Joey Graziadei admits DWTS was “hard at times” on Kelsey Romance
Joey Graziadei and Kelsey Anderson.
Axel/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagicJoey Graziadei admitted that he and the bride Kelsey Anderson weathered storms in their relationship amid his stay at Dancing with the stars Season 33.
“Sometimes it was difficult. I think she’s probably been open about it with you guys, too,” Graciaday, 29, said on the Wednesday, Jan. 8, episode of “Squeeze”, referring to Anderson’s previous appearance on the podcast. “It’s never been a walk in the park and it’s literally just because of the timing. I wish – especially at this important time of the beginning of our relationship – I wish I was able to devote much more time to this than I physically could.”
Gradiadej equaled his time on DWTSwhich he called “the coolest experience I’ve ever had,” to his past role as a tennis instructor.
“The way I always described it to her and tried to explain it to myself as well, it felt like when I was teaching tennis as much as possible. When you’re on the court 40 hours a week and on the court all the 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.
Joey Graziadea’s next performance on “Dancing with the Stars” will be very sentimental for his fiancee, Kelsey Anderson. “Honestly, it’s very special,” Anderson, 26, told us exclusively at the Us Weekly + Pluto TV Reality Stars of the Year Party at the Dream Hotel in Los Angeles on Thursday, October 10. “I love (…)
He continued: “It’s not something I should have been ‘on’ to in our relationship. But I have to pay attention to her, I have to be sure that I’m there completely.”
Graziadei explained that when he gets home, he’ll need 5-10 minutes to “get the dance thing out of my head” and then he’ll “want to hear all about (Kelsey’s) day.”
“But if I walked in the door and wasn’t completely excited, I have to explain why. Like, I was still doing two steps in my head. Like, I didn’t even know where I was at that moment,” he said. “But it was the hardest in the beginning. You know, in the beginning, everybody has an opinion, there’s a lot of things you can’t control.”
While Graciadei and his partner, Jenna Johnsoncompeting for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy in the fall of 2024, Anderson, 26, addressed fans’ comments calling her “so strong” to watch the dance together. “We’re all good in the hood,” Anderson said at the time, adding that Graziaday gave her the “security” and “reassurance” she needed in their relationship.
On The Squeeze, Graziadei stated that Anderson was “so amazing and so understanding”. In the end, Graziadei said that his stay on DWTS — which he won with Johnson, 30 — made his relationship with Anderson even better.
“At the end of the day, it strengthened our relationship, and that’s one of the things I’m most grateful for from the experience,” he said.
Kelsey Anderson proves she’s fiance Joey Graziadea’s No. 1 fan as he sets his eyes on the coveted Dancing With the Stars Len Goodman Mirror Ball Trophy. “If you asked me how proud I was of Joey…,” Anderson, 26, began in a TikTok posted on Monday, Nov. 25. “I would say that he (…)
Now that Graziadei and Anderson are looking to the future, the former Bachelorette said he’s excited to start planning their upcoming nuptials. (Graziadej asked a question to Anderson during A bachelor the season 28 finale, which aired in March 2024)
“We want to start figuring some things out, planning the wedding, cleaning it all up and getting excited about what’s in store for us,” he said. “But I also worry about the stupidest little things. Like, we’re finally cooking in our kitchen together. We can finally put a sofa in the TV to have our movie nights and we can have, you know, parties with people coming and hosting people. Like, we haven’t succeeded yet.”
“So those are some of the mini things that I’m really excited about,” he continued, “and my goal is just to be open and available to spend as much time as possible on it.”
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