‘The Bachelor’ star Kelsey Anderson and her dad Mark.Photo:ABC
ABC
After audiences met Kelsey’s father Mark duringher hometown datein New Orleans, they suggested he become the nextGolden Bachelor. (Kelsey’s mom died in 2018 after being diagnosed with breast cancer.)
“[My] initial response was traumatized that there were trap videos that people made about my dad,” Kelsey, 25, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue in a joint interview with Joey, 28. “But then I decided to take a step back and I was like, ‘You know what? My dad deserves all of this praise and love. He is an amazing dad, and he was an amazing husband to my mom.’ I think that my dad deserves all the love.”
Kelsey says her relationship with Joey played a role in whether her dad would consider going onThe Golden Bachelor.
Joey thinks his future father-in-law “would crush it” onThe Golden Bachelor. “He’s amazing,” the tennis pro says. “He has a presence about him. So, if he’s open to it, I think he’d do really well.”
Bachelor Joey Graziadei and Kelsey Anderson.Yuri Hasegawa
Yuri Hasegawa
For more onThe Bachelor, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribehere.
“I wish I wouldn’t have felt so confident because then I was devastated, very sad,” Leslie, 65, told Kelsey at the time. “Because I was really in love with him and I would not wish that on my worst enemy, that feeling I had where I was confident and then that was it. And I would say, just always have something in the back of your head that you might not be it.”
The Golden Bachelor’s Leslie Fhima.John Fleenor/Disney
John Fleenor/Disney
Some viewers criticized Leslie for putting doubt in Kelsey’s mind ahead of her overnight date.
“Leslie was just being very honest about her experience. And I really did take it with a grain of salt,” Kelsey tells PEOPLE. “I think that there was a lot more to that conversation that people could focus on: we both had that bond of losing our mothers, and it was really nice to talk everything through with her. I just where her fears lied — she didn’t want me to be heartbroken and devastated at the end like she was. I think that she gave me some really great advice.”
At first, Joey sided with the audience when it came to Leslie’s questionable guidance.
“I understand why America’s opinion was like, that could have put doubt in her head,” he acknowledges. “But as we talked about it more, I think it was beautiful. It was her sharing what she went through and trying to explain what he’s feeling, try to not have this idea of, ‘It’s going to always work out because you want to search within.’ Leslie had the best intentions.”
Joey Graziadi, Daisy Kent (far left) and Kelsey Anderson on ‘The Bachelor’.John Fleenor/Disney
“If it was something bad, I don’t know if I could have moved on after that, because I did know where Kelsey and I were at and I don’t think I could have handled her not being there anymore,” Joey says. “I’m glad it was just a, ‘Hey, can’t wait to meet your family.’ New words next time would be great, but that’s all it needed to be. But it was a realization of how much I really did care for her.”
Kelsey agrees she wishes she “would’ve used different words” in that note. “I saw how shaken he was from that conversation and it really made me feel terrible,” she continues. “And I was shaken up going into that rose ceremony, but I just tried to focus on how great Fantasy Suites was for us and not think about the note.”
Ultimately, everything worked out for Kelsey on herBachelorjourney. “It all doesn’t matter because she’s got a ring on her finger now,” Joey says. “So we’re good.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The Bacheloris streaming now on Hulu.
source: people.com
