe Amabile searches for love on Bachelor In Paradise following his split last year from Kendall Long, he's receiving support from viewers, including fellow contestant Kenny Braasch's 1-year-old nephew, Colt. Joe and Kendall met on the show in 2018, but announced a mutual split in January 2020 that was largely due to distance -- while Kendall resides in Los Angeles, Joe prefers to be in Chicago near his tight-knit family. Now that he's back at the beach for a second time, fans of all ages are rooting for Joe to find lasting happiness.
On the season premiere of Bachelor In Paradise, Joe struggled for most of the first day. Not only was it difficult to return to the place where he initially fell for Kendall, but he also questioned whether or not he belonged there because of his age. In his mid-30s, Joe is about a decade older than the majority of the female contestants. Kenny, who was first introduced to Bachelor Nation on Tayshia Adams and Clare Crawley's season of The Bachelorette, faced a similar issue as a 40-year-old. However, a naked Kenny quickly hit it off with Mari Pepin, 25, from Matt James' season of The Bachelor.
During the premiere, Kenny shared on his Instagram Story a photo of his nephew and godson Colt, who turned 1 in March, watching the show on a massive outdoor screen. Colt can be seen sitting on the edge of his tiny blue lawn chair when Joe appears in his casual T-shirt, which the other contestants said made him look like he just came from the gym. Kenny captioned the picture, "My nephew @coltthebaby loves @joeamabile1!" Joe later reshared the photo on his own Instagram. Kenny didn't chronicle his nephew's reaction to seeing his uncle adventure around the beach without clothes for two hours.
Fans were first treated to the cuteness of Colt when Kenny was on The Bachelorette. Though he came off as the "bad boy" type because of his tattoos and muscles, they swooned when he revealed his softer side as Uncle Kenny. Favorite photos include one of Kenny holding up Colt like Simba in The Lion King, and another of the dynamic duo watching the show together, with Colt sporting a onesie that says, "Uncle Kenny's wingman." Many viewers hope to receive more adorable Colt content, as well as more Kenny airtime, which they felt was severely lacking throughout his tenure on The Bachelorette.
They also hope to see Grocery Store Joe fall in love. With his endearingly quirky personality, laidback sense of fashion (which includes the occasional socks with flip flops) and thick Chicago accent, any woman would be lucky to call Joe her own. But it seems one woman in particular has caught his eye. Despite a 10-year age gap, Joe and Serena Pitt got pretty cozy toward the end of the episode. It will be interesting to see how their relationship unfolds when Joe's ex, Kendall, hits the Bachelor in Paradise beach later this season. Colt will surely have a strong reaction to anyone who may cause his favorite contestant heartache.
Source: Kenny Braasch/Instagram