Joey Graziadei is reflecting on his Dancing with the Stars journey with his partner, Jenna Johnson. On November 26, 2024, Graziadei and Johnson beat out Olympian star Ilona Maher and pro dancer Alan Bersten for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy during the DWTS Season 33 finale.
On December 1, 2024, Joey Graziadei took to his Instagram to share a video with moments from his DWTS journey with Jenna Johnson alongside a heartfelt note. The video featured snippets from their rehearsals and performances on the show. Graziadei thanked Johnson for her guidance and described his time on the show as the “experience of a lifetime.” The Bachelor Season 28 lead expressed his gratitude to his DWTS partner and lauded her for pushing him to do better. He also praised Jenna Johnson for her talent while remarking how she truly deserved this win. Graziadei’s grateful and appreciative words for his DWTS partner included but weren’t limited to the following:
“Thank you for believing in me and making me feel like I belonged in a room full of exceptionally talented people.”
Joey Graziadei also made sure to give his fiancée, Kelsey Anderson, a quick shout-out, as well as his friends and family. He expressed how he wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without their support and thanked everyone for bringing joy to his life throughout his journey on the popular reality dance competition show.
‘DWTS’ Had a Physical and Emotional Impact on Joey Graziadei
The journey of dancing his way to the top was not an easy one for Joey Graziadei during his stint on DWTS Season 33. In the November 6, 2024, episode of the Lightweights Podcast with Joe Vulpis, Graziadei shared how the reality dance competition had a physical and emotional impact on him.
The Bachelor star confessed that he lost a lot of weight rapidly while explaining how some of the dance performances transformed him — live in particular. He even remarked that his fiancée, Kelsey Anderson, had also noted that he was growing thin during his stint on DWTS. Graziadei shared that he went from a pant size 32 to a 30 out of the blue.
The Physical Changes From Dancing Were Striking
However, later in the competition, dance styles such as Argentina tango and contemporary helped the reality TV star regain some muscle as he had to do multiple reps lifting his partner Jenna Johnson. Graziadei shared how his body transformation amid all those weeks of dancing was wild, and he’d like to explore it even after the show’s commencement. He shared how the physical strain on one’s body while competing on DWTS is no joke in the following words:
“If I could do this every day, I would because I would never be out of shape and it’s amazing.”
ABC is yet to renew Dancing With the Stars for Season 34. In the meantime, you can stream the show’s previous seasons on Hulu.