Joey Graziadei Opens Up About His Drastic Weight Loss on DWTS: ‘I Got a Little Too Thin Quickly’

He also noted that he was able to build muscle in the last few weeks of the show due to Argentine Tango and contemporary dances that he did with his partner

By

Kimberlee Speakman

 
Kimberlee Speakman is a digital writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Her work has previously appeared in Forbes and she has also worked in broadcast television as a reporter for Hawaii-based news station KHON2 News.
Published on December 3, 2024 08:59PM EST
JOEY GRAZIADEI. Photo:Disney/Eric McCandless
Joey Graziadei is getting candid about the pros and cons of his body transformation while competing on Dancing with the Stars. 

The Bachelor alum, 29, revealed on the Lightweights Podcast with Joe Vulpis that he lost a lot of weight after joining the reality TV show and his fiancée Kelsey Anderson brought it to his attention.

“I definitely got a little too thin quickly,” Graziadei shared.

Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson.Disney/Eric McCandless
“Initially you’re doing steps like the jive. We lost so much weight during that week because we were just kicking and flicking and doing so much,” he explained. “Same thing in the samba. You have to move so much in those dances that — Kelsey’s the one that tells you… ‘You’re looking pretty thin.’ ”

He said that while he was “definitely getting cut,” he lost so much weight that it became noticeable when his old clothing — especially his pants — no longer fit. 

“… I’m losing a lot of weight and my size 32 pants, I need a 30 all of a sudden it feels like, ‘cause I’m having to buckle it up so tight,” he said.

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Graziadei noted that the “last few weeks” on the show doing the Argentine Tango and contemporary dances “transformed” him “even more” since they did “a lot more lifts,” which helped him build muscle. 

“I’m actually holding up Jenna [Johnson] and having to do a lot of reps,” Graziadei said. 

Jenna Johnson and Joey Graziadei.Disney/Eric McCandless
“And it feels like, the only thing I can compare it to is like I just worked out, like an upper body workout,” he continued. “Every single time we do those lifts… there’s a lot of legs and upper body you have to do to kind of be strong during that.”

The reality TV star noted that the “overall transformation of your body” through participating on the show “is wild” — and ultimately something he would consider doing again.

“If I could do this every day, I would because I would never be out of shape, and it’s amazing,” he said.

Graziadei not only walked away from the latest season of DWTS physically transformed, but with a mirror ball trophy to boot. He and his dance partner, Johnson, surged ahead of Ilona Maher and her partner, Alan Bersten, after earning a 29/30 on their freestyle and kept strong to claim the title.

After winning, Graziadei told the audience of his win: "It means everything, this whole experience has been unbelievable. Thank you for bearing with us. I tried my best, I promise!"