Our man Joey Graziadei traveled the nation in Season 28, Episode 8, meeting the families of his four surviving competitors, Daisy Kent, Maria Georgas, Rachel Nance, and Kelsey Anderson.
Joey had to make his hardest elimination to date and bid farewell to a fan favorite ahead of Fantasy Suite week, following a series of touching heart-to-hearts, challenging talks, and thrilling meet and greets with the families and friends of his final four women.
First, Joey left for another life-altering one-on-one date in New Orleans. Prior to The Bachelorette’s Hometown dates, he was spending important time with Charity Lawson the last time he was here. This time, however, he met Kelsey for a day of tandem biking, butterfly viewing, beignet tasting, and other activities.
Recap
The day was particularly poignant for Kelsey because her mother passed away from cancer a few years ago. It was quite emotional that they were flapping their wings on this important day because the last time she rode a tandem bike, she did so with her mother.
As we discovered in a prior one-on-one, she perceived butterflies as a sign that her mom was watching over her. After spending some time exploring Bourbon Street, the two went to a pub to discuss their plans for the evening. Joey was aware of how much Kelsey was missing her mother, so she carefully inquired about how she was feeling.
After that, the two went on a very touching and optimistic Hometown date, meeting her father Mark, sister Taylor, and brother Matthew. Joey’s father gave her an album with pictures of her mother, and the Andersons took her on a walk down memory lane after Kelsey reassured her family that she wasn’t “kidnapped.”
Next, give up? Cucamonga Rancho, to meet Rachel’s family. Despite being from Hawaii, she welcomed Joey to her “semi-home” in California and got him ready for a Hawaiian and Filipino cultural day.
She told Joey to greet her mother with a “mano po,” a respectful gesture from the Philippines in which one grasps the hand of the person they are meeting and touches it to their forehead, and to call her dad Mr. Nance until he could speak “uncle.” She revealed that she and her parents suffered a great deal when the last guy she brought home broke up since they had grown quite close and were on the verge of engagement.
When Joey traveled to Becker, Minnesota to see Daisy at her family’s former Christmas tree farm, Christmas arrived early. After touring Daisy’s childhood haunts in a horse-drawn carriage, the two went to see Santa and Mrs. Claus, ate cookies, decorated ornaments, drank hot chocolate, fed llamas, and wished on a wishing tree that their relationship would grow into something wonderful.
A bunch of Daisy’s friends met her and Joey at the farm before they went to meet the Kents, and they heard all about their lovely Bachelor trip. Daisy sobbed as she informed her friends that she will always be appreciative to Joey for altering her view on life and herself, regardless of what transpires at the end of the voyage.