After getting to know each other on once-in-a-lifetime dates, utilizing crucial off-camera time during Fantasy Suite week, having tough but necessary conversations, and meeting each other’s families, Joey Graziadei thought he was getting down on one knee to propose to Bachelorette Season 20 lead Charity Lawson, only to have his heart broken.
“I thought it was happening. I was certain. I had zero doubt. I wanted to leave here with Charity. It’s all I wanted,” the fan-favorite contestant cried after learning Lawson found a stronger love with her current fiancé, Dotun Olubeko. “I want love. Bad. I just would ask the universe when? When is it gonna happen for me?”
The Bachelorette’s After the Final Rose special in August 2023 gave Graziadei the closure he needed to embark on another televised search for love — this time, as the leading man.
Ahead of The Bachelor Season 28 premiere on Monday, January 22, the 28-year-old teaching tennis pro hopped on a Zoom call with Decider to tease the emotional journey ahead, his fears going into the show, the ending that franchise host Jesse Palmer calls “an unprecedented shocking first in Bachelor history,” and more.
“I always look at myself as just a normal guy that’s lucky to be in this position. I have insecurities like anyone else and part of that is someone choosing you, part of that is feeling uncomfortable being in the situation, and dealing with dating this many women at once when I would never do this anywhere else,” Graziadei explained. On top of the typical challenges a franchise lead faces, Graziadei had the added chaos of welcoming 32 women to the mansion — the most to ever arrive on Night 1 — and simultaneously dating two sisters. (Yes, blood relatives! Don’t worry, we’re just as confused as you are!)
“I learned pretty early on from being on the show how much things get thrown your way. And I didn’t expect that, obviously. But this was just another wrinkle,” Graziadei said. “What I focused on was as long as they were comfortable with it, I was going and trying to be comfortable with it, too. And I think you see that dynamic really start on Night 1.”
Another early twist? Contestant Lea Cayanan, a 23-year-old account manager from Waipahu, Hawaii, met Graziadei during the After the Final Rose special and received a mysterious sealed envelope from host Jesse Palmer, but was instructed not to open it until she was in the mansion. “It’s not a date card. However, it is absolutely going to help you on your journey. And it will absolutely change everything,” Palmer explained. Promos for the premiere show contestants stressing over the envelope’s unknown contents and Cayanan calling the reveal “tough to navigate.” So we’ll have to tune in to see how that “wrinkle” unfolds.
Those who watched Lawson’s season of The Bachelorette know that Graziadei’s run was largely wrinkle-free until crunch time. He and Lawson set the record for longest kiss in Bachelor history (4:25!), explored New Orleans by horse and carriage, tore up the tennis court, and had honest conversations about being in an interracial relationship that left them hopeful for the future. Then Hometown Week arrived, and Graziadei’s outspoken Uncle Joe voiced concerns that his nephew wasn’t being entirely genuine, planting a seed of doubt in Lawson’s mind. When confronted, Graziadei assured Lawson that he’d been his authentic self throughout the process, while acknowledging that he does have insecurities outside of the show, and when the cameras are off, he won’t necessarily always be on. “If this is a relationship where we had more time together, you’d be able to see more moments like last week, more times where I get in a funk or have a sense of doubt,” Graziadei told Lawson. As a viewer, the vulnerability was refreshing. And from what we’ve seen in the premiere, that sense of emotional transparency will carry over to Graziadei’s season.
In addition to his fears that “the one” could walk out and his love would go unrequited on The Bachelor, Graziadei admitted he did worry about losing his authentic self along the way and made repeated efforts to ground himself — and his contestants — throughout the experience. “I don’t try to act like I have it figured out. I’m hard on myself. I want things to go well, but I don’t try to be that person that acts like they haven’t figured it out and I know I can try to at least show that as much as I can through the show,” he explained. And yes, for anyone wondering, we could be seeing Uncle Joe on our TV screens again soon.
“We had a chance to chat on the show. I’m not sure if it’s going to make it in [but] he did have a little bit of a moment with me early on,” Graziadei confirmed. “That was definitely interesting to see that on TV. We have a different relationship, but he’s one of the most important people in my life. And I actually am sort of grateful how our relationship has built since that show in general. It was already strong and it’s even stronger. He’s in my corner. He supports me 100% and just knows that I learned a lot through my time on The Bachelorette and he’s very happy for me to do as well as I can in the position I’m in now.”
Someone else who’s in Graziadei’s corner? The Golden Bachelor star Gerry Turner, who invited the Bachelor lead on a group date to help give his ladies some pickleball pointers. Since then, Graziadei has been in touch with several Golden Gals, including members of the iconic clique ASKN (April Kirkwood, Susan Noles, Kathy Swarts, and Nancy Hulkower), who joined the lead for some Bachelor promo and will cameo on his journey to find love.
“Gerry’s been great through the whole thing — from the beginning of getting to meet him on his season and talking to him about it all at AFR to the Golden Wedding. I’m so happy for him and Theresa. They have a beautiful love that everyone can see, and I’ll take any advice I can get,” Graziadei said. “I can definitely tease the ASKN ladies will be on an episode, and I know people are gonna love seeing them on their TVs again.”
When Graziadei was cast as The Bachelor’s lead, it seemed as though his question to the universe — “When is it gonna happen for me?” — was finally answered. Bachelor Nation assumed an engagement would be forthcoming, but after dramatic teasers of the season ahead dropped, which show Graziadei sobbing, an SUV driving away, an untouched final rose, and conversations with producers, who knows what to think.
“You can see in those promos I’m obviously emotional. That can be taken in so many ways. I just have to say the same thing that Jesse said: I do believe it’s something that hasn’t happened before. And I know people are gonna speculate, but it’s just one of those things you have to tune in to figure out how it actually happens.” When asked if Graziadei is happy today, he replied, “I’m very happy with the whole experience. I’m gonna stay positive through all of this. There’s no way you can’t.”
So will Graziadei find his forever doubles partner? We’ll have to tune in to The Bachelor Season 28 premieres Monday, January 22 on ABC to find out. New episodes air Mondays from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. ET with next-day streaming is available on Hulu.
