Joey Graziadei has been eliminating women all season long on The Bachelor but he was on the receiving end of a breakup during the Monday, February 19, episode. The tennis instructor was left in tears after Lexi Young told him that she was ending their relationship and leaving the show.
Why Did Lexi Young Leave ‘The Bachelor’?
Lexi, 30, decided to leave The Bachelor because she and Joey, 28, had different visions about what they wanted from the future. She wanted marriage and kids as soon as possible, while Joey had a longer timeline in mind.
When Lexi broached the subject with Joey on the group date, he was honest where he stood. “I won’t say that it can’t be changed in any way, it’s just how I currently envision it,” he shared. “In my head, it’s a two to three year engagement, somewhere in that sense. I did always imagine having a couple of years of marriage before I thought of settling down with kids. I also want to enjoy the marriage before we bring someone else into it and really try to make that final foundation.”
Lexi was grateful that Joey was taking the process seriously and told him she “appreciated” that he took the time to have this heavy talk with her. However, she left the date unsure of what she wanted to do. “With Joey, the connection is there,” she explained. “I can feel it when I’m sitting with him. But it’s that time in between where he wants to wait to have children and explore a marriage. I think I need to sit and think on it and process the conversation.”
Before Lexi’s departure, she and Joey went on a one-on-one date in Malta during week four. It aired during the show’s February 12 episode. On the date, Lexi got extremely vulnerable with Joey and opened up to him about how she may not be able to have kids because she was diagnosed with endometriosis.
He was extremely supportive and promised her that “things happen for a reason” and “there are a lot of other ways to be able to create a family.” After the episode aired, Lexi revealed that she froze her eggs right before leaving to film The Bachelor in 2023.
After the group date in Montreal, Lexi was in tears as she contemplated what she wanted to do. She visited Joey in his hotel room so she could explain how she was feeling. It was then that she told him that she was leaving.
“I know that you want more of a long engagement and you want, after this, to take some time before kids,” she told him. “That’s just not something that I have the privilege to do right now with my health situation. I look back onto our one-on-one in Malta and I can sincerely say I felt so heard and respected and you made me feel like a whole person. I’ve never felt that way in a relationship before. I hadn’t opened up to anyone else about my health and what having a family could look like to me. I will forever remember that conversation. But as someone who has infertility, I have to take that seriously as I date, knowing I’m in my 30s now. That’s just something that’s going to have to happen at a little bit of a faster pace for me. I think it’d be unfair to keep me here when I’m just on a different timeline.”
When Did Lexi Young Leave ‘The Bachelor’?
Lexi left The Bachelor during week six. She was one of 10 women left on the show when she came to her decision. The group was in Montreal, with hometown dates just two weeks away.
How Did Joey Graziadei React to Lexi Young Leaving ‘The Bachelor’?
Joey was “stunned” and “crushed” by Lexi’s decision and he was upset that she decided to leave. “I just obviously wasn’t expecting this,” he admitted to Lexi. “My hope was going into next week we could further those conversations and see if we could get on the same page. But you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t feel strongly about this and I understand. I hate this. This isn’t what I had in my head or what I thought was going to happen but you’re going to get everything that you want and you’re going to make a remarkable mother.”
He also told Lexi that their one-on-one date was something he’ll “never forget” and assured her that he felt “fortunate” that she felt comfortable enough to share her story with him.
“After the one-on-one in Malta, I could see her as my wife, so that part is weird … to just drop,” he said. “I was willing to figure it out and talk through it and see if I could still get there. It doesn’t feel right to let someone that special walk out.”
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