Joey Graziadei Raised ‘The Bachelor’ Bar

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

After The Bachelor Season 28 wrapped on March 25, a popular fan account tweeted that familiar phrase knowing full well that Bachelor Nation was saying goodbye to Joey Graziadei, the single greatest Bachelor lead we may witness in this lifetime.

Those who watched the 28-year-old teaching tennis professional become the runner-up on Charity Lawson’s season of The Bachelorette got early glimpses of Graziadei’s warm heart, dreamy green eyes, and immense capacity to love. Hopes were high heading into Graziadei’s season, but from Night 1 to his unprecedented three-hour finale, he exceeded expectations at every opportunity, raising the Bachelor bar to a height I’m not yet confident another mortal man can surpass.

As Graziadei’s second shot at finding love within the franchise aired, viewers were quick to dub him “the best Bachelor” and praise Season 28 for restoring hope in reality TV romance.

When asked what made his journey stand out from the rest, Graziadei — humble as ever — told Decider over Zoom, “I won’t take any of the credit. I’ll put it on the women. I think they were amazing this year.” Part of why Season 28 was such a success is because it didn’t shy away highlighting formative life experiences — both positive and negative. Graziadei and producers provided a safe space where contestants felt comfortable opening up about everything from health issues like Lyme disease, hearing loss, and endometriosis to unconventional family dynamics, past relationships, and the death of loved ones. In doing so, the stories moved and educated viewers, helping those with similar experiences feel less alone. But Graziadei’s emotional intelligence, empathy, and refreshing listening and communication skills took that vulnerability to the next level.

More evidence of Graziadei’s great stature came during the Women Tell All event, when the 16 contestants in attendance had nothing negative to say about him. Instead of critiquing his actions or expressing disappointment, as we’ve seen with seasons past, they thanked him for his grace and for changing their lives for the better. Sydney Gordon — who Graziadei sent home from a two-on-one date with fan-favorite contestant Maria Georgas following their ongoing feud — even revealed when she was being bullied by fans as episodes aired, Graziadei reached out and offered support. “The genuine Joey you see on screen, he is like that in real life,” she said.

As a lead, Graziadei made concerted efforts not to lose himself throughout the journey, endlessly supported his women, and thoughtfully navigated drama in the house. But he wasn’t afraid to show his personality, either and openly embraced bits with Jesse Palmer and chances to let his goofy, giddy sides shine.

Though we didn’t hear much of his own backstory this season, the lead had his fair share of refreshingly honest on-camera moments, including an emotional heart-to-heart with producers in Episode 6 where he tearfully opened up about his fears and insecurities. It’s rare to see a stud who’s simultaneously dating multiple women in a highly-sought after reality TV power position exhibit intense introspection, repeatedly express self-doubt, and offer generous transparency every step of his journey, but Graziadei proved sensitivity is both a strength and a turn on. (He even consistently stressed the importance of mental health resources. Swoon!)

“I definitely think I’m biased. Joey’s an amazing man. He has such a big heart and is very intentional. So I think the season showed how genuine he was,” Graziadei’s winner/fiancé Kelsey Anderson told Decider when asked what made Season 28 so successful. “He’s also easy on the eyes,” she laughed.

Yeah. That too!

Graziadei’s season didn’t simply deliver good vibes and fluttering hearts. It was also a serious ratings success that even took producers by surprise. “What we experienced this year on Joey’s season is somewhat of an anomaly, which we’re really excited about…I think Joey’s Episode 1 numbers were up perhaps because of Golden,” executive producer Jason Ehrlich told Decider in a February interview. “Joey’s fantastic. He’s an incredible Bachelor. But his Show 1 numbers were up. The Show 2 episode numbers were higher than Show 1, and Show 3 were higher than Show 2, which we are most excited about, because it says people didn’t only come to sample Show 1. This never happens. Usually there’s a fall-off after Show 2 and then it builds back up towards the finale. But the fact that more people are coming speaks to the fact that Joey’s season is fantastic.”

Within the franchise, Graziadei received overwhelming praise from fellow Bachelorette contestants and other fan-favorite figures including Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner, who said, “From a Golden perspective, he absolutely fuckin’ killed it.”

Following the finale, Jason Tartick posted to Instagram, “The epitome of class! In my humble opinion, one of the best, if not, the best Bachelor we have ever seen. So happy for you man!” Tanner Courtad called Graziadei, “The Mount Rushmore of Bachelors.” And John Henry Spurlock said, “Honestly I feel bad for the next Bachelor, because good luck following that. Mic drop!”

“I think it’s all for a reason,” Grazidei says when Decider asked for thoughts on his “Best Bachelor” label. “They got to see a beautiful love story. They got to see women be open about who they were and uncover different sides of themselves. It was unique. It was a special season. They can call it whatever they want, but I know I’m the lucky guy here.”