Joey Graziadei Admits ‘DWTS’ Was ‘Difficult at Times’ on Kelsey Romance

Joey Graziadei admitted that he and fiancée Kelsey Anderson weathered storms in their relationship amid his stint on Dancing With the Stars season 33.

“It was difficult at times. I think she probably was open about that with you guys, too,” Graziadei, 29, said on the Wednesday, January 8, episode of “The Squeeze,” referring to Anderson’s previous appearance on the podcast. “It was never a walk in the park and it’s literally just because of timing. I would have loved — especially in this important beginning time in our relationship — I would have loved to have been able to put so much more time into it than I physically could have.”

Graziadei equated his time on DWTS, which he called “the coolest experience I’ve ever had,” to his past role as a tennis instructor.

“The way I always described it for her and tried to explain it for myself too is it felt like when I was teaching tennis as much as I possibly could. When you’re on court for 40 hours a week and you’re on the entire time.” he said. “Like, you’re talking to people, you’re giving every single version of yourself. When you go home, the last thing you want to do is be ‘on’ again.”

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He continued, “It’s not like I had to be ‘on’ in our relationship. But I have to be giving her attention, I have to be making sure that I’m there fully.”

Graziadei explained that he would take 5-10 minutes when he got home to “forget what was in my head with dancing” and then he would “want to hear all about [Kelsey’s] day.”

“But if I came in the door and I wasn’t fully excited, I need to explain why. Like, I was still doing a two-step in my head. Like, I didn’t even know where I was at the time,” he said. “But that was the hardest part initially. You know, everyone’s outside opinion at the beginning, there’s a lot of stuff you can’t control.”

While Graziadei and his partner, Jenna Johnson, competed for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy in fall 2024, Anderson, 26, addressed fan comments calling her “so strong” for watching the twosome dance. “We are all good in the hood,” Anderson said at the time, adding that Graziadei gives her the “security” and “reassurance” she needs in their relationship.

Graziadei gushed on “The Squeeze” that Anderson was “so amazing and so understanding.” Ultimately, Graziadei said his stint on DWTS — which he won with Johnson, 30 — made his relationship with Anderson even better.

“It made our relationship stronger at the end of the day, which is one of the things I’m most grateful for from the experience,” he said.

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Now, as Graziadei and Anderson look toward the future, the former Bachelor gushed that he’s excited to start planning their upcoming nuptials. (Graziadei popped the question to Anderson during The Bachelor season 28 finale, which aired in March 2024.)

“We want to start figuring out some things, planning for the wedding, getting all that kind of cleaned up and getting excited about what’s going to be there for us,” he said. “But I’m excited about the dumbest little things, too. Like, we’re finally cooking in our own kitchen together. We’re finally being able to set up a couch in the TV to have our own movie nights and we can have, you know, parties with people coming over and host people. Like, we have not been able to do that yet.”

“So those are some of the mini things I’m excited for,” he continued, “and my goal is just to be open and available to put as much time as I can into that.”