Joey Graziadei Shares His Favorite Part About Friendship With ‘DWTS’ Costar Ilona Maher

Both celebrities are headed to the Season 33 ‘Dancing With the Stars’ semi-finals next week.

Joey Graziadei / Jason Sean Weiss/BFA.com

The Bachelor star Joey Graziadei and SI Swimsuit model Ilona Maher might be vying for the same mirror ball trophy on camera as contestants on Dancing With the Stars, but off camera the two have developed the sweetest friendship. And, the entire reality TV series cast is actually just one big family with a bit of healthy competition.

The 29-year-old, who met his fiancé Kelsey Anderson on his season of the dating show last year, came out to support the Olympic Rugby player at a party at the Dante Beverly Hills as SI Swimsuit celebrated its 60th anniversary and Maher’s September digital cover issue in Los Angeles Thursday night.

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We caught up with Graziadei on the red carpet and he had nothing but praise for Maher, her dance skills and her character.

“It‘s been crazy. I mean, you do something like this and you hope you get to meet other contestants that you can really get along with, and, from the beginning Ilona has just been everything and more,” he tells SI Swimsuit. “She’s just such a sweet person and I’ve enjoyed all parts of [getting to know her]. It’s just fun to go through this with someone else that you can bond over it all with, too. It’s easy with Ilona, it really is.”

The 28-year-old, who won Team USA’s first bronze medal at the Paris Games earlier this year, is well-loved on the internet for her witty sense of humor, advocacy for women and empowering body-positive messaging. Through Maher’s signature motto, Beast Beauty Brains, the model, who traveled to Bellport, NY for her SI Swim photo shoot with Ben Watts, is inspiring an entire generation of young girls and changing what it means to be a female athlete.

Both Maher and her partner Alan Bersten, and Graziadei and his partner Jenna Johnson, are headed to the semi-finals next Tuesday.

Joey Graziadei and Alan Bersten / Jason Sean Weiss/BFA.com

The Pennsylvania native who lived in Hawai’i for a long time, too, has been an unexpected standout contestant on the show, consistently receiving top scores and blowing away the judges and the nation.

“I’m excited. I’m hopeful. I would love to keep being in this competition all the way to the end,” Graziadei shares about how he’s feeling about next week. “But, it’s always [about] just taking it week by week. To get this far has been unbelievable and I want to keep going.”