Bachelor Fans: The Joey & Kelsey TikTok Era Has Arrived

Joey Graziadei and Kelsey Anderson’s chemistry was practically radiating through the cameras this season on The Bachelor. But one crucial moment — their first kiss — didn’t make the final cut to air.

“It was on the paint battle group date, and I started getting a little lightheaded,” Anderson tells Elite Daily. Producers sat her in a medical tent with some snacks and water, and Graziadei came over to check on her. “I had crackers all in my mouth, and I was like, ‘Do I taste like crackers?’” she recalls. While they never got to watch that moment back, they both remember it being “really special.”

It was a collection of these “breadcrumbs,” as Graziadei calls them, that helped him realize that Anderson was his person out of the 32 women cast. Their first one-on-one took place in Spain, but he was “so crazy about her even before that date” and “put pressure on it” to live up to expectations. Spoiler alert: It exceeded them, and the now-engaged couple is happier than ever.

Since the season finale on March 26, Anderson and Graziadei have finally been able to show off their love — silly TikToks included. “I’m actually overwhelmed by how much I cannot WAIT to see you two start posting together,” one person commented on Anderson’s first OOTD video featuring Graziadei (where she referred to him as Pookie, naturally). “Yall match each other so well it makes me so happy,” said another.

Below, Graziadei and Anderson open up about their plans as a couple, her favorite viral Joey moments from the season, and how she’s teaching him to use his selfie camera correctly.

Elite Daily: Congratulations! What’s it like being out in public together?

Kelsey Anderson: It’s been so exciting to ride in a car together, go to dinner together, and walk down the street together because we haven't been able to do that without cameras. We were in hiding for a while, so it's just really special. It's fun.

Joey Graziadei: It's been a long time coming, so it’s weight off our shoulders and now it's on to the fun stuff.

ED: Speaking of fun stuff: Kelsey, you’ve been popping up on my TikTok FYP the last few weeks, and you’re so funny. I love how you’ve handled the discourse this season by being self-deprecating. What’s it been like interacting with commenters?

KA: Whenever I see anything mean, half the time I ignore it, but sometimes I like to laugh it off because these people don't know me. The worst thing y'all can say about me is that I have yellow teeth. Bring it to me. That's what y'all got?

But, no, I love to laugh things off, and it just comes to me in those moments. I make those TikToks in five seconds and post them right away.

ED: You guys are posting together now! Are we about to be blessed with the Joey and Kelsey TikTok era?

JG: She's got a lot in the books that she's excited to do. We did our first one the other night, a little get ready with me-

KA: An outfit of the day.

JG: Outfit of the day. I'm still learning.

KA: I think he's still getting comfortable in front of an iPhone camera and not the big cameras.

JG: The issue is selfie videos. I've been told I put my face way too close to the screen. I need to work on it. I don't even know what I'm doing.

ED: Kelsey, we need you to release the footage of Joey with his face close to the screen while you guys are FaceTiming.

JG: That's a good idea. It's because I really can't see that well, so I got too comfortable with having it too close to my face.

KA: The other day, I was like, "OK, pull it out. Pull it out far."

ED: Joey, you told Elite Daily back in January that you didn't look at your thirsty comments section. What’s your relationship with the online chatter these days?

JG: I know better. I don't try to go in there. She's the one that finds comments more than I do.

KA: I like to look at his comments where they're thirsty for him because I think it's hilarious. I'm like, "Ooh. Look, you're the hottest bachelor."

ED: Kelsey, do you have a favorite Joey moment from this season? He had so many funny sayings that went viral.

KA: Probably him saying Malta had “old-school vibes” or eating the macarons. Those were both hilarious and lovely.

ED: The old-school vibes line is iconic.

JG: You know what? It had old-school vibes.

KA: The vibes were there.

ED: You did not tell a lie. OK — now that we do all know the ending, did you see the fan theories about it being you two at the end because of some suspiciously similar social media backgrounds?

KA: Yes, we felt terrible. I was making a video outside the house because I was like, "OK, no one's going to notice… This is a random fence." We didn't even realize there was a sliver of a cabinet in Joey's video.

JG: We were so careful with my video because we didn’t want anything to be obvious. We found the biggest white wall we could find, and we checked the computer to make sure there was no reflection on her face. We did think it through, and they still got us. Props to them.

KA: They need to join the FBI. That was a big lesson learned — like, these people are onto us.

ED: Did you guys have each other’s numbers in your phones as your actual names, or did you use code words?

JG: No, because you don't know when you're going to be around someone and it says "Joey calling.” Her nickname in her family was always Bird, so I did a little chick emoji for her.

KA: For him, I did fiancé, but I took out the C and moved things around. So it was "Faine C."

JG: It's not a real word.

KA: I thought it was so clever, and he was like, "What is that?"

JG: I was shocked that it stuck. I think it's still in your phone.

KA: It is. He's still Faine C.

JG: I'm changing it today.

ED: Joey, I noticed when you hard-launched your relationship on Instagram, you used “Lover” by Taylor Swift. Then in an interview this week, you guys were saying that "Dress" is an important song for you. Are you Swifties? What’s the origin of this as your song?

KA: Yeah, we're both Swifties. I was on the plane to Malta, and we don't get to have our phones, so I was just listening to whatever they had on the TV on the plane.

They had a Taylor Swift album, and so I was listening to all of those songs. Then I heard "Dress," and she was saying, “Our secret moments in a crowded room. They've got no idea about me and you.” That’s exactly how it felt when I was with Joey on the group dates. Even with all the women in the room, we would make eye contact and it was just different.

So I kept listening to that song over and over again, and then I told him about it in Malta and he listened to it and was like, "That song's kind of provocative."

Taylor [Swift] spoke to Kelsey like she did to everyone else in the world. She's a part of our lives now too.

ED: It's a sexy song! It's underrated.

JG: Yeah. Taylor spoke to Kelsey like she did to everyone else in the world. So, yeah, she's a part of our lives now too.

ED: Rumor has it you're moving to New York this summer. Why is that the dream location?

KA: I've always wanted to live in New York. It's close to Joey's family, and I just love the hustle and bustle of things. Regardless if I love it or hate it, I want to experience it.

JG: It's going to be great for us. I’ve gotten to spend time there doing press and I loved it. We're going to craft that to-do list by asking other people what we should do, but mainly good food, good drinks, and good friends.

ED: Before New York, what's one thing you are dying to do out in public ASAP?

JG: Grocery shopping. We’re so excited to go grab food and cook it ourselves.

KA: I'm also really excited for my friends to meet Joey. It was hard to keep that a secret. I can’t wait for them to get to know him and why I love him so much, and I know they're all going to be obsessed with him.

ED: What are you guys' thoughts on Jenn Tran as the Bachelorette?

JG: We're both so excited for her. We think she's going to do a great job. It's a great opportunity for anyone in that role, and we're going to cheer her on from the sidelines.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.