It’s safe to say that The Bachelor season 28 premiere was a memorable night for every woman lucky enough to be in attendance.
The night that was jam-packed with wild and wacky moments, but nobody had more fun than the Bachelor himself, Joey Graziadei. With a whopping 32 women surrounding him ⏤ the most in the show’s history ⏤ Joey had quite a few lovely ladies to meet and mingle with, from a set of secret sisters and a vintage store owner to a Miami Dolphins cheerleader.
Luckily for Joey, talking and sipping wasn’t all that went down that night.
In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, Joey addressed something on every viewer’s mind: the fact that he kissed more than a few women on his very first night in the Bachelor mansion. Admitting that he needed to apologize to his family for making them cringe, Joey did a little cringing himself when faced with the actual quantity of smooches.
“You didn’t have to count, okay? You didn’t have to count. I think that’s just one of those things. As I said to them, it’s not something that I would usually do, it’s not something I would look forward to, but I do know that that’s a really big part of intimacy in general and figuring out where there’s a connection, so it’s just kind of how it goes on the first night. There’s a lot of those opportunities to get to know someone. I don’t regret anything, but I do need to apologize to my sister.”
Who were the lucky ladies who got to savor this tennis professional, you ask? Let’s find out, shall we?
Kiss #1: Jess Edwards
The first woman to lock lips with Joey was Jess Edwards, a 24-year-old executive assistant from San Diego, California. After deeming him to be a walking green flag, she went on to tell Joey, “You are everything I’ve been looking for in a partner and a relationship” before going for it, all while sitting on the speedboat that was a part of her limo entrance. Things went downhill fast when an extremely excited (and likely an extremely tipsy) Jess returned to the Bachelor Mansion and told the rest of the women that she’d just shared “a little smoochy-poo” with young Joseph. Taylor Wiens then dished that the moment was “very disrespectful, awkward, uncomfortable, and weird,” we seriously could not agree more.
Kiss #2: Jenn Tran
Jenn Tran, a 25-year-old physician assistant student from Miami, Florida, was the second one to kiss dreamy Joey just minutes after having a go-kart race out in the driveway (which was a part of her limo entrance). After beating Joey, Jenn had a much more intimate conversation with him on the front steps of the mansion, admitting that she was only willing to put her schooling on hold for the show because he was announced as the lead. That’s when they locked lips, with a smitten Joey clearly moved by her sacrifice.
Kiss #3: Daisy Kent
The third kiss of the evening went to Daisy Kent, a 25-year-old account executive from Becker, Minnesota and one of season 28’s frontrunners. Given that she’s hard of hearing and has a cochlear implant, the duo sat in a quiet corner so Daisy could tell Joey that she just wants to “have fun and get to know [him] and see if we can develop a relationship” before promising to be his cheerleader during the good, bad, and ugly times. Admitting that “she has this soft-spoken demeanor that pulls you in, that’s captivating,” Joey then kissed her and all of Bachelor Nation collectively swooned.
Kiss #4: Allison Hollinger
After having a conversation with Lauren Hollinger that left something to be desired, Joey had a much more meaningful chat with her sister Allison, a 26-year-old realtor from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Locking lips with Allison after their conversation (and giving her the first rose at the Rose Ceremony) infuriated Lauren, who then told Allison to “Go f**k yourself.” Yikes!
Kiss #5: Lexi Young
Lexi Young, a 30-year-old digital strategist from Atlanta, Georgia, knows that the way to a man’s heart is through golf, and this trick seemed to have worked wonders on Joey. The two shared a kiss after connecting over their love for the sport. Does anyone else see sparks flying between this duo, or is it just me?
Kiss #6: Maria Georgas
In a much more awkward encounter wherein the pair bickered about star signs and Remember the Titans, a 29-year-old executive assistant from Kleinburg, Ontario named Maria Georgas promised that she would not kiss Joey on night one. This promise was broken as soon as she stared into his big brown eyes during an awkward lapse in their already awkward conversation. Talking to someone as attractive as Joey without passing out must be a task, so I don’t blame her whatsoever!
Kiss #7: Lea Cayanan
Last but certainly not least, the final kiss of the evening went to Lea Cayanan, a 23-year-old account manager from Waipahu, Hawaii. Lea also happened to receive the First Impression Rose after making an extremely difficult decision. Having finally opening the mysterious envelope she received the first time she met Joey ⏤ during the “After The Final Rose” special for season 20 of The Bachelorette ⏤ Lea learned that she’d won the power “to steal a one-on-one date from someone else at any time” before hometown dates.
As Lea shared on-camera, “I want to feel excited. A one-on-one date is so important, but like, it’s going to have to come at the expense of someone else, and like, all of the girls in there are so wonderful.” She then did what she felt was right and tossed the note into the fire. Admitting that this gesture was a perfect example of the kind of person Lea is, Joey then offered her the coveted First Impression Rose before locking lips with her.
Whether or not any of these lucky seven manages to steal the heart of our main man Joe remains to be seen, but if you want to find out firsthand, you can catch brand new episodes of the beloved competition series every Monday on ABC, or stream it the next day on Hulu. If Reality Steve is anything to go by (spoiler alert!), then this season is going to be one for the books.