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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
The Bachelor star Kelsey Anderson has spoken out in support of former castmate Jenn Tran following her “heartbreaking” Bachelorette finale.
Season 21 of ABC’s hit dating series The Bachelorette ended on a sour note after it was revealed that 26-year-old Jenn’s engagement to Devin Strader had been called off.
During last week’s finale, the two reunited in front of a live studio audience to speak about the downfall of their relationship. There, Jenn called out Devin for following her former Bachelor co-star Maria Georgas on Instagram after their breakup.
It was previously revealed during the “Men Tell All” episode, which saw the eliminated contestants come together to address the season’s drama, that many of them had initially applied to be on the show thinking the lead was going to be The Bachelor season 28 contestants Maria or Daisy.
Fans have since called out the show’s producers for not casting men who were already interested in dating Jenn.
Addressing the controversy on Tuesday (September 10) at Raising Cane’s New York Fashion Week event, 26-year-old Kelsey, who co-starred with Jenn earlier this year on season 26 of The Bachelor, agreed with the outcry.
“I don’t think that they necessarily ever casted for specific leads, and I think that they should and I think that that showed from this past season of The Bachelorette,” she told The Independent.
“It was really heartbreaking to watch her finale and to be in the crowd for that. I think that Jenn deserves the best. She’s an amazing woman, she has a great heart. But yeah, I can’t imagine going through what she went through because everything that I said to Joey and everything that Joey said to me meant so much, and I can’t imagine someone afterwards being like, ‘I actually didn’t mean that,’” Kelsey added.
“My heart goes out to Jenn, but she’s living her best life, and we’re focusing on Dancing with the Stars, and she’s going to crush it.”
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Hours after Jenn’s Bachelorette journey ended, it was announced that she would be joining the season 33 cast of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.
Partnered with professional dancer Sasha Farber, Jenn will compete against several other celebrity contestants, including former Bachelor star and Kelsey’s fiancé Joey Graziadei, for the coveted Mirrorball trophy.
Season 33 of Dancing with the Stars debuts on Tuesday, September 17, and will air weekly after that, beginning at 8pm ET on ABC.
Expressing her eagerness to watch Joey “shake his little booty” on DWTS, Kelsey added: “He has an amazing partner, Jenna. He told me recently that he wants to continue dancing even after all this. He’s just living it up, loving it, and enjoying every second.”
