Kelsey Anderson has revealed how she was cast on The Bachelor's 28th season and why it was "a red flag" for Joey Graziadei.

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"I applied myself," Kelsey told Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt with a laugh during her joint interview with Joey on the March 26 episode of the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast.

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That means Kelsey filled out and submitted an application to The Bachelor casting department instead of having someone she knows nominate her. Joey had been nominated for Charity Lawson's season of The Bachelorette last year.

"It was a couple of months after my last relationship," Kelsey shared.

"My friend had applied me the last relationship I had gotten out of, and so I was just like, 'You know what? Let me just apply.' I didn't think I was going to hear back!"

But Kelsey did, in fact, receive a call back from casting producers of the ABC reality dating show.

"I started doing more and more interviews, and then I got on!" Kelsey said. "I was like, 'I can't wait to meet this guy!'"

Joey admitted he was "making fun" of Kelsey once he found out her casting story.

"I was making a joke when she first told me she applied herself. I was like, 'That's a red flag!' I was like, 'I don't know about this one anymore!'" Joey quipped.

Joey, however, recalled, "She was sweet. She was saying the same thing, that that's what she does when she gets out of a relationship. She was in a good spot."

Joey reiterated, "We joked about it, but I thought it was funny that she applied herself, too."

Kelsey insisted she "genuinely did not expect to hear back," adding, "I flew through the [application]."

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Kelsey continued, "I don't think that I went super in-depth about a lot of the things. But then in the interviews, we just talked more and more with everybody, and it went great!"

Serena revealed that she had also applied, herself, to be on Matt James' season of The Bachelor because her family was pressuring her to go on the show and it was also in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

Serena joked about how that usually is a "red flag" for show leads and viewers though, and Joey agreed.

"As soon as you explained it and [Kelsey] explained it, I wouldn't think of it like that," Joey noted.

"But when you first hear, 'I applied myself,' it's like, 'Oh, so you're here for followers? That's a red flag!"

"Yes, like, 'Oh, you're a freaking clout chaser!'" Serena quipped, adding to the stereotype of someone wanting to be on The Bachelor.

Joey went on to share, "That's where your head goes right away, but then when you hear [the explanation], you're like, 'Oh, you're just open to it and [think] it will never happen.'"

Kelsey confessed that she was "nervous to tell people" that she had applied to be on the show.

"I was like, 'I'm a little embarrassed! I didn't get a DM. I'm not that cool," Kelsey admitted with a laugh.

But it all worked out because Kelsey and Joey ended up together! They got engaged on The Bachelor's Season 28 finale, which aired on March 25 on ABC, after Daisy Kent essentially bowed out of the competition. (Kelsey said she went "back and forth" on whether Daisy spoiled Joey's marriage proposal for her).

Kelsey also left the show with new best friends. While she clearly developed a bond with Joey's runner-up, Daisy, Kelsey said her closest pals in the house were Lexi Young, Katelyn DeBacker, and Madina Alam.

Joey and Kelsey are now happily engaged, although they plan to have a long two-to-three year engagement before tying the knot.

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Joey said he'll be visiting Kelsey in New Orleans soon and then the pair will be moving into an apartment in New York City together this summer. They also have some big travel plans ahead of them.

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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