Photo by Jeff Schear/Getty Images for Raising Cane’s
Cursed is The Bachelor who graduates to Dancing with The Stars. According to legend, his engagement will vanish by the end of the season – as his jealous fiancé sees him twist with another woman.
Kelsey Anderson, winner of The Bachelor, will test this theory as her future husband, Joey Graziadei, competes against other celebs, including ex-convict Anna Delvey, before millions of fans this fall. Speaking with us at Times Square, Kelsey addressed the curse, and shared an update on their wedding plans.
She also dished on her dad Mark‘s casting on the debut season of The Golden Bachelorette, and the recent split of Bachelorette Jenn Tran with fiancé Devin Strader. We later spoke with TikTok star and athlete Sam Hurley, who harbors a superstition of his own.
“There’s no curses,” said Kelsey of the Dancing with The Stars mythology, at a press conference to promote Raising Cane’s new fashion lines. The Louisiana native claimed she left all “voodoo” in New Orleans, her hometown. “I don’t believe in … anything being negative from this.”
“Jenna [his dance partner] is amazing. She has an amazing husband and an amazing little baby that I got to meet,” said the Bachelor alum, whose fiancé now trains to compete. “They’re going to crush it together … [Joey] is loving it. He told me recently that he wants to continue dancing even after all this.”
Unfortunately, Joey’s happy ending on The Bachelor didn’t extend to his successor Jenn Tran on The Bachelorette. In the recent finale – following her romantic proposal to Devin – Jenn revealed that he later broke up with her in a 15-minute phone call.
At the Raising Cane’s event, Kelsey addressed fans’ call for better casting.
“I don’t think [the Bachelor franchises] ever have really casted for specific leads – I think that they should,” said Kelsey, who cited Jenn’s season as a reason to change the system.
During the finale, Kelsey sat in the audience as Jenn detailed her painful breakup.
“It was really heartbreaking to watch her finale and be in the crowd for that. I think that Jen deserves the best,” Kelsey stated. “I can’t imagine going through what she went through, because [on my season] everything that I said to Joey and everything that Joey said to me meant so much … I can’t imagine someone afterwards being like, ‘I actually didn’t mean that.’”
Though Kelsey and Joey remain strong, they face a setback with the wedding plans.
“[It’s] kind of on pause right now because Dancing with The Stars is a lot of work,” she said. “He’s training twenty-four-seven [and] after the training, he’s pretty tired … But we also rushed our engagement – we don’t want to rush marriage. So we’re taking our time. And then within the next six months I think we’ll have a date and location, but TBD.”
Despite the rushed engagement, Kelsey still believes in the power of the franchise. So much so, in fact, that she introduced her dad to Joan Vassos on the upcoming season of The Golden Bachelorette.
“I am so excited for him. My dad deserves everything in the world,” said Kelsey, who tragically lost her mother in 2018. “He’s the most amazing dad and so I think that he is very deserving of love, and I know my mom would want that for him.”
“I got to introduce [him] to Joan, and I think that was really special because I had met Joan a couple times,” she went on. “And I know the type of woman she is, what she’s gone through, which was very similar to my dad losing my mom, the way she lost her husband. So I thought that they were going to connect.”
Kelsey revealed she’s “nervous” to watch the season.
“[Joan]’s obviously stunning,” she said. “I don’t know, it’s gonna be weird to watch my dad kiss a lady … Some of those dates — I know — can get a little crazy, so we’ll see. I might have to close my eyes.”
At the event, Kelsey wore a varsity cane crewneck sweatshirt from Raising Cane’s new line, and commented on their new collections.
“You can style them different ways, obviously,” she said. “You can dress it up, do the Western look. You can also dress it down. They’re very comfortable. I put it on. [It’s] so soft inside. So I’m excited to wear this on the plane ride tomorrow back to L.A.”
She also explained what the restaurant means to her.
“It reminds me of home [in] Louisiana,” she said. “[It’s] very comforting. Being in New York City where we’re hustling and bustling this week, just being able to eat some Cane’s [makes me] feel like I’m back at home.”
Also attending the event was TikTok star Sam Hurley, a University of Texas high jumper and pole vaulter. Through his sponsorship deals, he earns more money than almost any other college athlete in the world.
His go-to combo at Raising Cane’s is “the Caniac Combo, no slaw, extra toast, butter on both sides.”
Image credit: Raising Cane’s
His greatest accomplishments?
“Qualifying for the Olympic trials,” he said. “[And being] all-American for Texas.”
His dream is to be a national champion for Texas and compete at the 2028 L.A. Olympics.
As for his personal idol, Sam pointed to JuVaughn Harrison.
“He does high jump and long jump, which are two super different events. And then I high jump and pole, which are two super different events,” he explained. “So I idolize the fact that he’s so successful in both.”
Sam also hinted at how he prepares for a meet.
“I train for eight months before[hand],” said the athlete. “But then really, to get more specific … the day before, the week before, [I] change my diet and the sleep schedule and water intake.”
Unlike Kelsey, Sam dabbles in superstitions. To this day, he avoids stepping on cracks in fear it’ll make him “lose.”
“Have you stepped on a crack and lost before?” the star was asked.
“Probably, probably,” Sam answered. “But it’s not going to happen again.”
