Jenna Johnson Reveals Why She Was 'a Little Sad' to be Paired with Joey Graziadei on Dancing with the Stars

Jenna Johnson loves dancing with Joey Graziadei on Dancing with the Stars now, but she wasn’t always as excited about the partnering.

On a recent episode of The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast, Johnson explained that she was caught off guard upon first being paired with Graziadei. Expecting an athlete as her partner, Johnson admitted she felt some disappointment when she found out she would be dancing with the former Bachelor star.

"Joey knows this, I’ve been honest with him," Johnson began. "I think people think that we know who we’re gonna have for a little bit, that’s not the case. They really like to make it a secret so it’s an authentic reaction. But I had a feeling because I heard his name in the mix, and so I was a little sad because I’ve been promised — not promised — but I’ve never had a football player. Through my time on the show I’ve never had a football player.”

She continued, “So I kind of heard Danny [Amendola, former NFL wide receiver] was going to be involved and I was like, ‘This is my year. I’m gonna get the NFL guy.’"

After explaining her honest reaction to co-hosts (and Bachelor Nation alums) Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti, Johnson said she knew who Graziadei was when she found out they were paired because her sister was a “mega fan” of The Bachelor. She added that all the good things she had heard about him were “true.”

"He is one of the most genuine humans I've ever met,” Johnson revealed. “I think we just connected really easily and quickly and we have so much fun,” adding that it is "such a pleasure to work with him."

(L-R) Jenna Johnson Reveals and Joey Graziadei on Dancing with the Stars.Eric McCandless/Disney
After seeing Graziadei in practice, Johnson said her fears of being paired with him completely shifted. 

"He's one of those annoying people that's freakishly good at everything," she said, joking, “You just want to punch him.” 

“It’s been so awesome being his partner,” she added.

Johnson and Graziadei have been a fan favorite on this season of DWTS, with Joey scoring a 22/30 during week 2, ending up tied in third place with Olympic medalist Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold.

Graziadei had his own doubts going into DWTS, revealing he requested a partner who was in a “healthy relationship” like he is with fiancée Kelsey Anderson.

(L-R) Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson on Dancing with the Stars.Eric McCandless/Disney
“It was something I thought about coming in,” Graziadei explained. “I wanted to be in a situation where I was comfortable that I didn’t have to worry about a lot of this noise. So, I asked when I got on the show to be paired with someone that was in a successful and healthy relationship.”

He added: “I didn’t want there to be any chance of noise on this because I know that comes with the show and the territory sometimes.”

Given that he is in “such a great place in my life with everything that Kelsey and I have built,” he shared that he “didn’t want to have a distraction.”

Kelsey Anderson and Joey Graziadei.Disney/John Fleenor
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Johnson is married to DWTS pro Val Chmerkovskiy, with whom she welcomed son Rome in January 2023. Graziadei noted he and Johnson weren’t surprised by fans’ speculation about their connection on the dance floor, despite both being with other people.

“We knew coming in as a Bachelor Nation thing,” he shared. “I think it's understandable that people are paying attention to my relationship always, and it was something that Kelsey and I talked about. I made sure before doing this that she was comfortable with putting that into the world again.”

“I think that we were more surprised that people couldn't step away and understand the situation of the relationship I was in, the relationship that Jenna was in. We were kind of hoping that people would be a little bit more aware of that, but we weren't necessarily surprised,” he concluded.

Dancing with the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, with the episode available stream the next day on Hulu.