Bachelor Joey Graziadei Calls Getting Recognized 'Weird' and Says It's 'Never Going to Get Normal' (Exclusive)
"I don't know how anyone gets used to that whatsoever," Graziadei tells PEOPLE about being recognized in public
Joey Graziadei is excited to be the Bachelor, but he doesn’t know how he feels about the fame that comes with it.
Graziadei’s season of The Bachelor premiered last Monday, and he is looking forward to fans seeing his journey to hopefully finding his wife. He tells PEOPLE exclusively that although he knows what to expect from being on the show, one thing he can’t get used to is the outside attention.
“I think one thing that's never going to get normal is people that just walk up to you and say your name and already know you, and I have no idea who they are,” he admits. “So that, I guess, could be a surprise in some way. I don't know how anyone gets used to that whatsoever, but being known in any way is a little weird.”
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Since his time on Charity Lawson’s season of The Bachelorette, where Graziadei was the runner-up, he says he not only learned how to handle fame, but has also adapted to being on the other side of things as the lead rather than a contestant.
“It feels very weird, but it's been really fun so far,” he tells PEOPLE. “These are an amazing group of women and I'm just really excited to get to know each and every one of them.”
When preparing for the season, Graziadei confesses he took some tips from Charity, who he says he hopes to embody throughout the process.
“I think Charity did a really good job at being intentional with her conversations, taking the time to get to know everyone as much as she could,” he explains. “When you were talking with her, from my side, it felt like she was always just very invested and interested in getting to know who you were, and that lets other people open up and feel more comfortable.”
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He adds: “If I have even an ounce of that, I'm going to be grateful for it.”
Although it's just the beginning, Graziadei says he has been enjoying seeing all the women, but he is also happy to be done with some of the “firsts.”
“It's just starting, but it's already been amazing,” he says. “Night one was hectic and wild, but I feel really confident about the women that are here and I'm just excited to get to know more about them.”
Related: Joey Graziadei Says Giving Out Roses as the Bachelor 'Sucks': 'Not Fun to Be That Guy' (Exclusive)
In terms of what he’s looking for, it is someone whose “energy” pulls them together.
“Someone that is fun, honest, definitely successful in her own way, just seems like she has a sense of poise,” he says. “I could list so many characteristics, but I also said a lot that, I just feel like I'll just know, and there's going to be some type of energy or intangible thing that I can't even explain.”
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The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
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