Chet Hanks Says His Family Texts Him About Watching 'The Surreal Life'

Yes, Tom Hanks has been watching his son Chet Hanks on The Surreal Life.

“I think they have been [watching],” Hanks, 34, exclusively told Us Weekly at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards on Wednesday, September 11. “I think that they’re traveling right now, but yeah, they’ve been sending me texts and letting me know that they’ve been watching.”

In addition to being an actor and musician, Chet is well known for being the eldest son of Tom, 68, and Rita Wilson. The couple, who wed in 1988, are also parents of son Truman, 28, while Tom shares his two eldest kids — Colin, 45, and Elizabeth, 42 — with his ex-wife, Samantha Lewes.

The Surreal Life follows the hilarity that ensues when a group of celebrities are placed in the same house for two weeks. The original reality series ran on VH1 for six seasons from 2003 to 2006 and was rebooted by MTV in 2022.

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Chet is one of many stars to appear on the show’s eighth season, which wrapped up earlier this month. Rather than being set up in a Hollywood Hills mansion, the cast — which also included Macy Gray, Johnny Weir and Ally Brooke — were sent on a getaway in Colombia.

“It was honestly one of the best times of my life,” Chet told Us about filming. “I had a blast. It was so much fun. I made a bunch of good friends. There was not one bad thing about it.”

He had such a fun time that he still keeps in touch with several of his costars. “I kick up with O.T. [Genasis] a lot when we’ve been running around the city,” he shared. “And I still keep in touch with Kim [Zolciak-Biermann], Josie [Conseco] and Tyler [Posey]. Yeah, I stay in touch with a lot of people.”

Chet and Zolciak-Biermann, 46, raised eyebrows on the show for their flirty interactions. Despite sparking romance speculation, Chet clarified to the Bravo star is strictly his “homegirl.”

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He stated: “Kim is cool as hell. We hung out in L.A. a couple weeks ago. We had dinner [and] caught up. She’s just really awesome. She’s really supportive of my country music that I’m doing, and she’s been introducing to me to people. So yeah, Kim’s dope.”

Chet told Us that his family is also supportive of the country music that he’s currently working on. “I’m recording an album right now,” he revealed. “I’m living in Nashville. I got signed to a record label and yeah, the music is really good. I’m really, really excited to put it out.”

His new music is inspired by all kinds of “life experience[s],” Chet said. “I’m also in a group with one of my best friends, his name is Drew Arthur. Our group’s called Something Out West. And yeah, just a lot of meaningful life experiences and heartbreak and all that good stuff.”

While music may be Chet’s current focus, he hinted at returning to reality TV in the future. “Absolutely, I would. I had a great time doing it, and I would absolutely keep it going and do it again,” he shared.”

As for whether any conversations of starring on his own show are in the works, he simply teased, “Maybe.”