Joey Graziadei’s next performance on Dancing With the Stars is going to feel extra sentimental to his fiancée Kelsey Anderson.
“It’s very special, honestly,” Anderson, 26, exclusively told Us at the Us Weekly + Pluto TV Reality Stars of the Year Party at the Dream Hotel in Los Angeles on Thursday, October 10. “I love all his dances, but this one’s definitely gonna be extra special for me.”
Earlier this week, Dancing With the Stars revealed that next week’s episode will honor the people who have a special place in the contestants’ hearts. Graziadei, 29, selected Anderson as his special person. The Bachelor alum and his partner, Jenna Johnson, are going to dance a Viennese waltz to Teddy Swims’ song “Lose Control.”
Anderson and Graziadei met on season 28 of The Bachelor. During the season finale, which aired in March, he proposed to Anderson, and the rest is history.
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As the competition progresses, so has Graziadei. He’s been neck-and-neck with fellow competitor Chandler Kinney for the top of the leaderboard.
For Anderson, watching Graziadei embark on his dancing journey has been an exciting experience. “I get more nervous than him for sure, but it’s so exciting,” she gushed. “It’s so amazing to see all the work that he puts in and how everyone is just rooting him on. He’s doing amazing and he’s crushing it.”
Graziadei, for his part, confessed that as he makes it further in the competition the level of difficulty increases — but he’s still having a blast.
“It’s getting tougher and tougher every week. I think it compounds a little bit as it keeps going on, but honestly I’m making it through,” he told Us on Thursday. “I’m enjoying it. I’m just trying to take it every day. But it’s been a ton of fun.”
Graziadei added that the cherry on top for him is having Anderson’s “support.” Anderson has been in the audience cheering her fiancé on in the ballroom.
When Graziadei first learned he was joining the cast, Johnson, 30, made sure that Anderson felt included throughout the process. Anderson shared that Johnson went out of her way to make sure she felt at ease with everything.
“We had a private dinner with Jenna and [her husband] Val [Chmerkovskiy] and just her opening up, being like, ‘Do you have any questions? We just want you to feel really comfortable,’” Anderson reflected. “She’s like, ‘I know that you’re not at all the practices and like fully involved,’ but she said, ‘We want you to feel involved.’”
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Anderson has taken Johnson’s offer up as she sends the professional dancer ideas for their routines via a group chat.
While Graziadei competes on DWTS season 33, wedding planning has taken a back seat as the former tennis coach focuses on dancing. However, the couple are planning on taking their time as they focus on taking baby steps.
“I think really right now our goal is to get through this dancing. Get settled where we’re gonna be living next,” Graziadei said. “And then it’s gonna be to figure out a date, figure out location, get everything kind of cleaned up a little bit.”
With reporting by Amanda Williams
