Daisy Kent Says She Tried to ‘Force’ Things With Bachelor Joey Graziadei

The Bachelor season 28 runner-up Daisy Kent is opening up about her connection — or lack thereof — with Bachelor Joey Graziadei.

“If I’m being honest, there was something always missing between us,” Daisy, 25, said during a Tuesday, April 2, appearance on the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast. “And I felt in ways I was kind of trying to force it to be there because I felt like we are a lot alike in ways. But I also — I just felt like there was something always missing between us. And I think for a period of the show, I just kind of ignored it. And then when it got to the ending, I was like, ‘Yeah. I’m right. There is something missing between us.’”

Daisy, who ended things with Joey, 28, herself during the season finale in March, recalled feeling like something was off before the hometown dates.

“From that last rose ceremony, when I saw him and Kelsey [Anderson], I could just tell there was this energy between them. And I was like, ‘I don’t think it’s me,’ for a second. I remember thinking that,” she said. “And then I remember I broke down crying and they both hugged me.”

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Daisy put her feelings about Joey and Kelsey, 25, who got engaged during the season finale, aside during hometowns.

“I think I kind of just blocked it out,” she explained. “[Meeting] the family went great. And then after that I was like, ‘OK, that went so good.’ But [I] didn’t really get to talk to him. When you meet the family, you don’t get to talk to him that much. … And then going into our next day, I was just so filled with anxiety and it didn’t feel like the excitement I had always felt when I was going to see him and everything just started to physically hurt my whole body. I was just like, ‘This doesn’t feel right.’”

Prior to ending things with Joey, Daisy told Kelsey what she was planning to do. In a Bachelor Nation first, the two women rode to the proposal together.

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“My reason [for] going to talk to Kelsey was from a friendship standpoint,” Daisy said on Tuesday. “I know they both really cared about me, and I wanted them to know that I was going to be OK and that I supported them and I [wanted] them to be happy. Even though this was really hard for me, it’s still something that I can be happy for them for.”

Daisy added that “there was a lot more” to her conversation with Kelsey than was shown on TV.

“[We were] just talking about how I was feeling, talking about how she was feeling, talking about [how] we want the best for each other and me saying, ‘He’s not my person. I know he’s your person,’” she recalled. “She knew it was her and she knew it wasn’t me. And she said, ‘I’ve been worried about you all week because I felt that it was going to be me.’”

Kelsey shared her thoughts about the conversation during a joint appearance with Joey on the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast last month. When asked whether the conversation “spoiled” Joey’s proposal, Kelsey replied, “I think that I went back and forth at the very beginning of like, ‘Oh, I really, I don’t know. Did I want that? Did I not?’ But at the end of the day, it’s what happened.”

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She added that Daisy “had really good intent” and is “a wonderful woman.” Joey, meanwhile, admitted with a laugh: “I don’t know if I would’ve liked it.”

While many thought that Daisy’s honesty during the season finale made her the perfect candidate for next season’s Bachelorette, she turned down the offer during After the Final Rose last month. (Jenn Tran, who was in Joey’s final six, was announced as next season’s leading lady.)

“I know it’s a time for me to focus on the things I love and the people I love. And so right now, no, I’m not ready. And that’s OK,” she said. “And I’m really proud of myself for realizing that.”

Daisy said on Tuesday that she could “definitely” see herself as the lead of a dating show in the future.

“Right now it’s just not a good time for me to do something like that,” she explained. “But I loved being on the show and I had such a great experience.”