Kelsey Anderson Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images
Kelsey Anderson is paying tribute to her grandmother, who died exactly seven years and one day after her mom.
“Rest in peace, Gangsta Granny ❤️ 2.12.25,” Anderson, 26, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, February 22. “Seven years and a day after my sweet mom passed, it brings me comfort knowing you’re together again.”
She continued, “Thank you for raising my mom the best you could, for the memories with Papa Jack, and for my curls — I’ll wear them with pride, thinking of you and your free spirit. Love you always. ❤️.”
Alongside the message, Anderson shared several throwback pictures of her grandmother and a screenshot of a text message about the significance of the number seven.
“Kelsey that is so crazy!!! The number 7 I feel like is so significant and I can’t believe it was so close to your mom’s passing,” a text message read, alongside a screenshot of a google search explaining that the number is “often considered a symbol of ‘completeness’ or ‘perfection’ across many cultures.” Anderson replied, “Aweee omg that’s so special.”
Bachelor Nation met Anderson when she vied for the affections of Joey Graziadei on The Bachelor season 28 in 2024. While on a one-on-one date with Graziadei, 29, Anderson opened up about her late mom’s battle with breast cancer. While discussing her personal tragedy, Anderson said her dad had an encouraging message for her before leaving for the ABC reality show.
“On the way to the airport, I was on the phone with dad, and I was like, ‘What do you think mom would think about all of this?’ He was like, ‘You’re your mother’s child. You’re so brave.’ He was like, ‘That’s something your mom would do.’ He just felt like I was exuding my mom’s energy, I guess,” she said, to which Graziadei replied: “With how you’re describing her energy, 100%.”
Anderson ultimately accepted a proposal from Graziadei in the season finale. Now, as she and the season 33 Dancing With the Stars winner prepare for their upcoming nuptials, Anderson is making sure to pay tribute to her mom during the ceremony.
Joey Graziadei and Kelsey Anderson Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
“I think that maybe I would take, like, a piece of some type of clothing of hers that meant a lot and somehow incorporate it into something in our wedding,” Anderson said on the Friday, February 21, episode of the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast. “I definitely want a piece of my mom in our wedding and I think that I’m a very sentimental person, so there’s a lot of ideas that I have [to incorporate] the people that went with us presently.”
Anderson noted that she and Graziadei are also planning to honor his late grandmother. “She was very, very special to him,” Anderson said. “I’m trying to think of ways that we can still honor them because they were big people in our lives.”
