Joey Graziadei is trading in roses for dancing shoes, as the former “Bachelor” star has signed on for the upcoming season of “Dancing with the Stars.”
Graziadei, a native of Collegeville, Montgomery County, will be competing for the coveted Mirrorball Trophy alongside his pro-dancer partner Jenna Johnson. Season 33 of “DWTS” premieres Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 8 p.m. on ABC and Disney+, and the full cast was announced Wednesday on “Good Morning America.”
Graziadei, 29, a West Chester University alum who subsequently spent time in Hawaii as a tennis instructor, was the runner-up on Season 20 of “The Bachelorette” last year. He went on to find love — and an engagement — with Kelsey Anderson as the lead of “The Bachelor” Season 28, which finished airing in March.
Graziadei has largely remained in the public eye since — with appearances on “9-1-1” and “Celebrity Family Feud.” He also appeared in Wawa ads this summer with his fiancee, and threw out the first pitch at a Phillies game in July. So it’s no surprise he’s keeping his hot streak going by joining the “DWTS” cast, especially after showing off his smooth moves from time to time on “The Bachelor” — particularly during a flamenco dancing date in Spain, when his heeled dancing shoes and shorts made for a comical (and widely memed) moment. Fans have recently been theorizing that Graziadei would be joining “DWTS” as Johnson’s celebrity partner, after Johnson posted an Instagram photo wearing a dress with rose detailing last week.
Thankfully, Graziadei is used to facing his exes during televised events (which tends to come with “The Bachelor” territory), because one of them is also in the “DWTS” cast. Jenn Tran, 26 — who appeared on Graziadei’s season of “The Bachelor” and went on to become the first Asian American lead of “The Bachelorette” for Season 21 — will compete with pro partner Sasha Farber. Based on her absence from the Season 33 official poster, Tran may have been a later addition, which makes sense given her “Bachelorette” season just wrapped up on Tuesday with an explosive live finale.
Along with Graziadei and Tran, this season of ABC’s reality dance competition includes Olympic breakout star Stephen Nedoroscik, a gymnast and Penn State alum whose pommel horse prowess secured him an individual bronze medal and helped the U.S. men’s gymnastics team earn their first team medal (bronze) in 16 years during the Paris Olympics. “Pommel horse guy,” as he has been nicknamed online, will be partnered with “DWTS” pro Rylee Arnold.
Here’s who else will be competing on “DWTS” Season 33:
• Former NFL player Danny Amendola with partner Witney Carson
• Notorious con artist Anna Sorokin, also known as Anna Delvey, with partner Ezra Sosa
• Former NBA player Dwight Howard with partner Daniella Karagach
• Actress Chandler Kinney with partner Brandon Armstrong
• Olympic rugby player Ilona Maher with partner Alan Bersten
• Model Brooks Nader with partner Gleb Savchenko
• Reality star Phaedra Parks with partner Val Chmerkovskiy
• Actor Eric Roberts with partner Britt Stewart
• Actress Tori Spelling with partner Pasha Pashkov
• Actor Reginald VelJohnson with partner Emma Slater
While Graziadei will be dancing for a trophy, his future father-in-law, Mark Anderson, 57, will be vying for the heart of Joan Vassos, 61, during the first season of “The Golden Bachelorette.” The dating show spinoff premieres Wednesday, Sept. 18, and the cast also features Philadelphia’s Charles L.