Bachelor Happy HourToday on “Happy Hour,” we’re back for part two of our chat with “Dancing with the Stars” champs Joey and Jenna! We kick off the episode diving right back in where we left off: How does scoring factor into the path to the Mirrorball? Then, we get into Jenna’s journey as a dancing mom — and the first mom to win the championship! And, of course, we get all the Joey and Kelsey updates, including their move, their holiday plans, and when we might be hearing wedding bells! Tune in now to hear all this and more, and be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode.
Hi, everyone, Welcome back to Bachelor Happy Hour.
I'm Serena, I'm joe and we are back with part two with Jenna and Joey talking about their Dancing with the Stars experience after the big win. So we finished off last episode talking about just the difference and abilities and can you guys just give us an idea of what it's like with scoring, because obviously week one, Joey, where you're gonna be ability wise is so different than where someone like Chandler is going to be.
How is it not like a two and a ten?
You know, it's hard with scoring again because I think for the first little bit they tried to just score based off of the own individual, but then once it starts getting down to the later episodes, you start comparing, right, So for scoring, for me, from the very beginning, I told Joey, I don't care about the scores, like we should not focus on those yes sent of what the judges are saying and their critiques. But for me, those numbers don't matter as long as we're happy with how we did. We're continuing to improve and doing our very best. Like the number that they show isn't going to make or break if I'm fulfilled with our performance or not not. So it is hard though, because when you have like we had a couple of times where we were like, that was our best dance yet, and we got scores that we didn't think that that matched that or how we felt at the end of it. So that's why I try to keep it as like, scores are what they're going to be. Let's just control what we can control.
It's it's definitely in the beginning, it's a lot easier to do that because especially if you feel like you are in the competition and doing well, which we kind of did the entire time. I feel like we were in the top four almost the entire time on the show, which was great for scoring, But we didn't really let scores maybe affect what we were thinking until maybe like week six or week seven, and then it just started to be comparative. You started to look at everyone else and you're like, oh, wait, like our scores do matter. We want to stay in this competition. And it's hard. It's it's definitely a game. But she was always great at with all of it, just taking out all the distracts and the focusing on what we can control because we actually cannot control any of that. We can just leave that dance and know that we felt good about it, and we did almost every single time, So that was really all we kind of held onto each week.
What was the week or what was the dance where you were like, Okay, we have a shot at at going to the finals. Was there a moment where you're like, okay, yeah, we were, we're part of the we're part of the competition here.
Yeah. I mean, I think each week he kind of held his own and made a splash or an impact in the competition. But I would say maybe, I don't know how you feel, but I would say tango. I was going to say it was the moment. I think it was Week four, Show four, But it was when Derek told him that it was the best tango that he'd seen a male celebrity do on the show. And I knew that, like his frame and everything was really really great. But you get a little desensitized when you're in the room with somebody for hours.
On end, and that tango was an issue for a bit.
It was hard to get where it got. But I think that was the time I was like, oh, maybe we could actually do this and take this. So that really I feel like motivated both of us, Yeah, like push and just give our very best every week.
We put so much energy into that tango too, because it was my first dance and frame it was not easy for I think that was the first time. You obviously have the whole week show, you know how it is, but that was the first time where we didn't get a dance like feeling good until maybe the end of the day on Saturday. And for anyone that doesn't know the schedule the show, you only have like a day and a half after Saturday to really get ready for the actual live show, so we did. That was the latest we felt good about a dance. But at the end of the day Saturday, we're like, oh, it's coming together. And then Sunday we were like, wait, this might be our.
Best dance yet.
And then that was a game changing night because that was the first time we passed Chandler and we're top of the leaderboard by ourself, and we finished out the show. We were the last performance, and to hear Derek's comments and to see like the scores actually show the amount of effort we put in, that was where I think we both were like, we might have a chance of we keep working as hard as we did because we worked really hard on that thing.
That's true.
Is there like an ideal spot, like when you're finding out if you're first or last, like where you're performing, is there kind of a zone you're hoping for?
Heck, yeah, I don't know. I hated hated it. When we were first, I just oh, okay.
I thought it was so hard to mentally get ready to do well in the dance because you went straight from the bumper of introducing the live show, standing up there with everyone and then boom, lights hit and you have two minutes to get ready to dance, and usually if you have a later dance.
For me, it felt so nice that we had.
The ability to warm up a little bit before, get your mind and right talked through it, maybe do a couple of the steps you didn't get like thrusted into it. And then also I felt like last was horrible because you waited the entire day and when we were last with a tango, there were still twelve couples.
Yeah, you're like waiting two hours to go. Yeah, you're just like iced out. You've seen how everyone's done. I feel like you see the scores, you start to put pressure on yourself. So we always found our sweet spot was like in the middle, like six or seven or halfway through the show, was we felt great about.
Yeah.
Yeah, starting off is hard, and then yeah, finishing it's epic because it's like an honor to go last, and there's like conspiracy theories that if you're going last you have a really good dance. Oh really, I feel like it's a lot of pressure. And then on the flip side too, for like voting, are they voting for you without seeing your dance? So is it better to go earlier on? Like there's so many things go into but I feel like we always did best when we were like six or seven.
Yeah, yeah, especially when there's less couples.
Like I loved when you're like third, I think was our favorite spot because you didn't have to wait, but you didn't have to go right away, and that was that was the sweet spot I feel like for us.
Yeah, I guess you're like once the show starts, your adrenaline is going, so you're just waiting and like getting probably more and more.
Like sweating the whole time. You're sweating the whole time. I always went, and you're like, I always had me.
I was always up for two hours.
I was always near the end.
Really yeah.
They had me start waiting the whole time, and then I'd be watching you. Yeah, I'd be like, I can't and it would be like they'd have me go before like Milo Manheim who was literally doing summersault and like like three sixty flips, and I'd be, well, okay, well you can't do that. My signature move was literally like this just raising wow show.
I watched at least five of your dances and I loved every second of this.
Honestly, the judges were mean to me. I wasn't as bad as they let on. Jen was on the season. What is the deal with her and Sasha? Are they? Are they dating?
I don't know, no, no, no one knows.
I don't think that they've admitted either way.
Okay, we didn't miss like a hard launch or anything.
Oh, I mean, I just want to Taylor Swift. That looks that looks pretty good.
They went to Taylor Swift together.
Listen, they both look really really happy and I'm so here for it. If it's a thing.
Yeah, we we can't speculate. We know as much as everyone else does. But we'll see. I feel like I feel like news may be coming soon, but I don't know.
I feel like you're kind of speculating. But how was it with her though, Joey, were you did you guys like talk to or were you were you able to like kind of like how how's your experience going? Yeah?
I think that from the beginning, I just tried to be supportive of Jen. I think everyone knew coming off the season she was going through a lot. I think, as you said a lot of Serena said earlier, like a lot of people that have done the show sometimes have went on to it immediately after that experience, and it's a great way to put their time and energy towards something that is going to give back to them and maybe even a distraction. So I tried as much as I could just to kind of help make it a fun experience for her whenever I did see and ask how things were going and give her confidence, because I think.
That was just the whole vibe of this cast this season.
Everyone was rooting for each other and kind of just trying to have everyone make it a fun experience that we all got to have together.
This fun. We did a group dance and we were on the same team as them, so that was fun. You guys like even dance together. And I was like, oh, that's that's fun. A little East egg.
For They grew up an old picture of us in the middle of that package out of nowhere, which was crazy.
But did they from your season.
We were getting the dance? No, Yeah, it was crazy. I was like, this is that That is an old photo.
And Kelsey like, as you guys.
Well you do.
These packages come up sometimes right in the middle of the live show and that's the first time you get to see it, and we never pay attention to the packages.
But I couldn't miss.
That one because the whole crowd made a noise and I looked up and it was a picture of us too.
I was like, whoa, Okay, that was a choice. Someone made a decision to that one.
But I remember this.
But I think the whole vibe this season was just everyone was supporting each other. And yeah, I think Jen had as great of experience as she could. I think she was just really grateful because it was such a last minute thing, and they did great. They put out some really great dances through the whole show.
How did you guys get along? Couple wives? You know, for our listeners, Jenna is married to Vale, who's another professional dancer on the show. Did you guys do like double dates and all that all that fun stuff?
Again in the beginning, it's a little hard because vou was also still a competition until like week seven or eight, and then by that time you're like in quarterfinals and you're just we were so busy and rehearsing and interviews and things. But yeah, it was fun. We did joe remember when we did the Halloween package where we went to the hunt right we actually which.
Was that place was fun? Actually, that place be fun.
So we got to do that and we had them over for dinner right before the season started. That was really nice. And Kelsey got to meet Rome and kind of get to no vowel, But yeah, it was it was awesome.
Joey to Develle give you any any he would give me pointers? Did he give you any pointers?
I don't.
I don't do well and win this competition without bow On as much as Jenna was the real person that was kind of driving everything to have vow as someone else that can come and give little points and explain what it should look like for the guy.
I know they work together so much to this, So yeah, if he was crucial.
Through all this and was kind of our biggest supporter towards the.
End when like she said, he was no longer in the competition.
What does a week look like for you guys when you're filming like a snapshot of like a Monday to a Sunday.
Yeah, towards the end, it was a lot different than the beginning.
You had a lot of time in the beginning, especially like during training, we only had like four hour days, and I mean technically that was.
Really that's all you guys were doing for you was only do four hour days.
Now, yeah, I think they changed it up.
I don't know what it was like with Bears, but it wasn't the training wasn't like stay super crazy.
Maybe that was just your.
Extra time. No, it wasn't super crazy in the beginning.
And then I felt like right around I don't know, it was a week six Disney with Samba was when it just kind of.
Yeah, it kicked it kicked up.
So basically we have our shows, our live shows Tuesday and then so your dance is the best it's going to be. You're on set all day on the show day, from like six thirty seven am until the show ends. You have press after, so you're not leaving there until like eight thirty pm. And then you go the next day on Wednesday, and you start all over again, so you're up early. We have a heart to heart, which is like an hour and a half little interview between the two of us, like a package shoot, and then you start over on your dance. It's like a four hour four to six hour rehearsal. Joey has a master interview, and then we have rehearsal Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Monday's camera blocking, which is the first time that you do it on stage with the cameras and the lighting. You also have fittings throughout your week. It's pretty nuts, and I.
Think all the little stuff that's crazy, Yeah.
Like the little things that you don't think of. We're also doing like press days or media days, you know, throughout the season. I'm also a mom, so trying to navigate that is really hard.
But yeah, so actually talk let's talk about that for a minute. So your your mom uh rome.
Is how old he's about to be two.
Okay, so this was this technically is this were you? Did you take a year off?
I did when I was pregnant. I did last season, but I got eliminated fairly early on. So this was my first time experiencing the full season as a mom. And I mean, Joey can attest to this. It's it was hard on me just because of the time commitment, and I would I mean again, we danced the whole time. We would work really really hard, and then I'm waking up with my baby at six thirty seven am every day. And then I go home and I'm on, he doesn't care that I've had a full day of rehearsals. He wants mommy time. He wants me to feed him, he wants me to do bad time, put him to bed. So and then too, like towards the end, once it's like three and a half months in, I started really not feeling guilty, but I was just missing my son and I could tell that he was really emotional without me. He started to want only vow to put him to bed, and that like made that like broke.
He was like punishing you, yeah.
Really hard, but also winning the Mayor Ball. It just like made it so fulfilling for my mom self as well. I don't think I was trying to go back and look, but I don't think a mom has ever won. So I felt like really proud to do this for like moms and not giving up on your dreams and knowing that, like it is tough and it's going to be a lot of effort and work, but it's so rewarding like this, when this whole season, this was so so it was just everything that I needed and more and like really proved to me that, like I can still achieve my dreams and still push, but it's just going to take a lot of effort and work.
Yeah, people ask us all the time, like how what is it like being in a relationship and working together, And Joe's answer is always like, well, we only work together for like three hours a week and if we can't handle that, we probably shouldn't be married. But you're like, you're constantly every season working together separately but together and competing against your husband.
What is that dynamic?
Like it's awesome because again, during the season, the hours are so long and crazy. The fact that on a camera blocking day, I get to have my husband on set where I'm going to be gone for hours and he's going to be able to like peek in and see how our dance is looking, give me little tidbits whatever, or even on like just regular rehearsal days, if he's at the studio as well, I can go into his rehearsal see how his dance looks, vice versa. So again, it's tough because we're so consumed in this bubble for like three and a half months. But the fact that we have the understanding of what one another's going through. I mean, he's an expert. He's a genius at what he does. So the fact that I get his advice, his expertise, it's just it's really really awesome.
Joey, So you're the Bachelor, you do really well on that, everyone loves you, you're engaged, so you technically win that show. You go on Dancing with the Stars, you win the Marra Ball. Congratulations, What what's the plan now? Because you kind of got.
Coming back here and now you're in La Yeah.
And you also, I feel like you go into most of these experiences like whatever happens, and it just so happens at like the best, the best outcome kind of always happens for you, So like, what's up, what are you doing? Yeah, Beverly Hills, Right, Yeah, that's the ideals natural progression.
No, it's it's kind of nice to have a lot of unknown right now.
I'm very excited about it because as much as there was a little break in between Bachelor and Dance with the Stars, it also feel like it flew by and Kelsey and I were so busy and really just trying to figure out what.
We want to do next. But my goals are different right now.
I've got personal goals that are more important to me than my actual like goals I'm having for what I want to do with work and a job, because I really want to put a lot of energy and effort into my relationship with Kelsey, focus on us getting settled here in La and starting our life here. We're so excited to be moving into an apartment and getting that to feel like a home so we have our first home base that's really ours together. So that and putting as much energy and effort into us planning what our future is going to look like and figuring out what we want to do together. That's the personal side that I'm putting all my energy and effort into and then professional side. I'm really open right now. I'm excited to be in LX. I think there is a lot of opportunity. I had a lot of people on dancing from the producing side come up to me and said that they think I need to be doing more and try to find something in TV. So I'm getting connected with the right people to look and see where there could be opportunities with that, but also in this industry and that that's so hard to plan and figure out what exactly it's going to be.
I think what's really important.
Is being open and getting connected with the right people and just trying my best to yeah, try to strive to do something that could be cool and different. But I've had a good stint on TV these last two years. I think I need a little break from reality TV. That's probably the first step is to not do another reality TV show right away, But we'll see what comes next.
I'm definitely open and I'm definitely excited.
We're part of LA Are you Guys Living.
We kind of got a spot right smack dab in the middle of Hollywood. I thought we were in West Hollywood.
Hollywood Hollywood, Hollywood.
Someone called someone called me.
A Lyra Dish their neighborhood.
They just moved there and signed to LA. He's like, get out.
Right now those parts of Hollywood that are nice.
Yeah.
So we're like right on the outside of West Hollywood. We're not like on Hollywood Boulevard or anything. We've got a nice little area that feels like an actual neighborhood. We picked it because Kelsey was like, Oh, I can actually like walk outside and walk the block and grab a nice cup of coffee somewhere, and it feels like you're not really in LA where we're at, which is great. But then obviously you drive a block and then you're in LA full force.
So's it's good.
But uh yeah, we're excited just trying to start our life here for a little bit now.
California, La is awesome. I'd love I mean the weather we're going in a few days. Jenna, I know you you're obsessed with Christmas. Everyone talks about it. What what do you guys got going on for the holidays?
Oh, Joe, do.
You do alf on the shelf yet? Is Rome old enough for Elf on the show?
I just taught Joe at ELF on the shelf.
You didn't know about his friend.
His best friend's son called and was like showing him the elf. And I'm listening to this interaction and I'm like, Joe has no idea what's happening right now?
I heard it elf on the shelf. I just didn't know what the concept was. I mean, I knew what elf on the shelf. It's an alf on the shelf.
But yeah, you got that far. Yeah, no, I get it. We don't have kids.
No, I'm so excited because we just actually moved into a new house and we'll see our first Christmas, doing our own thing and our own home and starting our own traditions. And yes, Joe, I do love Christmas. It was very big for me growing up. And so like the excitement that I get already planting those roots for my son and like what we're gonna do is so exciting. Vow didn't celebrate Christmas growing up, and so until he was like an adult in his thirties, he didn't really know like what the whole Christmas vibe was and why family.
Jewish Yeah, Jewish Jewish yeah.
And like in Ukraine they just didn't release New Year's is like their Christmas. But since we got together and myself and my sister in law Peta with her husband, we now do like the full matching pajamas and like to see my father in law this like Muscle Ukrainian man who looks like Bruce Willis, to see him in a full onesie matching with the reat it's just like the best thing in the world. And now they're so invested in it, and every year it's like, Okay, what are our pajamas this year? So I love that stuff and it's really exciting. We need to get a tree this week. That's on our to do list, so we're gonna do that.
That's fun. How about you guys, Joey you, where are you guys going?
We are going to actually spend it with Kelsey's family and March's new girlfriend as well.
So I was going to say, is the new girlfriend coming?
New girlfriend will be there with her family, which is going to be great. Barbara's awesome.
They've gotten a chance to go out to dinner with her and her family when Mark came to La. So yeah, we spend Thanksgiving with my family, We're spending Christmas with hers, and we're excited for it. We're going to go see the Packers play in Minnesota too, and we're bringing Mark because he's a huge Vikings fan.
So that'll be fun.
Just just going to enjoy time with the family and travel a little bit for the holidays.
Yeah, I saw I think it was Kelsey that posted like a photo of you and Nick.
It was like just two Packers fans.
She's all of a sudden acting like she's a Vikings fan.
Now I still call her out on him, like, just because your dad loves the Vikings, you can't you can't just claim them all of a sudden.
Now she does that.
Really just to get at me, which I don't appreciate some times. But now she like actually knows all about the team and is paying attention just to just because they're really good and she knows it bothers me.
So yeah, she's got that going for her.
That's so funny.
Oh my gosh, do you guys have Have you guys talked about wedding plans at all? Or just you've been living a crazy life.
So we that is on our to do list for the new year. We really want to figure out location date. We have so many ideas of what we want to do if we want to go destination, if we want to just make it somewhere on the East Coast close to our families, We're.
Not sure yet, but yeah, we're going to figure that out first.
Then I think our goal has always been to set the date within the next like six months or so, and then once we have that, we can really start.
Planning in the head.
Nice.
That's exciting.
I feel like the big decisions at the beginning of like where when venu are like the hardest, biggest one, and then it kind of all just falls into place from there.
Yeah, we said we had to figure out where we were living first. We got that checked off, and now we have to figure out everything else. So we're excited for it. I think that's one of the coolest parts of this is we get to really plan ahead.
Now what happened with your guys living situation, because last time we saw you in New York, you were like, we're moving here, and then you switched it up.
He spent three months in eighty degree weather and he's.
Like, He's like, I'm not going to East Coast winters after this.
I was always really interested in la I think Kelsey wasn't and that was the biggest reason why we were leaning more towards New York, because that was also a place that she really wanted to live. But then I just told her, I said, hey, well, we're going to be in LA for hopefully a decent amount of time if everything goes well with Dance with the Stars, and this should be a great opportunity to feel out if this is a spot you want to live, and if you don't like it, I'm in for New York, let's go. But after maybe about like a couple of weeks to a month of living here, she connected with a lot of people. As Joe said, she loved the weather, and I think we both felt we'd have a more active and fun lifestyle here, maybe for us. So she told me, she's like, I'm open to it. I think we should try it for a year. I think there's a lot of opportunity here too. And as soon as she gave me any chance at LA, I said, okay tomorrow. So we locked it down pretty quickly because I was really excited. So, yeah, I think we're still going to spend a lot of time in New York. She's got so much stuff with work that brings her there, and I do love visiting New York. I'm more excited about living in La though, And I think that I'm gonna have to visit New York quite a bit.
That she gave me the LA spot. So yeah, I'm sure we'll be there really a lot.
It's a lot harder to play tennis and thirty degree weather and snow.
It doesn't work that way. So we're starting to make some tests connects. I'm golfing tomorrow.
Like, I'm stoked. I'm very happy to be here.
Any tour announcements, can we talk anything about tour.
Or Yeah, we're so excited because we are going on the tour for I think it's like three and a half weeks all that we're doing. But it's super exciting because we're going to be in uh Philly for Joey's hometown show.
Oh that's amazing.
Yeah, yeah, so it's I mean, joe you did the tour. It's it's a lot of fun because that's.
When I did the whole thing.
Guys, you did.
I can't believe you lived in an RV, your bougie ass. I know, Oh, you've been on a bunk bed in a car.
That's the thing is tours so much fun because like, if you have the chance to do it, you have to. But it's not a very glamorous life, Like you're sleeping in bunk beds four feet away from your neighbor, Like there's no privacy.
Some of the showers at the like you know, some of the venue venues or arenas, like some of the showers you're.
Showering like they're not like communal.
Yeah, make sure you bring flip flaps. Yeah, bring flip flaps.
Okay, I'm excited for that though, Like when you get the opportunity to do that, I'm the weird of that was actually excited about the bus life as much as I was told you're gonna hate it after a couple of days. I'm excited you have.
To experience it. But also it's so fun because that's when you that's the only time you get to meet these fans or these people that just went to bat for you for three and a half months, So that gets really exciting. I'm excited for you to experience that. But yeah, so we're actually rehearsing for that these next couple of weeks and then we go out at the end of January. And then the end of February to March for a little bit.
So we got to that's kind of nice. You guys will both get like a chunk of a break. Yeah, and then you go away just for you know, a stint, and then you're back.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Our long stint is that February March time, and we're doing Florida through Texas and a few others the southeast state, so.
That would be always like just the warm states.
Smart.
Hey, I didn't pick the schedule, but when they send it to me, I was like, oh, this is a nice this is a nice little spot.
That we're doing. I get to go to some of the warm areas. But yeah, it'll be it'll be fun. I'm excited for it.
Are you gonna miss dancing?
I don't even know if I still know how to dance? And tell you the truth, just take me, you do right now.
I'm so nervous to do rehearsal this week and actually be expected to still remember all this stuff.
And you have to host, and you have to host, right.
I'm more excited for that. Get me on mic and let me talk some some bs for a little bit. I'm excited for that. But I'm nervous that I'm gonna have to remember how to dance and do that again. But I really want to find a way to keep doing this. I still haven't talked to Jenna a vow, but I'm gonna either make them keep coaching me and and just pay them to do that, or they're gonna have to connect me with a good coach because I'm going to miss doing this a lot.
I did the tour. They didn't they didn't trust me with the mic, so I I co hosted with Vail because they're like, you also, you need to have a bike in cases.
Yeah, you can't be left alone, exactly what Jenna said today.
And then and then show number three, Jenna came up and said, hey, they they want to they want to cut your dance. Are you okay?
You only have one dance? Dance like, are you like a duet?
It was yeah.
It was like they want to cut your dance or they want to put art them in there instead of you. Are you okay with that? I was like, yeah, I'm fine. So I did the tour and didn't I play How long.
Were you on tour?
Two and a half months and didn't dance? Remember you did like some of the group numbers. To be fair, I did, oh you did, okay, you dance and I didn't you do like the guys number, the Cowboy number or something.
I did the Cowboy number. But they Alan and Glad carried me out, so I didn't even have to do steps up to the front. They just carried me like this and I went up to the front and then I turned the round and I shaked my ass and I walked off stage.
Oh man, yeah, they played you.
It was great. Sharpen up your Madden skills because you get to play Madden on the bus. That's a lot of fun.
Joe's like, I went, I played Madden, I gambled, I shook my ass and that's that was the best time in my life that I left.
What an experience. Well, I know you, I know you guys are are super busy, and congratulations again on winning. Jenna was lovely seeing you, Joey always nice seeing you as well. And thank you guys so much for taking the time and coming on our podcast. Thanks for having us of course, and to our listeners, thank you guys so much for tuning in. We'll have exclusive interviews and different podcasts for you every week.
Yeah, we will have different podcasts every week and don't forget to subscribe.
Thanks for listening to Bachelor Happy Hour.
Bye,
