Getting to Know Kelsey Anderson: A Conversation on Her Louisiana Roots, The Bachelor, and Claiming Confidence
Photography Krissy Saleh • Styling Lucy Ivey assisted by Taysia Warmsley • Hair Joseph Maine • Makeup Hailey Hoff
ALIX BRA BY KAT THE LABEL, BIARA SUIT, BETSEY JOHNSON NIKKI BLACK HEELS
It doesn’t come as a surprise when Kelsey Anderson greets me with a warm smile as she hops on our call. For someone I am meeting for the first time through a screen, there’s a palpable kindness in the air around her. It’s the reason why people stuck around after the 28th season of The Bachelor, where she and Joey Graziadei sealed the deal with an engagement. We chat about the thrilling craze surrounding the World Cup and her recent trip to Seattle to watch the USA vs. Belgium game. “I played soccer growing up, so it's been really fun to see it big in the United States,” she beams. “It’s one of my favorite sports to watch now.”
When she shares about her family dynamic, her pull towards live sporting events begins to make sense. The stadium carries a communal chaos and camaraderie similar to that of her childhood. . “There was no quiet one. We were always just screaming over each other,” she laughs as she describes her home life growing up. “We would eat dinner as a family every night, and my dad would just sit there half the time plugging his ears because we were yelling over each other, just feening for attention.”
Raised in a small town in Louisiana called Leesville, Kelsey’s family uprooted to Germany for much of her life, where they lived in a village outside her dad’s military base before returning to the States. “It was so fun being raised in a big family,” she says, lighting up as she tells me about her siblings. “Especially being a military family where a lot of our friends moved in and out. We always had each other, which was really nice.”
Little did she know, a silly post-breakup tradition would bring her to the West Coast, where she would meet the love of her life on one of America’s most acclaimed reality shows. During a wine night in college, a friend encouraged Kelsey, who had recently gotten out of a relationship, to apply to The Bachelor with her on whim. Both thought nothing more of it than applications being sent into the void. When they didn’t hear back, the two unintentionally made a singles-prerogative pact, agreeing to try again the next time neither of them was dating.
But the stars aligned on their second try, and Kelsey landed an interview to become a contestant. “It was such a fun process because I remember the whole time I was like, ‘There's no way this is happening.’” Even when she was standing in front of the famous Agoura Hills home, Kelsey still thought it would eventually lead to a dead end. “The first time I met Joey after the limo entrance, we talked in the mansion, and I was so awkward with him,” she admitted. “Throughout the process, there were so many times I was like, ‘Oh no, this is done.’ But I kept going.”
It’s one thing to get through the initial talking stage and the awkward nuances that come with it. It’s another to have it all unfold on national television for everyone to see. With cameras monitoring Kelsey and Joey’s connection at every corner, she allowed herself to keep an open heart while also turning inwards. “I feel like I've always been a pretty confident person, in my relationships and in life. But I feel like my anxiety sometimes would take over. I almost was like, ‘Well, I have to be really confident in who I am at this point, or it's going to mess with me so much.” Off-camera, Kelsey tended to her mental health to make sure she stayed grounded in her own journey and well-being. “The whole process of journaling every day and reading –– the books that I read on The Bachelor were self-help books — I feel like they helped me throughout the way.”
The world quickly fell in love with Kelsey and couldn’t get enough of her and Joey’s love story even after the season finale. But with more eyes comes more noise. And when the noise gets loud? Kelsey leans into solid support systems that held her up from the beginning. “I think the people that [Joey and I] surround ourselves with –– from my old friends back home to my friends now in LA –– I feel like I have really great friends that are very normal and down to earth and kind. I am very lucky that I surround myself with good people.”
The center of who Kelsey is becomes clear when she breaks into a wide smile as she talks about her North Star –– her mom Denise, who passed away from breast cancer in 2018. “She taught us so much confidence in who we are, and how to stand up for ourselves, but still be compassionate to people,” she shares. Her transparency about her grief journey online has not only helped others navigate their own, but has also become a beautiful glimpse into her anchor through it all. “I feel like my mom is fully the reason for who I am today because of how she raised us. I hope I'm a carbon copy of my mom. That's what I aspire to be.”
With a newfound spotlight, Kelsey takes on the internet with that same grace and infectious joy that surrounded her adolescence. Her TikToks have become a place of respite –– an outlet to show the side of her that couldn’t be captured to its fullest on reality TV. She’s unashamedly her authentic self, BBL jokes and all, often reminding us not to take life too seriously. “I remember people were like, 'Wait, she's funny? I swear, I was cracking jokes in the back. People just didn't catch it,” she jokes. Documenting day-to-day moments, Kelsey’s videos have created a safe space on the internet for her followers to keep up with her life after the show. Like catching up with a friend, she’s there to share hair care tips or dish out the much-needed debrief session after a night out.
Back in New Orleans before joining The Bachelor, her routine looked a little different. When she wasn’t working at her corporate job as an Assistant Construction Project Manager and taking online classes, she would volunteer at a local soup kitchen called Grace at the Greenlight. “I really enjoyed my job, and it's always nice to know that if everything just goes away tomorrow, Joey and I both have jobs that we really loved before all of this.” The pair got to live together in New Orleans before moving to Los Angeles, where they continue to plant roots and grow their community and careers. “We were really lucky with the move. I always say [Joey] is such a good roommate. Honestly, he’s more tidy than me,” she laughs.
But there will always be room in her heart for Louisiana, a place she talks about with fondness throughout our time together. “I love New Orleans –– it’s such a magical city. I feel like there's no place like it in the world. I go back pretty often because all my girlfriends are still there.”
What’s next for Kelsey? After Joey’s Dancing With The Stars endeavor, she tells me she’d follow in her fiancé’s footsteps if given the call. “I will clear my schedule. I am a terrible dancer, but maybe they could teach me. Ezra taught me a couple of moves.”
She’d even be open to sitting at the Round Table in the Scottish Highlands for a season of The Traitors. “I feel like if I was on [the show] and I was the traitor, I would be terrible. I'd probably go home really fast,” she laughs, later saying she’d be open to any opportunity that comes her way. Despite her initial hesitation to join Alan Cummings’ game show, Kelsey’s approach to everything stays the same, an admirable testament to her affinity for the unknown. “I think trying new things is so exciting, even though it's scary at the same time. I think putting yourself out there is fun.”
OUTCAST SOLA MESH CORSET TOP IN KHAKI, LUV AJ THE PALMA SHELL CORD NECKLACE IN GREEN/SILVER, CULTNAKED KILLA PANTS IN ONYXIn the meantime, Kelsey and Joey are in the thick of wedding planning following their second proposal, which she recounts to me with a giddiness that shows how special the moment was for them. “I was completely oblivious. I had press-on nails and was missing a couple,” she laughs. “Even walking up, I was like, ‘Is he proposing again? There's no way.’ And then again in my head, I was like, ‘That'd be so embarrassing if he's not, and I'm crying.’”
It’s all been a sweet season that seems to be going by too fast, but she’s taking the time to soak it all in. “I’m pretty go with the flow. I don't know if the Bridezilla will come out or not,” she jokes. “We've been able to pick things out together. It’s been really fun so far.”
When asked about what she would tell her past self living in Louisiana, she pauses with gentle consideration. It’s been a whirlwind the last couple of years, but Kelsey has a one-of-a-kind head on her shoulders. “I would say to be kinder to yourself, and that it takes one step at a time,” she assures like an older sister.
