‘Bachelor’ Star Joey Graziadei Divulges How He and Kelsey Anderson Celebrated Their One Year Engagement Anniversary

The ‘Dancing With the Stars’ contestant chatted with SI Swimsuit last night at a Los Angeles event celebrating the the 60th anniversary issue and Ilona Maher’s cover feature.

Joey Graziadei and Kelsey Anderson / Gilbert Flores/Getty Images

Former The Bachelor star Joey Graziadei and his fiancé Kelsey Anderson just celebrated one year of being engaged! The duo met on the reality TV show last year and the 29-year-old popped the question in the sweetest most heartfelt proposal on the viral final episode, which was filmed on Nov. 12, 2023, and aired this March.

This year, Graziadei has taken on a new adventure: the dance floor, as a contestant on Season 33 of Dancing With the Stars, where he has grown close to fellow celebrity dancer and SI Swimsuit model Ilona Maher. Tuesday also marked the 500th episode of the competition series, and while the Pennsylvania native, who lived in Hawai’i for a long time, spent his anniversary on set and dancing alongside partner Jenna Johnson, Anderson came to cheer him on, as she does every week. The two had a more intimate moment after the exciting milestone episode—on which he received the second-highest scores of the night (55/60) for his contemporary and rumba dances.

Graziadei came out to support the Olympic rugby medalist last night as the magazine celebrated its 2024 60 anniversary issue and Maher’s September digital issue cover at Dante Beverly Hills. While on the red carpet, he divulged details on exactly how he and Anderson, 25, spent their special night.

Joey Graziadei and Kelsey Anderson / Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images

“Obviously the majority of the day I had to be at the studio and Kelsey came and I got some moments in the crowd with her, but [after] we just went to Nobu down the street close to where we are staying. It was really good to have a moment just us two to appreciate everything that’s come this last year, and, more importantly, what we’re looking forward to,” Graziadei tells SI Swimsuit. “She would have loved to be here tonight [to support Maher]; she was supposed to come and she sadly [had an event last minute] in New York. I wish she could be here but I’ll be trying my best to hold down the fort without her.”

The duo never shy away from gushing about each other in interviews and how special their journey has been. Graziadei even dedicated his spectacular Vietnamese Waltz dance on Oct. 14 to Anderson, noting how important her presence has been throughout the whole DWTS journey.

While the couple met in a non-traditional way and were quickly thrust into the spotlight following their time on The Bachelor, they are enjoying learning more and more about each other each day and growing together.

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“I knew as much as I possibly could [coming off the show which spans around 9 weeks]. But [this year] I learned just how understanding and kind [Anderson] is, you know, with all of it,” Graziadei shares. “When you get off a show like that like we did you have to figure out where you’re going to live next, what your life [together] is going to look like, how you’re going to build it together. She‘s just been really great at finding a way to mold into what I want to do, and I’m always also trying to do the same toward her. We’ve been able to find a really good [balance] so far. It’s been fun.”

Graziadei, who had no previous ballroom dance experience but was on the cheerleading team in high school, has been a standout contestant on DWTS, consistently scoring high and wowing the judges and audience. Both he and Maher are headed to the semi-finals next Tuesday.

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