Joey Graziadei Admits DWTS Was ‘Difficult’ On Kelsey Romance

Joey Graziadei admitted that he and the fiancee Kelsey Anderson weathered the storms in their relationship amid his tenure Dancing with the stars season 33

“It’s been hard at times. I think she’s probably been open about it with you guys,” Graziadei, 29, said on Wednesday. “Squeeze,” referring to Anderson’s previous appearance on the podcast. “It’s never been a walk in the park and it’s literally just timing. I would have liked – especially at this important beginning of our relationship – I would have liked to have been able to devote much more time to this than I physically could have.’

Graziadei equalized his time DWTSwhich he called “the most amazing experience I’ve ever had,” to his past role as a tennis instructor.

“The way I’ve always described it to her and tried to explain it to myself, it’s like teaching tennis as much as I could. When you’re on the court 40 hours a week and you’re there the whole time.” he said. “Like, you’re talking to people, you’re giving every version of yourself. When you go home, the last thing you want to do is be turned on again.

He continued: “It’s not like I have to be ‘on’ in our relationship. But I have to pay attention to her, I have to make sure I’m fully there.”

Graziadei explained that it would take him 5-10 minutes when he got home to “forget what was on my mind with the dance” and then he would “want to hear all about (Kelsey’s) day.”

“But if I walked in the door and I wasn’t completely thrilled, I have to explain why. I kept doing two steps in my head. Like I didn’t even know where I was at that point,” he said. “But that was the hardest at first. You know, everyone has an outside opinion at the beginning, there are a lot of things you can’t control.’

While Graziadei and his partner, Jenna Johnsoncompeting for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy in the fall of 2024, Anderson, 26, addressed fan comments call her “so strong” for watching the two dance. “We’re all good,” Anderson said at the time, adding that Graziadei gives her the “assurance” and “assurance” she needs in their relationship.

Graziadei gushed on “The Squeeze” that Anderson was “so amazing and so understanding”. Eventually, Graziadei continued to work 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.

Now that Graziadei and Anderson are looking to the future, the former bachelor gushed that he’s excited to start planning their upcoming nuptials. (Graziadei he asked the question Anderson during Bachelor the season 28 finale, which aired in March 2024.)

“We want to start figuring things out, planning the wedding, cleaning things up and looking forward to what’s in store for us,” he said. “But I get excited about the stupidest little things.” Like, we’re finally cooking together in our own kitchen. We’re finally able to set up the couch on the TV to have our own movie nights and we can have, you know, parties with people who will come and host people. Like, we haven’t been able to do that yet.”

“So those are some of the mini things I’m excited about,” he continued, “and my goal is to be open and available to spend as much time as possible.”