Zach's Uncle Pat On The Bachelorette Played A Famous Seinfeld Character

Now that The Bachelorette co-lead Rachel Recchia has her final four contestants narrowed down, that can only mean one thing: It’s time for hometown dates. Among the remaining men vying for Rachel’s final rose is Zach Shallcross, a 25-year-old tech executive from Anaheim, California who also happens to have a famous uncle. In ABC’s sneak peek of the Aug. 22 episode, viewers briefly see Zach’s “Uncle Pat” telling him and Rachel, “I just feel sorry for those other fellas, that’s all I can say.”

Even if you thought your eyes were deceiving you, the voice was a dead giveaway that Zach’s uncle is Patrick Warburton, aka Puddy from Seinfeld. After the promo aired following the Aug. 15 episode, Warburton confirmed his Bachelorette appearance. “I’m being asked ‘why are you on [The Bachelorette]?’” the prolific actor tweeted on Aug. 16. “It’s my favorite show? I’m addicted..? I have a crush on that Zach Shallcross fellow? Or…all of the above? Or…Zach is my nephew? Or…all of the above.”

The brother of Zach’s mother, Megan Shallcross, Warburton has lent his unmistakable voice to Family Guy’s Joe Swanson, Kronk from The Emperor’s New Groove, Ken from Bee Movie, and Steve Barkin from Kim Possible, among several other voice roles. In addition to Seinfeld, his many onscreen projects include The Tick, Ted, Rules of Engagement, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Space Force.

Zach, for his part, has included his uncle in multiple social media posts, most recently in February after attending the Warburton Celebrity Golf Tournament with his family in Palm Desert, California. “Another great weekend in the desert for St. Jude! The Warburton family is killing it per usual ($4 million raised!)” Zach captioned his Feb. 28 Instagram post. In the comments section, Warburton wrote, “Awesome getting to spend that time with y’all you handsome rockstar!” About three years earlier, Zach shared a photo with his famous uncle at the 2019 Warburton charity golf event, benefitting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Once Uncle Pat made his debut in the Aug. 22 episode, Twitter couldn’t get enough of his familiar, iconic voice — which, for many viewers, was enough to crown Zach the Bachelorette winner on the spot.

Zach’s Uncle Pat isn’t the only one who seemed to approve of his and Rachel’s budding romance. In addition to the Aug. 22 Bachelorette episode’s preview showing Zach telling Rachel that he’s in love with her — and her response that she’s also “been falling in love,” presumably with him — his family appears to happily embrace the couple during their California visit.

After all, Rachel and Zach already swapped childhood stories earlier in the season, leading them to discover that both of their dads are aviation enthusiasts. Following that Week 3 one-on-one date, which he referred to as “one of the best nights of [his] life,” Zach seemed ready to go all in, saying, “I think Rachel is going to be my future wife.”

Only time will tell if introducing Rachel to his family officially sealed the deal.