Prep

Joey Graziadei never knew that being named ABC’s 28th Bachelor would ever lead to his unique ties to Dancing With the Stars. 

After making it to the final two of Charity Lawson’s season of The Bachelorette and getting engaged to his fiancé on The Bachelor in 2024, Graziadei made the natural transition that so many from the franchise embark on post-season: he went on season 33 of Dancing With the Stars. 

The reality TV star would go on to win said season, becoming the first former Bachelor to become a Dancing With the Stars champion. Now, fast forward almost a year since his victory, Graziadei is the host of the Dancing With the Stars Official Podcast, a job that the tells The Hollywood Reporter was “the best opportunity possible” for him after nabbing the season 33 mirrorball.  

“I knew by midway through [my DWTS] season that this was going to be a forever show for me, something I was going to want to be a part of,” he explains. “And anytime they would call and ask me to do something, I would want to help, because it just gave me so much that I thought the least I could do is give something back.”

Below, Graziadei chats with THR about how he prepares for the podcast (which tapes “immediately” after the live taping) each week, his Halloween Night thoughts, how he feels about giving up the title of reigning champ in and why he can’t say who he thinks is going to win DWTS season 34.

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When you first said yes to the opportunity to compete on Dancing With the Stars, did you ever see yourself becoming a new face of the franchise?

No, definitely not whatsoever. When I first said yes to Dancing With the Stars, my first thought was, How the heck am I going to be able to dance on live TV, and actually be able to do it? When you first do [DWTS], you don’t really understand how you’re going to do and just jump into the process fully. But I knew by midway through that season last year that this was going to be a forever show for me, something I was going to want to be a part of. And anytime they would call and ask me to do something, I would want to help, because it just gave me so much that I thought the least I could do is give something back. So when the opportunity came along this season to be able to do the podcast, it just felt like the best opportunity possible and something I really wanted to do.

You’ve said in the past that you were going to try to attend all of the live tapings to prepare for the podcast. How many have you been to so far this season?

I have to be there every week. I’ve made every episode. I’m usually there on Mondays and Tuesdays every week. Mondays are important to be at, because it’s a good way to get a feel for everything that’s going on in the ballroom. It’s the first time that all of the celebs and pros are together through the whole week, so it’s a good catch up with everyone. Then I’m there all day on Tuesday, because I want to be knowledgeable and actually know what’s going on. I love having the viewpoint now of being a fan from afar and being able to really just enjoy it like everyone else does.

What is it like for you being back in the ballroom one year after your experience on the show? Is it weird to be back in that environment but not competing?

I would say initially it felt weird to not be competing, because you’re there, you know how it works. Every single morning [on show day] you usually get there and you go right to the hair and makeup trailer, and you start your day. Now I kind of get to be able to be from afar, and kind of just be a sponge and take it all in. I talked a lot about that with [co-host and season 19 winner] Alfonso [Ribeiro]. He’s like, “It’s weird. Initially, it takes some time.” But I’ve just been so grateful. Everyone [has] really welcomed me with open arms, and I feel like I’m still a part of the family and still be a part of the craziness without actually competing. 

Right after the tapings, you transition into filming the podcast, correct?

Yeah, it’s like immediately. We try to be able to interview right away to have real-time reactions. We get done with taping [each DWTS episode] at about seven o’clock, so that’s when whoever our guests are work their way over to where our trailer is, where we’re doing the podcast, and we jump right into it. It is different, because usually the chaos is during the show, and then as soon as you’re done dancing, you’re like, Okay, I can relax. My mindset now is I’m paying attention to every little detail that’s happening during the show. I’m trying not to miss everything. And then my game time kind of starts as soon as the show is done, which is fun. It’s a little different.

What goes into your preparation process as you get ready to interview each eliminated couple, because it is so fresh, and also you’re taping right after the show, so you don’t know who’s going to be eliminated?

I try to really vibe off of that person. If they are feeling more grateful, I want to talk about how amazing the experience was. If they’re disappointed, I want them to be able to air out more why they’re disappointed, why they felt like they had more to give and why they wish America gave them the chance. It’s just one of those things, we had to do it on the show, anyone that got eliminated has to go right to the press line. It’s tough, because it’s the last thing you want to talk about. But when you’re on the live show, you don’t have enough time to really take it all in and express how much it meant to you. I say every time in the beginning of those interviews, “I just want to give you the floor. I want you to have time to process this, but I also want you to really have time to talk about what you’re feeling right now.” It’s a lot of different feelings. You’re upset, you’re excited, you’re grateful, you’re surprised. And I like giving them the ability to express that more, because [at] the end of the show, it ends just like that. They get a few words, and they cut to commercial.

Jen [Affleck] was eliminated Tuesday night. What was the temperature when you spoke with her, and what did you think about her elimination?

At this point, you can’t tell who’s going home. There are people that [have] been maybe at the bottom consistently. But the beauty of the show is you don’t know what’s going on with the votes from week to week, and anything can change with a certain dance. I was sad to see Jen and Jan [Ravnik] go. I loved watching them dance. I think she really was grateful. I don’t know if she saw it coming or what the feeling was for her, but she was surprised, but just really happy that she got the experience. I think she had a clear message that she was trying to convey, that she wanted to be there for all the mothers out there, to show them that you could do anything, to be able to do all this postpartum. I think there was also this relief that she was excited to get back to her babies and to be able to finally sit in this motherhood moment that she didn’t really get the chance to do because she went straight to the show [after giving birth to her third child]. And I applaud Jen and Jan for it being his first season, and for her to be attacking it with him.

Another emotional part of the night was Elaine [Hendrix] and Alan [Bersten]. She suffered an injury, and you spoke with Alan right after the episode. What were his feelings about the state of where she is right now?

I have a great friendship with Alan. I think that people kind of saw [Tuesday] night the type of person he is, and how much it hurt him to see that happen to Elaine. I don’t think anyone wanted her journey to end like that. That would be a tough way to see them go, so I’m very happy they got the chance to move on. Alan really goes into exactly what happened [on the podcast], how he felt in that moment. I think the coolest thing is that [Alan talked] about what their plan is this week, and how they’re going to attack getting ready for next week where they have not only an individual dance, but also a team dance. It’s going to be a very difficult week for them. But I’m a firm believer, if anyone can do it, Elaine can. It was really good to talk to Alan in that moment [about] how he was feeling, because it’s a rare thing. It doesn’t happen a lot on the show.

Looking back so far with the podcast, do you have a favorite guest who has been on?

One of my favorite things that we have done is talking to the departments that don’t really get as much shine as they should. Like, talking to the stage managers, the casting producer, the executive producer. This week we talked to hair and makeup. There’s so many people that make that show run and make it so special, that you kind of get to see it when you come to a live show, but the only way you really get to experience it, understand it, is if you’re a celebrity or a pro on the show. They are there through the whole competition, and there’s too many departments to interview. I hope we get the chance to talk to more in the future, because I think it’s so special to be able to talk to those departments that deserve all the love that they sometimes don’t get. Because when they’re doing their job well, you don’t even know that they’re there.

Is there someone from a specific department that you would like to have on the podcast?

Anyone from the music department. A lot of people don’t even know that they are actually singing live and that it’s not just a recording. When we dance during the week, we will practice with the actual song, and then we get the cut that the music department puts in at the end of the week. So there’s a transition with that, because it’s always a little bit different, but it’s always magical and special, because it’s unique and it’s something they created. Whether it’s Ray [Chew] or anyone from the music department, I hope we get a chance to get them in.

It feels like even from your season last year, Dancing With the Stars is continuing to grow and grow. Who do you think is to be credited with this massive success that the show is seeing?

I think it’s a light being shined on something that should be shined on. There are so many people I can credit from last season to how much Ilona [Maher] had coming in, and Steven [Nedoroscik], from the Olympics. But I think there was a buzz last season where people started to tune in, and there’s something with the show, because you’re capturing these minute, 30 [second] dances that can go viral online, it’s so easy to scroll and watch it. And I think there’s something that happened with our season, whether it was on TikTok or Instagram, that it started to become viral. And people were like, Well, everyone’s talking about it, I have to go see this! And then you get the ability to have someone you’re rooting for, someone you’re voting for. It’s a show that brings so much love and light and excitement. I think people start watching, and they become just gravitated towards it, and it’s something that they look forward to every week. 

In a few weeks, we will have a new winner of Dancing With the Stars, ending your year as the reigning winner. What is the greatest lesson or takeaway you’ve learned in this past year since you won?

I think what the show gave me most of all and what I’ve taken from it was this level of confidence that if you put your energy and effort into anything, you really can accomplish it. Coming with no dance background and being able to do something as difficult as [DWTS] is one of my proudest accomplishments. And I credit Jenna [Johnson]. It’s given me this want to do more with TV in the hosting space, because I enjoyed working with the team. I enjoyed seeing the show be produced every week. It’s given me a lot. It’s really shifted my life in the better. And it goes everywhere, from Jenna, through anyone on the production team that puts that show together. There’s a lot of people that have made it so special, and I’m excited to see the new winner. I’m ready to hand it off, because this season’s been incredible, and I can’t wait to see who ends up winning and getting that title.

Something unique about your win was you were the first Bachelor to ever win Dancing With the Stars. Do you carry this title as being the first Bachelor to win the show with pride?

I carry it with pride fully. It was something that was talked about from the beginning on my [season]. They said, “Hey, just so you know, there’s been Bachelorettes that have won, and there’s been all other people from [the] Bachelor franchise [who] have been successful, but a Bachelor hadn’t even made it to the finale, let alone win.” Jenna put that goal out there on day one, which scared the crap out of me. She’s like, “We’re gonna make it to the finale this year. We should try to experience the whole show.” And I think it was midway through the competition, she told me off camera, “We’re not just gonna try to go to the finale. I think we have a chance to win this thing.” The reason I was on the show was because of The Bachelor, so I’m very grateful that I’m the first guy to be able to do that. And hopefully I lead the road down the future, that there’ll be other guys that can come off of that show and have the same success I did.

Taylor Frankie Paul was named the new Bachelorette. What do you think about Taylor being named the next Bachelorette and how do you think she’s going to do?

I’m really excited for her, I think she’s gonna do great. I think there’s a tough part about that world, where there’s a beauty to not knowing how to be on TV, but there’s also a difficulty if you haven’t been around cameras before. So the biggest thing I’m looking forward to see is probably the level of comfort that she’s going to have right away. Even though it’s a completely different atmosphere and environment, I think it’s great that she is going to be comfortable around the cameras, and I think it’s important to give that level of comfort to the people that are going on the show that have never been on before. I wish her nothing but the best, because that show has given me everything. It’s given me my amazing fiancé Kelsey [Anderson,] it’s opened up the ability for me to do amazing things like Dancing With the Stars and and try to do more on a platform that I would love to do more on. I hope she finds a person she’s looking for, and I hope that she gets everything she wants out of this experience.

You mentioned you’d like to do more with the Dancing With the Stars franchise. What does that look like to you? Would you be open to maybe hosting one day, or coming back if they did a winners season?

What I’m hopeful for is that they keep having me come back, having the ability to do this podcast and see that grow, and you never know what other opportunities come along with this show. I think that the beauty of it right now is it’s growing and it’s evolving. [The DWTS podcast] was something that came together as of late, right before the season, and the fact that I got the chance to do this and they thought of me, I’m super grateful and excited to hopefully keep growing this side of it. But yeah, whenever they call my name, Deena [Katz], the casting producer, Conrad [Green], the executive producer, they know I love it. I want to be a part of it. And if there’s any other opportunity that comes along that makes sense, I’m going to be answering the call.

What type of podcast episode can we expect with the finale? I anticipate that episode will be jam-packed with talent.

We’re still figuring out exactly how we want to shape that episode, but you nailed it. I mean, it’s the finale, right? So you have to have a lot of different things that come into play. I think we have a great idea that people will love, and it’ll be exciting to see. I think there’s going to be a lot to showcase for that finale episode. People are just gonna have to tune in.

Which theme night has been your favorite so far of season 34?

I’m a big sucker for Dedication [Night]. I think they’re the most special nights. 

Which theme night from season 34 would you have liked to partake in that you didn’t do in season 33?

I gotta go with Wicked Night. I’m a Wicked fan. I love that movie and musical. Again, Robert [Irwin] was the best Fiyero ever, but you tell me if I got a chance to do “Dancing Through Life,” I would have loved that opportunity. That was a really fun night, and I think a lot of the pros were so excited about it too. There was energy in the ballroom that night. 

Who is going to win season 34 of Dancing With the Stars?

I love that you’re trying to get that out of me, but I’m not giving that up yet. I think this season is too close right now to poll and to guess. Sometimes I feel like you can tell pretty early, but there are people that are improving, people that are staying at the top. There are people that are silent killers that I can see in these next few weeks that are going to be super pivotal. So, yeah, I’m still TBD. I’m not giving that one away. I’ve got an inkling on someone, but I’m holding that one in.

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The Dancing With the Stars Official Podcast airs Thursdays on Disney+ and Hulu. New episodes of DWTS release air and stream simultaneously on ABC and Disney+ on Tuesdays.