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

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

Zoe Winkler, 44, almost did reality TV in its early days.

“Do you remember when I was in the running to be The Bachelorette?” she asked her dad on Wednesday’s episode of her podcast, What in the Winkler?!

“Oh, my goodness, and we put a stop to that,” he answered. “But only your protection.”

There was another big opportunity, too, she had with two friends, one of whom was now–reality queen Kim Kardashian.

“There wasn’t even that much reality TV out. It was just The Real World,” Zoe said. “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 peek at what the show would be like. Since Zoe had just finished college, she was living at home at the time. The producer encountered the senior Winkler, who still remembered exactly what he said.

“I said, ‘It is so lovely that you’re here. I can suggest some really good restaurants. My daughter is not doing your show.'”

Zoe noted that “it worked out for Kim, because she went on to become the most famous person in the world.”

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Her dad’s actions, however, led to her entering the classroom: “I became a teacher, which was the best job and what I always truly wanted to do.”

She was “born to do that,” the elder Winkler said. Reality TV “was so not the right thing for you to do in your life. It would have just perverted your trajectory. I really believe that.”

She was surprised when the producer later walked into her classroom, because she was teaching his child. Zoe has since cofounded the nonprofit This Is About Humanity, which describes itself as “a community dedicated to raising awareness about separated and reunified families and children at the border.”

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