Longtime members of Bachelor Nation have likely noticed a shift in Season 28 of The Bachelor, courtesy of the cast’s immense vulnerability, empathy, and willingness to have tough but crucial conversations.
The women who arrived at the Bachelor mansion have been open about their complex, formative backstories since Night 1, discussing everything from health issues like Lyme disease, hearing loss, and endometriosis to unconventional family dynamics, past relationships, and the death of loved ones. But 28-year-old lead Joey Graziadei has had his fair share of refreshingly honest on-camera moments as well, including an emotional heart-to-heart with producers in Episode 6 where he tearfully opened up about his personal fears and insecurities.
“I think it’s tougher to watch it back than it was to share it,” Graziadei told Decider over Zoom when asked how difficult it was to share that side of himself with others. “I think anyone that knows me — be it my friends or my family — knows how open I am about my emotions, especially later on in life. I realize how much it’s therapy for me. I love confiding in my loved ones and talking about how I’m feeling. But when you do it with the camera and you watch it back it’s always a little different.”
It’s rare to see a franchise lead share such a personal internal monologue — one that not only showcases deep introspection and honesty, but also reveals serious self-doubt, fears of rejection, and strong emotional intelligence. But Graziadei has been gradually breaking down his walls for America since he was a contestant Charity Lawson’s season of The Bachelorette, so his refreshing approach to his season should come as no surprise.
“I think I just tried to be honest and transparent. It’s always hard to be able to describe and explain why you have those insecurities. And I think I’m still working through that every day, but they’re there,” Graziadei said. “It’s because I came onto the show and it hadn’t worked out in the past. I think a lot of people sit with that every day: ‘Why hasn’t it worked out? Is it something that’s wrong with me?’ And being your biggest critic — that will be the number one thing anyone that knows me tells me, that I am my biggest critic. I think people are seeing that obviously after the Montreal episode.”
When it comes to reality TV, the need for accessible mental heath resources for contestants has been a long-running topic of discussion, with popular shows like Love is Blind recently coming under fire following contestant allegations of mistreatment on set, lack of mental health support, and “inhumane working conditions.” Graziadei thinks mental health care for reality casts is crucial, telling Decider he was thankful to have adequate resources when filming his emotional season.
“We are lucky on [The Bachelor] that we do have people that are there to help in that process. We have great doctors that are there to talk through mental health, and I think it is important,” he explained. “I think that it’s still sometimes in today’s world a little bit of a taboo subject, and I’m learning more and more how much it can help me to have those conversations. I think that it’s important in an environment like this, because it is real. There are difficult situations that are tough to go through. So to have people to help you through that is really important. I’m grateful for it. And I know that women are, too.”
As Graziadei’s group of women open up about their life stories week after week, some viewers hop on social media to complain about “trauma dumping,” or the act of quickly sharing a number of traumatic experiences with someone. What Season 28 lead wants people to take away from those heavy conversations, instead, is “just how much courage it takes for these women to be able to share it.”
“I think that’s what’s most important. They are in a unique position where they get a platform to be able to express things that they have gone through; things that have made them who they are. And I think the beautiful part about it is there are people at home watching that could connect and understand it,” he said. “So for them to get that platform, for them to be able to be honest and open, it takes courage.
“It takes special people to be able to do that. And I hope people can focus on that more than anything else,” Graziadei concluded.
From Hometown Dates and the Women Tell All special to Fantasy Suite Week and an “unprecedented” finale, The Bachelor Season 28’s remaining episodes are sure to feature more raw conversations between Graziadei and his remaining women, so be sure to tune in.
New episodes of The Bachelor air Mondays from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. ET with next-day streaming is available on Hulu.