Kelsey Anderson is living in a strange, suspended moment that anyone who has ever planned a wedding while life gets in the way can understand. She and her fiancé, Joey Graziadei, have been moving full speed ahead toward their big day, checking off the big-ticket items with the kind of momentum that makes a wedding feel real. But then Joey left for Scotland to film the upcoming season of “The Traitors,” and suddenly the wedding planning train had to pull into the station and wait. At Variety’s 2026 Power of Women: Los Angeles Event Presented by Lifetime on Wednesday, September 23, Kelsey opened up to Us exclusively about the exciting, slightly frustrating, but ultimately thrilling timing of it all. She revealed that they locked in their welcome party venue just before Joey jetted off, and she described the moment as both a relief and a bittersweet farewell. “We locked in our welcome party venue, which was so exciting. We did it right before Joey left for The Traitors,” she said. “But now we’re kind of paused because Joey is filming [and has] no phone access.” It’s a strange reality of modern love: your partner can be physically on the other side of the world, unreachable by text, FaceTime, or a quick call to confirm whether the napkin color should be sage or eucalyptus. For Kelsey, that means the celebration of their upcoming union has been placed lovingly but firmly on hold, waiting for Joey to re-emerge from the castle, the round table, and the game of deceit that has captured audiences for seasons.
But before he left, the couple managed to get an impressive amount of wedding planning done, and Kelsey seems genuinely proud of their progress. They tackled the big stuff, the kind of decisions that anchor a wedding weekend and give it shape and personality. The nitty-gritty details, though, like the food tasting and the tiny choices that make a wedding feel personal, are still ahead of them, and those are the things that inherently have to happen closer to the date. “Then a lot of the nitty gritty things come closer [to the date], where we’re tasting the food and all of that. But it’s been really exciting,” she gushed. But perhaps the most delightful revelation from Kelsey’s red-carpet interview was her candid description of the dynamic between her and Joey when it comes to wedding planning. Many people might assume that the bride would be the one obsessing over every detail, but Kelsey happily flipped that script. “Honestly, Joey is the bridezilla in this duo,” she said, with the kind of loving eye-roll that makes you instantly understand their relationship. She painted a portrait of a groom who knows exactly what he wants, who has a vision for the weekend, and who refuses to let any detail be an afterthought. Kelsey, meanwhile, is the chill, go-with-the-flow partner who just wants the people she loves in one room and the chance to soak it all in. “It’s just that he is very definitive, and a lot of times, I’m like, ‘Ah, you know. It’s like this or that, whatever. I don’t really care. As long as you’re there,’” she explained. It’s the kind of sweet, grounded perspective that makes you root for a couple, especially when one half is famously decisive and the other is just happy to be along for the ride.
Kelsey went on to share a perfect example of Joey’s celebratory approach to their wedding weekend, one that reveals a lot about his personality and what he wants for their guests. While Kelsey might be content with a low-key gathering, Joey has grander ambitions. “He’s like, ‘No, the welcome party has got to be a banger because that’s how we’re starting off the weekend.’ And I’m like, ‘OK, period. Then let’s do it,’” she recalled with a laugh. Her reaction, so simple and supportive, is the kind of partnership that makes wedding planning less stressful and more fun. She admitted that she just wants it to be the best party ever and that her ultimate goal is to be present in every single moment, to look around the room, to feel the joy, and to remember it all. It’s an attitude that many couples only find after weeks of stress and compromise, but Kelsey seems to have arrived at it naturally. And honestly, with the wedding planning temporarily paused because of “The Traitors,” she has had to practice patience in a way that goes beyond napkin colors and seating charts. She has had to trust that the pause is temporary, that Joey is having the time of his life in Scotland, and that when he comes back, they will pick up right where they left off. The waiting isn’t easy, but she doesn’t seem frustrated; she seems genuinely excited for him and for the adventure he’s having before they say “I do.”
Despite the wedding planning snag, Kelsey’s excitement about Joey’s latest challenge is palpable. “The Traitors” is unlike anything he has done before, a high-stakes game of strategy, suspicion, and psychological maneuvering that requires contestants to sit down at a round table and immediately confront a terrifying question: are you a Traitor or a Faithful? Kelsey admitted that she can’t quite believe he’s doing it, and she described the little jitters he had before leaving. “I can’t believe it,” she told Us. “I feel like he had little jitters because you don’t know if you’re a Traitor or a Faithful going into it. You don’t know until you get there at the round table.” That element of suspense is part of what makes the show so compelling, but for Kelsey, it also means sending her fiancé off into a world of uncertainty where even he doesn’t know what role he’ll play. The season 6 cast is a wild mix of personalities from reality TV and beyond, including Kristin Chenoweth, Whitney Leavitt, Craig Conover, Bronwyn Newport, and Cody Simpson, among others. It’s the kind of eclectic group that promises drama, alliances, betrayals, and plenty of memorable moments. Kelsey said Joey was a “little nervous” going into the experience, which is understandable for anyone stepping into a game where trust is the most dangerous currency. But she also made it clear that she did her best to send him off with his confidence fully intact, reminding him of everything he has already accomplished and how much she believes in him.
Kelsey’s pep talk to Joey before he left is the kind of love language that makes you feel warm inside, because it wasn’t just about cheering him on; it was about reminding him of his own track record. She told him, “You got this. You’ve already won one show [Dancing With the Stars] and you won The Bachelor, pretty much, because you got me. So it’s like, [you’ve done] two. This is the third. You got it.” It’s equal parts motivational and playful, proving that she knows exactly how to speak to him in a way that is both loving and funny. That support is especially meaningful because Joey has been busy expanding his career in exciting ways. Earlier this month, Joey himself spoke with Us about exploring new opportunities after winning season 33 of “Dancing With the Stars.” He has made his way into the scripted world with his acting debut on “RJ Decker,” and he couldn’t contain his enthusiasm about the experience. He explained that this is the first time audiences will get to see him do something genuinely different on screen. He had a small appearance on “9-1-1” for ABC back during his “Bachelor” season, but in that role, he played himself. This time around, he’s getting to disappear into a character, which is a whole different kind of thrill. Joey described his role as a pickpocketer, a character who gets to steal from people and deliver a line or two. He laughed about it, but you can hear the joy in his voice when he talks about trying something new and having fun with it.
Joey has always been someone who seems to embrace whatever chapter life throws at him, and his attitude toward the future is no different. He made it very clear that he is dreaming big about what could come next, but in a way that feels grounded and genuinely open. With the kind of cheeky confidence fans have come to love, he quipped, “ABC, if you want to toss me in Grey’s Anatomy, I will join.” It’s the kind of joke that is only half a joke, because you can tell he would absolutely say yes in a heartbeat. But beyond the dream guest spot, Joey is interested in the craft of acting itself. He admitted that he’s open to honestly whatever, and that the jump to the scripted side has been a refreshing new challenge. “This has been new jumping over to the scripted side, and it’s been really fun. I’ve enjoyed trying to be a character. I’ve enjoyed this idea of trying to remember lines and try to be someone different,” he said. He also noted that there are similarities between reality TV and scripted work, thanks to the familiarity of being behind the camera, but it’s also wildly different. Learning to embody someone else, to remember dialogue, and to deliver lines with intention is a skill set that doesn’t always translate directly from being yourself on screen. For Joey, it’s clearly an exciting evolution. Meanwhile, “The Traitors” is set to return to Peacock in early 2027, which means fans have a little bit of a wait ahead of them. But for Kelsey and Joey, that wait is just part of a larger story, a story that includes a paused wedding planning checklist, a welcome party that needs to be a banger, a pickpocketer audition tape, and a love that seems more than capable of handling a little distance. When Joey finally comes home from the castle, he’ll return to a fiancée who believes he can win anything, a wedding weekend that needs only a few more perfect details, and a future that is just beginning to unfold.
