- Joey Graziadei stars on season 28 of "The Bachelor."
- The Pennsylvania native is a tennis pro who now lives in Hawaii.
During the emotional season 20 finale of "The Bachelorette," star Charity Lawson accepted a proposal from Dotun Olubeko after breaking things off with her runner-up, Joey Graziadei.
While Lawson was initially conflicted when trying to choose between Olubeko and Graziadei, she ultimately decided to pursue an engagement with Olubeko. The breakup between Lawson and Graziadei was heartbreaking, but the tennis pro will get a second chance at finding true love on reality TV starring on season 28 of "The Bachelor."
Here's everything you need to know about the new Bachelor lead.
Joey Graziadei is a 28-year-old tennis pro from Pennsylvania who now lives in Hawaii
According to his "Bachelorette" bio on ABC's website, Graziadei is "outgoing, friendly and loyal," and loves golf, country music, and star-gazing.
A release from ABC following the news of his casting delved even deeper into Graziadei's personality and what he's looking for in a potential wife among the "Bachelor" contestants on his season.
"As the Bachelor, Graziadei is looking for a life partner who is outgoing, caring, and shares his love for adventure and exploring the outdoors," the release read in part. "He loves hiking, surfing and ending his days watching the sunset but knows he has much more love to give, and the only thing missing is someone with whom to share his life."
Originally from Collegeville, Pennsylvania, the 28-year-old now lives in Lawai, Hawaii, per his ABC bio. When replying to a comment on Instagram, Graziadei explained why his favorite Hawaiian island is Kauai.
"Every island has its own flavor. I'm bias and think Kauai is the best island! It's more low key and is beautiful but it depends on the person," he wrote.
He went to college at West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Graziadei attended Spring-Ford High School where he launched his tennis career in earnest. According to a 2012 Patch.com feature on the then high school junior, Graziadei started playing tennis when he was 13 and was inspired by his tennis-pro uncle.
After Spring-Ford, Graziadei went to college at West Chester University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in communication and media studies before graduating in 2017. According to a LinkedIn profile appearing to belong to the reality star, he was in the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and played Division II tennis while in school.
A website for West Chester University's athletics department states that Joey was 5'11 and 170 lbs when he played tennis in the 2016-2017 season.
His tennis career continued after college and now he's a coach
According to Tennis Recruiting, Graziadei last ranked at No. 1714 in 2012, when he was in high school.
His tennis stats from his college career aren't visible on West Chester University's athletics site. But Graziadei has apparently received either a professional or elite designation from the United States Professional Tennis Association, according to a website for one of his former tennis jobs at an athletic club.
Per his LinkedIn, Graziadei currently works as a "lifestyle and experience ambassador" for the Kukuiula Resort in Koloa, Hawaii. As ambassador, Graziadei's duties apparently involve encouraging "engagement with the various activities available within the Club," including "ocean activities, tennis, pickleball, golf, hiking," and more.
Graziadei's Instagram is filled with photos and videos from his time spent golfing, swimming, and playing tennis.
His parents are supportive of his journey to find love
During a recent interview with Us Weekly, Graziadei said he was grateful that his parents were so supportive of his journey to find love on TV.
"I'm so lucky to have my family through this. I think that one of the most beautiful things about this show is [how] it's brought my family closer together. They just have been in my corner," he told Us Weekly, adding: "We've had this ability to connect and talk through everything."
Graziadei previously opened up about his family life during Lawson's season of "The Bachelorette." He revealed that his parents Nick and Cathy divorced when he was young after his dad came out as gay.
He later discussed his family in more depth during an appearance on the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast with hosts Serena Pitt and Joe Amabile.
"I had a conversation with my dad before going on the show and I wanted to make sure he was okay with me sharing his story. It's something that's affected me, but it's really his life," Graziadei said. "I had that conversation with him, and he was comfortable and trusted me on how I would talk about it and it would be shared in the right light."
Graziadei emphasized during the podcast interview that he wanted to make sure he shared his family history with Lawson at the right time. He also praised his relationship with his dad, who came out when Graziadei was in kindergarten.
"My dad is one of my favorite people in this world and I talk to him about everything," Graziadei said on the podcast. "So when explaining who he is as a person, it's part of him and it's something that needs to be talked about more and not so refrained from or worried to talk about."