Daisy Kent knew Bachelor Joey Graziadei and fiancée Kelsey Anderson were endgame, and only wanted to support them when they got engaged.
Speaking on the Thursday, April 4, episode of“The Viall Files” podcast, Daisy, 25, denied claims that she “stepped on” their special moment with her presence. (During the March finale of The Bachelor, Daisy and Kelsey, 25, rode in a limo together to the rose ceremony. Daisy ended things with Joey, 28, before he popped the question to Kelsey.)
“I was very vocal about that it wasn’t me and I knew it wasn’t me and I knew it felt wrong,” Daisy stressed. “I said, ‘If I’m feeling this way, there’s no way he’s not feeling this way.’ And it was really, really hard. If it had been a different girl besides Kelsey that I didn’t build such a good friendship with and somebody who I know and respect … we just had a lot of good conversations.”
Daisy further noted that she realized Kelsey was “perfect for” Joey after Rachel Nance’s post-fantasy suites elimination, telling host Nick Viall “she could just tell” by Joey and Kelsey’s eye contact that they were meant to be.
“We were very supportive of each other and I was like, ‘I know he’s not my person, he’s your person,’” Daisy recalled of their final conversation before Daisy’s breakup and Kelsey’s proposal. “She was like, ‘I love him so much,’ and was like, ‘I’ve been worried about you because I thought it was me and wanted you to be OK.’ [I told her], ‘I’m OK and I want you to be happy.’ Then, we decided to go together [in the car].”
Daisy further explained her reasoning for going to Kelsey’s room to chat instead of straight to Joey’s to call it quits.
“I went straight to her because I wanted her to know that I supported them [and] even though it did really hurt in the moment [that] I wanted her to know, ‘I want you to be happy.’ I also wanted [Joey] to know that I also wanted him to be happy,” Daisy added. “I think the people who are criticizing me and saying, ‘You stepped on her moment,’ I mean, she said too, it was relieving for her.”
Daisy said that both she and Kelsey had gotten “confirmation” in their chat that the finale outcome was for the best.
“I don’t regret anything that I did,” Daisy said. “I think I did the right thing and I think I’m happy with how it all played out.”
As Daisy and Kelsey held hands in their shared limo, they had one final chat where Daisy stressed that she “was OK” with leaving the show single and did want both Kelsey and Joey “to be happy.”
After Daisy left the show, she was in talks to star in the next season of The Bachelorette. After multiple conversations, she turned it down weeks before After the Final Rose. Jenn Tran was subsequently offered the Bachelorette mantle and is currently filming.