Henry Winkler ‘puts a stop’ to his daughter’s reality TV plans

Henry Winkler spent most of his life on TV, from Happy Days on Arrested Development and Barry but he doesn’t want the same for his daughter.

Zoe Winkler, 44, practically made reality TV in its early days.

“Do you remember when I was running to be The Bachelorette?” he asked his dad on Wednesday’s episode of his podcast, What’s with Winkler?! Zoe Winkler and father Henry Winkler were photographed in 2022.

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“Oh, my goodness, and we stopped that,” he replied. “But just your protection.”

There is another great opportunity, too, with her two friends, one of whom is now a reality queen Kim Kardashian.

“There’s not that much reality TV out The Real World “said Zoe. “And me, Kim, and Sarah Howard were asked to be on a show called Quarter-Life Crisis.”

Someone from VH1 flew to Los Angeles to film a sizzle reel, or a preview of what the show was like. Since Zoe had just finished college, she was living at home at the time. The producer met with the senior Winkler, who remembered exactly what he said.

“I said, ‘It’s great that you’re here. I can suggest some great restaurants. My daughter doesn’t do your show.'”

Zoe noted that “it worked for Kim, because she became the most famous person in the world.”

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His dad’s actions, however, led him to enter the classroom: “I became a teacher, which is the best job and what I always wanted to do.”

He was “born to do that,” the elder Winkler said. Reality TV “isn’t the right thing to do with your life. It just twists your trajectory. I really believe that.”

He was surprised when the producer later entered his classroom, because he was teaching his son. Zoe has since founded the nonprofit It’s About People which describes itself as “a community dedicated to raising awareness about separated and reunited families and children on the border.”

Winkler and wife Stacy Weitzman are also the parents of son Max, who is following his father into show business, focusing on directing and producing. Winkler is the stepfather of his wife’s son from a previous relationship, Jed, who works behind the scenes in the music industry, according to PEOPLE.