Joey Graziadei Had 1 Request for Dancing with the Stars: A Partner Who Was in ​​a 'Healthy Relationship'

Joey Graziadei had one request upon joining Dancing with the stars.

The former Bachelor — who popped the question to fiancée Kelsey Anderson on Season 28 of the ABC dating show — revealed on Almost famous podcast that he wanted to stop the rumor mill before it started when it came to his partner on the dance floor.

“I was thinking about going in,” explained Graziadei, 29. “I wanted to be in a situation where I was comfortable and didn’t have to worry about all this noise. So I asked when I entered the show to be matched with someone who was in a successful and healthy relationship.”

“I didn’t want to make a fuss about it because I know sometimes that comes with the show and the territory,” he recalled.

From left: Kelsey Anderson and Joey Graziadei at the 2024 Disney Upfront at the Javits Center on May 14, 2024 in New York City.

Dia Dipasupil/Getty

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Graziadei said he didn’t want the show to affect him because he’s in “such a great place in my life with everything that Kelsey and I have built that I didn’t want it to get in the way.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, Graziadei and his partner Jenna Johnson — who welcomed son Romeo with wife Vala Chmerkovskiy in January 2023 — noted that they’re not surprised by fan speculation about their relationship on the dance floor.

“We knew we were coming in as a bachelor thing,” he said. “I think it’s understandable that people always pay attention to my relationship and Kelsey and I have talked about it. Before I did it, I made sure she was comfortable putting it out into the world again.”

“I think we were more surprised that people couldn’t step back and understand the relationship situation that I was in, the relationship that Jenna was in. We were kind of hoping that people would be a little more aware of it, but we weren’t necessarily surprised,” he added.

From left: Jenna Johnson and Joey Graziadei attend the DIRECTV Gets Real with PEOPLE & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY event hosted by Ariana Madix.

Todd Williamson/Shutterstock for Dotdash Meredith

Timeline of Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson’s relationship

Graziadei was clear that there was nothing romantic between them, saying, “We want to be able to connect and have what we have on the dance floor and have that friendship and trust with each other without that assumption of something that we would never be doing.”

As for Johnson, she noted, “I think it’s very obvious that my relationship is known on the show. I mean, I have a child [and] my husband is also on the show and I thought, you know, people will obviously know that Joey is engaged.”

Jenna Johnson and Val Chmerkovskiy. Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Last week, Anderson responded to online comments about her fiance’s closeness to Johnson with a hilarious quip about how she “won a Super Bowl ring” after vying for Graziadei’s heart on Bachelor last year. She also asked fans to cool down with jealous comments.

“So many people say, ‘Kelsey, why is Jenna touching your man like that?’ And honestly, I don’t know… Maybe because it’s her job? Maybe because she’s a professional dancer and she has to touch him to dance, that’s how I understand it,” Anderson said in a TikTok posted on September 19. “I’m so tired of everyone saying, ‘Kelsey is so strong, I wouldn’t could do this, I wouldn’t be able to watch this if I was Kelsey’.”

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“Let’s do a little recap. Do you remember how Joey and I met? We met Bachelor. He dated 31 other women while he was dating me, and I won a Super Bowl ring,” she joked. “I have to have a certain level of security to go through all that, and Joey and I are still together and going strong after all these years those follies. Joey also needs to be the type of man who gives me… the security I need and deserve in our relationship. So we’re all good in the Hood.”

Anderson joked that if she can “survive” dating the ex-Bachelor alongside other women then she “can survive watching him dance with a married woman with a cute baby boy.” She then added: “I’m very proud of Joey, I think everyone should be. He’s killing it.”

Johnson commented on Anderson’s post, writing, “That’s my girl right there 😍😍,” to which she replied, “😚 😚 😚 .”

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Dancing with the stars airs Tuesdays at 8:00 PM ET on ABC and Disney+, with episodes available to watch the next day on Hulu.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education