Who is Joey Graziadei?

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at PSU chapter.

Reality television is a staple in my household and this certain man just can’t seem to get off my screen.

Joey Graziadei has been featured in the “Bachelorette” and “Dancing With The Stars,” and even starred in his very own season of “The Bachelor.”

Let’s start from the beginning.

Graziadei is from the small town of Collegeville, Pennsylvania, which is right outside of Philly. He attended West Chester University where he graduated in 2017 with a degree in communication and media studies. Graziadei was most notably the president of his fraternity and a member of the Division II Men’s Tennis Team.

After college, Graziadei moved to Hawaii to pursue his passion of tennis. He took a job as the Head Tennis Pro at a country club on the island of Kauai, which is where he worked before he got casted to appear as a contestant on “The Bachelor.”

Graziadei made his first appearance on reality television during Charity Lawson’s season of “The Bachelorette.”

He had an amazing run on Lawson’s season and even made it to the final two. After meeting Lawson’s family, her sister stated that she thought Joey could be the one. Lawson even admitted to being in love with both of her final two men.

Graziadei was confident in his love for Lawson, and even dropped on to his knee to propose, but Lawson crushed his heart when she confessed that she was going to chose the other contestant, Dotun Olubeko.

Thankfully, that wasn’t the end of the road for Graziadei. He was a fan favorite from Lawson’s season and was quickly casted to be the lead in his own season of “The Bachelor.”

Graziadei’s season on “The Bachelor” is arguably one of the best seasons in franchise history. I personally found Graziadei to be one of the most genuine and positive leads that we have had in a long time. His ability to connect with all of the contestants and his authentic personality made his season stand out to viewers and it brought in many new watchers each week.

Graziadei had a fantastic season on “The Bachelor,” but it wasn’t just him who made the season so great. The contestants on his season were some of the most unforgettable girls I have seen in Bachelor Nation history.

We had Daisy, who received the first impression rose and was quickly a fan favorite. We had Kelsey, whose bubbly personality shined through even after all she had been through. And of course we had Maria, who just couldn’t catch a break with the other girls.

This drama-filled season was one that I tuned into every Monday at 8 p.m. and is one that I could watch over and over again.

The ending of Graziadei’s season was one that will go down in “Bachelor” history. The unexpected turn of events left Kelsey Anderson as the sole contestant, after Daisy Kent decided to leave on her own terms.

Anderson and Graziadei are one of the best couples to come out of “The Bachelor” franchise, and they are still together to this day. They are currently engaged and fans hope to see them married in the near future, as they haven’t announced a wedding date yet.

Once again, this isn’t the end of Graziadei’s road.

This years season of “Dancing With The Stars” had some of the most viewers and voters in the shows history, and I have no doubt that had to do with Graziadei and the other amazing contestants including Ilona Maher, Dwight Howard, Stephen Nedoroscik, Danny Amendola and so many other notable celebrities.

Jenna Johnson and Graziadei were the front-running couple early out of the gate. That fact was clear after their first dance when this coupling got all sevens, which is practically unheard of for a premiere on “Dancing With The Stars.”

Graziadei and Johnson had some stand-out dances all season, which is the reason they stayed towards the top of the leaderboard every single week.

During the finale episode, it came down to Graziadei and Maher, but Graziadei was ultimately crowned the winner of the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. His hard work and determination definitely paid off this season and he even admitted that he wants to continue dancing after the show is finished.

Graziadei has accomplished so much these past few years and he should be proud of himself for how much he has grown, not only as a person but as a dancer as well. He had his heart broken on national television, but instead of wallowing in heartbreak, he turned it into something positive and ended up finding the love of his life.

Graziadei is such an inspiration to young men and women, and he taught me the valuable lesson that if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.

Thank you, Joey Graziadei, for blessing our screens these past few years. I can’t wait to see where you go next!