Bachelor Recap: A Case for Each of Joey Graziadei’s Final 4 Contestants to Win
Joey Graziadei threw Us a bit of a curveball with his final four.
The 28-year-old tennis pro sent Jenn and Kelsey T. packing during the Monday, February 26, episode of The Bachelor. Both women appeared to be surprised to exit, with Jenn making big moves during the group date — making out with Joey in front of the other women as he attempted to film an interview. Kelsey T., meanwhile, had a successful first one-on-one just last week and even coined a nickname for our lead, referring to him as JoJo throughout the February 19 episode.
“I think [it started] sometime in Spain. ... It was my only pet name on the show and that's Kelsey T.'s way, and I know people have had opinions about that and actually loved it,” Joey exclusively told Us Weekly of the nickname last week. “That's what my mom called me when I was a kid — JoJo. So I've heard it before. Never heard it from a girl before, but that’s Kelsey T.”
While “JoJo” said goodbye to Kelsey T. and Jenn, he is set to meet four families during hometown dates on Monday, March 4. Joey’s final four is officially Daisy, Kelsey A., Maria and Rachel, with Daisy and Kelsey A. scoring their roses during one-on-one dates this week.
Keep reading for breakdown of his connections with Daisy, Kelsey A., Maria and Rachel:
Daisy Kent
Us dropped three reasons Daisy could be the one to win Joey’s heart earlier this month, citing her insane Instagram reach, producers including at least one cute moment between Joey and Daisy during every episode and her recent TikTok about trying to focus on the feelings she had while filming the show as it can be hard to watch back.
During this week’s episode, however, Daisy made it clear that she wasn’t in love with Joey — yet. While he appeared disappointed when she explained that she wasn’t quite ready to drop the L-word, Joey began lovingly looking at Daisy again when she said she could “get there” with him soon.
The Bachelor appeared to pull out all the stops for Joey and Daisy this week, with the twosome horseback riding, ice skating and enjoying time in a randomly-placed hot tub all during one one-on-one. The Hallmark-like music that played on and off throughout their date could also be a signal that Daisy gets the final rose.
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While Daisy didn’t secure any group date roses, she has been the first name Joey called out at a rose ceremony and received two one-on-one dates.
When asked about his feelings for Daisy, Joey attempted to play coy. “I think everyone’s seen where the feelings are at this point, and if she does continue to move forward, I think you’ll be able to see that too,” he said. “Daisy’s a very sweet and kind person who I think that we connected really early on, and that’s what people have seen.”
Kelsey Anderson
Kelsey A. has become the dark horse of the season. After snagging the group date rose at week 2’s talent show, she didn’t get a one-on-one date until week 5. Joey clearly enjoyed his time with her in Malta, however, as Kelsey A. got a coveted second one-on-one date this week.
While he’s still making eyes at Daisy, Joey made it clear he has feelings for Kelsey A. during the past two episodes — and she hasn’t hesitated to share that she’s officially “falling” for him. During week 6, Joey even told Kelsey A. that he has “zero doubts about us,” which is a lot of validation to receive from a lead. (When Jess revealed a similar sentiment in the same episode, he sent her packing.) And during week 7, Kelsey made sure to ask Joey about his family — something we haven't seen from the other women.
Another strong point to be made for Kelsey A. is a potential spoiler. (Consider this your warning.) While not completely founded, some fans are convinced that Joey and Kelsey A. have posted photos with similar backdrops on social media, potentially at a “happy couple” weekend. When asked about the speculation, Joey smiled.
“Obviously, anything that comes out like that, I can’t really speak on it. I know people are really trying to figure out what’s going on,” he told Us last week. “Yeah, I can’t speak to anything that’s sent because it’s not really something that I’m paying attention to.”
Maria Georgas
For lack of a better word, Maria has been on a JOURNEY this season. Since the premiere, she has been a contestant to watch as she declared she wasn’t going to kiss Joey because he kissed too many other women. After talking to him for about 30 seconds, however, the pair were packing on the PDA. While it appeared she was being set up to be a villain after she was accused of discounting Madina’s insecurities about her age, Maria came out on top despite Sydney and Lea both trying to take on Madina’s fight and get Joey to turn on her.
“I didn’t get to see the group settings. I think that Maria can sometimes be misunderstood,” Joey told Us. “I get that she explained that herself — that she’s a little rough around the edges and was surprised that she didn’t get along with a lot of the women in the house.”
Maria went from a two-on-one with Sydney in week 4 to getting the group date rose in week 5 to scoring a one-on-one in week 6. She subsequently admitted to “falling” for Joey in ways she “didn’t expect.”
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One interesting note about Maria’s chances is that, according to @BachelorData on Instagram, there has never been a Bachelor contestant who has gone on a 2-on-1 date and won the show as of 2011. However, the contestant who has scored the coveted shopping date (which Maria did in week 6) has ended up at the final rose ceremony several times. Examples include Susie Evans, Rachael Kirkconnell and Becca Kufrin. (Granted only one of those relationships is still going strong, but that’s not the point.)
While Maria has become an unexpected fan favorite, she appeared to hurt her chances with Joey by expressing her doubts about the process during week 7. She scored the rose, but the damage may have been done as her threat to leave didn’t work the wonders on Joey she seemingly thought it would.
Rachel Nance
Rachel is seemingly at a disadvantage as she’s had the least one-on-one time with Joey, but Us can’t count her out. On paper, Joey and Rachel appear to be a good match as Rachel is from Honolulu and Joey currently residing in Kauai. While the twosome have shown chemistry on group dates (most notably at week 2’s wedding date), she hasn’t received any group date roses. (Important to note that season 17 Bachelor winner Catherine Lowe also never got a group date rose and is still married to Sean.)
Rachel had her one-on-one date in week 5, getting candid with Joey about how her dedication to her job as an ICU nurse has had an impact on her past relationships.
Joey made it clear that he supported Rachel’s career and seemed thrilled when she compared him to her father. During week 7, Joey was sure to applaud Rachel when she took on the lumberjill challenge — even chugging milk despite having a lactose intolerance. However, it doesn’t fare well for Rachel or Maria that Joey opted not to give out a group date rose this week, hinting that his connections with the six women who weren’t Daisy or Kelsey A. were a bit weaker.
A wild stat by @BachelorData also puts a damper on Rachel’s chances as historically, women who get fireworks on their date rarely win. The only exception since 2011 is Rachael, who also had the aforementioned shopping date. (Back in 2021, it was hard to argue that Matt James was even considering picking anyone else.)
The Bachelor airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
