The Bachelor’s Joey Graziadei Admits He Feared Kelsey Wouldn’t Accept His Proposal ‘for a Second’

Before Kelsey Anderson accepted Joey Graziadei’s proposal on the season finale of The Bachelor, he had a split-second of doubt that she was going to reject him.

“I think any guy, as soon as they get down on one knee, has that thought in the back of their head. Like, ‘Is she gonna say yes?’” Joey, 28, said on the Tuesday, March 26, episode of the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast. “I did think that for a second. But, yeah, we were in a good spot at that moment, so I felt good.”

When Kelsey, 25, approached Joey at the final rose ceremony, she already had a strong reason to believe that she was about to get engaged. She arrived at the beach in the same car as runner-up Daisy Kent, so she knew that her fellow finalist was the first to meet with the Tennis instructor, which meant she was not the winner. After Daisy, 25, and Joey’s breakup, the account executive returned to the car to give Kelsey a hug before her big moment.

However, when Kelsey made her way toward the podium, she said she couldn’t find her now-fiancé at first, which added to Joey’s doubts. “She wasn’t looking at me,” he pointed out. “I was like, ‘This is gonna be bad.’ All of a sudden, she’s, like, not making eye contact.”

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Once the New Orleans resident finally got her bearings, she and Joey confessed their feelings for each other and got engaged. Earlier in the episode, Daisy came to the realization that she wasn’t going to be the Pennsylvania native’s final pick because he did not give her any “validation” when she told him that she loved him. She approached Kelsey with this information and found out that Kelsey did feel that validation on her last date with Joey.

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Instead of walking away, Daisy opted to show up at the rose ceremony with Kelsey, whom she’d become close friends with, by her side. She took the situation into her own hands and ended things with Joey, keeping her head held high in the process.

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Although the way things played out took the element of surprise away from Kelsey’s engagement, she said she has nothing but respect for Daisy. “At the end of the day, it’s what happened,” Kelsey said. “And I know that she had really good intent and I think that it did take a little bit of the stress off my shoulders going in. So I do appreciate Daisy and I think that she’s a wonderful woman.”

The ladies reunited during the live After the Final Rose show and proved they were still best friends. Daisy and Joey also came face-to-face for the first time since the breakup. Plus, the newly-engaged couple was finally able to go public with their relationship. They confirmed that they were not in a rush to tie the knot and said their upcoming plans included a move to New York City together.