Joey Graziadei Breaks Silence on Competing Against Ex-Girlfriend Jenn Tran on ‘DWTS’ Season 33

Season 28 The Bachelor lead Joey Graziadei is thrilled to be reuniting with his contestant Jenn Tran as he and the latest Bachelorette compete against each other on season 33 of Dancing With the Stars.

“I’m excited. I mean, Bachelor Nation runs deep, right?” Joey, 28, told Us Weekly on Wednesday, September 4. “They always do Dancing With the Stars, so it’s an exciting opportunity and we’re just gonna have fun with it.”

“I saw her earlier today. Obviously, she came in last-minute, but I got to say hello and give her a hug,” Joey shared with the outlet after the full slate of competitors was revealed. “We’re just, like I said, excited to get this thing going.”

This will be the first time that DWTS has both the most recent Bachelor and Bachelorette competing against each other. Jenn’s season wrapped up on Tuesday, September 3, which saw her romantic proposal from Devin Strader end in heartbreak when he dumped her after cameras finished rolling.

While Jenn, 26, won’t have a fiancé in the audience to cheer her on, Joey said his final rose recipient, fiancée Kelsey Anderson, convinced him to do the show and will relocate to Los Angeles with him while he competes.

“She’s been so supportive,” the Pennsylvania native said of Kelsey, 25. “She actually really pushed for me to do this, [and] we’re just gonna enjoy this time. It’s actually nice to slow it down a little bit and be in the same place. And, yeah, we’re gonna enjoy L.A. and just see what it’s like here for a little bit.”

The Bachelorette's Jenn Tran and Devin Strader's Relationship Timeline

Joey’s pro-partner, Jenna Johnson, is already impressed with his learning capabilities at ballroom dancing.

“I’m really excited about his ability,” the season 26 Mirrorball winner said. “He’s not a dancer, but he can really pick it up and he’s so smart that he can process what I’m saying, and I’m really excited.”

Jenn was eliminated in week 7 of Joey’s season of The Bachelor. The physician’s assistant trainee made history when she named season 21’s Bachelorette, becoming the first Asian-American lead.

Viewers were shocked at how things went horribly wrong for Jenn after giving her final rose to Devin, 28, following his romantic proposal in Hawaii.

During After the Final Rose on Tuesday, September 3, it was revealed that Devin broke up with Jenn over the phone weeks after getting engaged in the finale, which was filmed in May. When he was brought out on stage, it was the first time she’d seen him since their split.

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A tearful Jenn claimed Devin was “never fully in the relationship” and even suggested couples counseling, but said her former fiancé wasn’t interested in fixing things.

“I promised my life to somebody who I thought was going to put every effort into the relationship. I didn’t feel that. I felt like I was secondary to everything in his life,” she told host Jesse Palmer during the live finale. “He wasn’t introducing me to his family anymore. Every little thing made me feel secondary to his life and I didn’t understand why.”

A month before the finale aired, Devin told the Miami resident that he “regretted” their engagement and that he “didn’t love her anymore.”

“It definitely was a moment I had been wanting to happen for the past month,” Jenn said about coming face-to-face with Devin during an appearance on Good Morning America, one day after the finale aired. “I just needed to get that off my chest and start a clean slate and move on with my life.”