Joey Graziadei is embarking on a new journey: The start of his 30s.
The Bachelor star celebrates his milestone birthday May 24. And over the past year, he's been checking items off his bucket list of 30 things to do before turning 30. These have ranged from traveling to Japan and going to the Super Bowl to taking a cooking class and learning how to dance (considering he’s the reigning Dancing With the Stars champion, it’s safe to say he’s got that one down). And he’s shared many of these experiences with his fiancée Kelsey Anderson.
But it wasn’t that long ago that finding love was on Joey’s to-do list. And after the contestant from Charity Lawson’s season of The Bachelorette didn’t get her final rose, he set out to find his soulmate as The Bachelor’s season 28 lead.
"I want someone that’s very open, that’s caring, adventurous, fun," Joey said on the premiere episode that aired in January 2024, "someone that feels really comfortable in their own skin."
He found that person in Kelsey, who admittedly didn’t expect to fall head over heels on the show.
"I came on The Bachelor excited to embrace a unique life experience," the former junior project manager wrote on Instagram in March 2024. "I was open to love, but not set on it. My mindset going in was that Joey is just a guy and I’m just a gal and we have no idea if we will mesh or not, so let’s find out…and boy did I."
So much so that Joey and Kelsey got engaged in Tulum on the season finale.
"After fantasy suites, Dez (my producer& now friend) asked me what loving Joey felt like," she continued in her post. "I said it feels like a perfect day, when the sun is out, the clouds are fluffy, when it’s not too cold or too hot and everything just feels right! Joey, loving you is effortless like a beautiful sunny day."
But the sun hadn’t set on their TV run. About six months after The Bachelor finale aired, it was announced that Joey would be competing on season 33 of Dancing With the Stars. And while the former tennis teaching pro and his dance partner Jenna Johnson took home the mirrorball trophy, he admitted navigating the competition and a new relationship wasn’t easy.
“It was never a walk in the park, and it’s literally just because of timing,” Joey said on a January episode of The Squeeze, noting Kelsey had encouraged him to go on the show. “I would have loved—especially in this important beginning time in our relationship—I would’ve loved to have been able to put so much more time into it than I physically could’ve.”
Still, Kelsey suggested Joey didn’t miss a step.
"Honestly, coming from the show that we were on I just feel like I was able to conquer anything with our relationship," the 27-year-old told E! News in February. "I have a lot of confidence in him, and he always made sure to make time for me, whether it was writing a sweet little card for me or making sure that he took time to take me out on a date. He always made sure that I felt special. Even when he was dancing eight hours-10 hours a day and he was exhausted, he always made sure he made time for me."
These days, Kelsey and Joey are enjoying life away from the cameras. "It’s been great," she added. "We still are super busy, but it’s nice to be able to just live life for us."
However, they still give fans peeks inside their world on social media. This comes with both rosy aspects (like support from their followers) and thorny ones, including public scrutiny. For instance, when Kelsey wasn’t wearing her engagement ring, she had to clarify in a January TikTok this was only because she was trying to avoid "excess wear and tear,” pointing out the ring is simply a symbol and doesn’t change the fact that they're engaged.
"I know that I never have to ever reply," she noted to E! about online comments, "but I do like to reply sometimes because I think that it's funny or sometimes I just want them to know, 'Hey, everything's good.' But I don't think that I feel a whole lot of pressure that it’s a necessity. I like to reply when I want to. And if I let people speculate, that’s also good with me sometimes—if I don't want to reply to it. I do understand that people are invested in our relationship and us as people, so I try to give them a little bit of insight sometimes where I can. I think that the people that support us are really great, and I’m just thankful that they do.”
And who knows? Maybe fans will be able to steal a look into Kelsey and Joey’s romance for more than just a sec again one day. When asked if they'd ever consider a televised wedding, the bride-to-be replied, "I'm not sure. I think that we really want the moment to be for us, but we also really appreciate the people that support us. So, I think that we would just have to talk about it together and see what happens whenever, if, that comes."
Besides, they’re taking their time with wedding planning for the right reasons.
"We really don’t want to be stressed,” Kelsey told Sports Illustrated Swimsuit May 7, noting they’re aiming for a spring 2027 ceremony. "We don’t want to just throw things together."
And they're perfectly happy just watching their love continue to bloom.
"Kelsey, my life has gotten immensely better with you in it," Joey wrote on Instagram for her birthday in April. "Our love is anything but ordinary and I can't wait to continue to see it grow. Love you forever."
