Joey Graziadei and Jenn Tran will make history as the first two Bachelor Nation leads to face off on the same season of Dancing With the Stars.
“I’m excited. I mean, Bachelor Nation runs deep, right?” Joey, 28, exclusively joked to Us Weekly on Wednesday, September 4. “They always do Dancing With the Stars, so it’s an exciting opportunity and we’re just gonna have fun with it.”
Joey will be dancing with DWTS season 26 champ Jenna Johnson, while Jenn, 28, is partnered with pro Sasha Farber. Jenn was a last-minute addition to the roster, telling Us that she got the casting news right after she “got off stage [from] crying” at the live Bachelorette finale. (The end of Jenn’s season wrapped on Tuesday, September 3, when she confronted ex Devin Strader about the demise of their engagement.)
Since Jenn’s whirlwind travel journey to New York City for the Good Morning America announcement, she has reunited with Joey. (Jenn previously appeared on Joey’s season of The Bachelor, getting eliminated before hometowns.)
“I saw her earlier today. Obviously, she came in last-minute, but I got to say hello and give her a hug,” Joey told Us. “We’re just, like I said, excited to get this thing going.”
While Joey and Jenna gear up to be ballroom rivals, he has the full support of his fiancée, Kelsey Anderson.
“She’s been so supportive,” Joey said of Kelsey, 25. “She actually really pushed for me to do this, [and] we’re just gonna enjoy this time. It’s actually nice to slow it down a little bit and be in the same place. And, yeah, we’re gonna enjoy L.A. and just see what it’s like here for a little bit.”
While Joey joked that joining DWTS “probably [is] not the best thing” for planning a wedding, Jenna, 30, is hoping to get him first-dance-ready.
“I was excited. He’s tall, he’s athletic,” Jenna told Us of meeting the former Bachelor. “I was like, ‘Yes, yes and yes.’”
According to Jenna, their early rehearsals have gone really “good” so far.
“I’m really excited about his ability,” Jenna said. “He’s not a dancer, but he can really pick it up and he’s so smart that he can process what I’m saying, and I’m really excited.”
Joey, meanwhile, was “stoked” to get to learn from the So You Think You Can Dance alum.
“My sister watches the show and she was hoping I was gonna be with Jenna,” he quipped. “So when I found that out, I couldn’t wait.”
Dancing With the Stars season 33 premieres on ABC Tuesday, September 17, at 8 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
