When The Bachelor's Joey Graziadei joined Dancing With The Stars season 33, he went so far as to make a huge request to the producers in response to the backlash he and Kelsey Anderson had received over their relationship. Joey and Kelsey fell in love during The Bachelor season 28 and got engaged in the finale. Their relationship is still going strong, despite their critics' attempts to break them up. Joey's DWTS partner, Jenna Johnson, came under fire for being really cozy with Joey in promotional photos, even though both are in committed relationships.
The Bachelor 's Joey Graziadei opened up about navigating being physically close with dance partner Jenna Johnson while being in a relationship with Kelsey Anderson.
Joey and Jenna were interviewed on The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast recently and opened up about how they're navigating the reality of having to be physically close to each other when dancing, despite being in relationships with other people. Joey admitted that he wanted to be "comfortable" with the situation and not have to "worry about a lot of this noise," referring to criticism he receives on social media. As a result, he asked the DWTS producers to pair him up "with someone that was in a successful and healthy relationship."
When he spoke with the producers to request a particular type of dance partner, he told them that he "didn't want there to be any chance of noise on this" because he knows that rumors can spread fast on social media. The Bachelor star didn't want to risk his engagement with Kelsey facing even more scrutiny than it already has. He's in a "great place" in his life right now and didn't want baseless rumors to cause a "distraction" for him and Kelsey.
Before joining the DWTS cast, Joey also talked with Kelsey to make sure she was "comfortable" with the idea of putting their relationship back on TV in a major way again after The Bachelor. He admitted during the podcast interview that their relationship is in "probably the best spot we've been." It's gotten even better because Kelsey has become "more vocal" about defending their relationship from criticism, especially in recent weeks as Jenna has been scrutinized.
What Joey Graziadei’s DWTS Request Means For Kelsey Anderson Relationship
Joey Prioritizes Kelsey Above Anything Else
Joey and Kelsey both know what it's like to face intense scrutiny during and after appearing on a reality show. Joey already had to face that because he appeared on The Bachelorette first. Then he went through that cycle all over again for The Bachelor. Now he's on a third reality show, DWTS, and the negativity still hasn't died down.
By requesting a DWTS partner who was already in a "successful and healthy relationship," he tried to ensure that his fiancée wouldn't have to worry about any baseless rumors. They still popped up anyway, but at least this way, they were probably more muted than they might have been if he had not made that request. Even though he's competing on a fun reality show like DWTS, he's still prioritizing his relationship over anything else.
Our Take On Joey Graziadei’s DWTS Request
Joey & Kelsey Are In A Strong & Healthy Relationship
This isn't Joey's first (or even second) rodeo in the world of reality television. No matter what their critics say on social media, he knows that he and Kelsey are in a strong and healthy relationship together, and he doesn't want anything to get in the way of that. By requesting a partner like Jenna, he wanted to give Kelsey peace of mind. He seems to have largely succeeded, with the help of The Bachelor winner Kelsey tearing down critics who question Jenna's motives.
