- Daisy Kent got the first one-on-one date with Joey Graziadei on "The Bachelor" season 28.
- Daisy opened up to Joey about her hearing loss and having a cochlear implant.
Joey Graziadei forged relationships with more women on Monday's episode of "The Bachelor." One of them, Daisy Kent, made a particularly big impression on the lead.
Daisy scored the first one-on-one date of the season, which is always a good sign for a contestant on the reality dating show. The two connected over their love of music and deepened their relationship when Daisy opened up to Joey about her hearing loss and having a cochlear implant. The date ended with Joey giving her a rose.
Here's what to know about Daisy, an early frontrunner on "The Bachelor" season 28.
Daisy is from Minnesota but lives in San Diego
The 25-year-old "Bachelor" contestant is originally from Becker, Minnesota, according to her show bio.
In her night one intro, Daisy arrived in a truck with a tree in the back, revealing she'd grown up on a Christmas tree farm.
Daisy is also close to her parents, who she credits with inspiring her outlook on romantic relationships. According to her contestant bio, Daisy "comes from a big, loving family, and her parents' 30-plus-year marriage has been the blueprint for the kind of love she wants for herself."
While Daisy is originally from Minnesota, she lives in San Diego, California, where she seemingly moved to attend college.
According to a LinkedIn profile that appears to belong to Daisy, she graduated from San Diego State University in 2021. She majored in digital and social media communications and was a member of Alpha Phi.
The profile says Daisy currently works as an account executive at Jungo, a software development company. She first started at Jungo as a customer relationship specialist in September 2020 and later became a strategic account manager before assuming her current position in April 2023.
Daisy started losing her hearing as a teenager
During the evening portion of their one-on-one date, Daisy opens up to Joey about her hearing loss. She explains that she started losing her hearing as a result of contracting Lyme disease.
In a 2023 interview with CBS8, Daisy explained that she first started losing her hearing at 15. She was eventually diagnosed with a disorder of the inner ear called Meniere's disease at 17, and was later confirmed to have Lyme disease, which she believes caused the Meniere's disease, at 21.
Daisy's hearing-loss advocacy is a major part of her identity. She founded a nonprofit called "Hear Your Heart" to support children with autoimmune disorders or hearing loss. In addition to raising awareness about childhood hearing loss, Hear Your Heart also aims to provide medical assistance and funding for education.
As Daisy explains to Joey during the first part of their one-on-one date, she's currently transitioning out of her software sales role to run her nonprofit full-time.
Daisy has extensively chronicled her journey to getting a cochlear implant on TikTok. In an April 2023 Instagram post, she reflected on her decision to get one.
"Being a little girl who couldn't stop singing & playing piano I never imagined I would lose my hearing. Slowly losing conversations, music, part of who I am has been the most challenging thing I've experienced & has broke my heart in ways I didn't think possible," she wrote on Instagram. "A cochlear implant gives me the chance to love all of this again. It's not an easy journey, but I'm learning it's one that is changing my life every moment my brain takes in a new sound!"
She's since partnered with Cochlear Americas to promote implants.
Daisy is a published author
In addition to her hearing loss advocacy, Daisy is also trying to improve representation in other ways. She wrote a children's book called "Daisy Doo: All the Sounds She Knew," to help children diagnosed with hearing loss.
"A lot of emotions behind this story as I know what it's like to have something that makes you feel 'different,'" she captioned an Instagram post about the book. "I wanted to create something to help kids, parents, doctors who are going through any medical process & show them the beauty in embracing what makes you unique."
"The Bachelor" season 28 airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.