The Bachelor Season 28: Who Is ABCs Next Leading Man?

 Posted on July 14, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  848 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched “The Bachelorette” Season 20 finale with Charity Lawson, which aired August 21 on ABC.

When one door closes, another opens.

That mantra is certainly the truth for Joey Graziadei, a contestant on “The Bachelorette” who got his heart broken on national TV, only to learn moments later that he’s been selected as ABC’s next star of “The Bachelor.”

Graziadei was the runner-up on “The Bachelorette” Season 20, starring leading lady Charity Lawson.

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Lawson’s season of “The Bachelorette” wrapped up on Monday night with an emotional send-off for Graziadei, who was proposing to Lawson as she told him that ultimately chose another man as her fiancé. (For the finale recap, click here.) Through tears, both Lawson and Graziadei showed much respect and admiration for each other, proving that Graziadei might just be a mature and sensitive “Bachelor.” — in other words, he got his “Bachelor edit,” as fans of the franchise call it.

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“We always said that even if we weren’t in love with each other, we would always have love for each other,” Graziadei said to Lawson on Monday night, sitting face-to-face with her for the first time since their television breakup. After their would-be proposal, when Graziadei was sent home, he cried in the car, wondering through tears, “When is it going to happen for me?”

Well, it seems it’s going to happen fairly soon when production begins on the show that typically airs in January each year.

“This is crazy,” Graziadei said on Monday night, speaking to host Jesse Palmer. “I never expected this at all. I never knew this is what my life was turning into.”

Graziadei was a fan-favorite on “The Bachelorette.” He is a 28-year-old tennis pro from Collegeville, Pennsylvania, who now lives in Hawaii.

On “The Bachelorette,” when discussing his family, Graziadei shared his father’s coming-out story, telling Lawson that his parents divorced when he was young after his dad came out as gay.

Per ABC’s press release announced the new star of “The Bachelor,” Graziadei is described as “looking for a life partner who is outgoing, caring, and shares his love for adventure and exploring the outdoors. 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.”

No premiere date has been set for Graziadei’s season of “The Bachelor,” but it will air in 2024.

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