Kelsey Anderson is at the center of a high-stakes legal battle with the network that launched her to stardom, and the fallout is becoming a financial catastrophe.
Days after the Bachelor Season 28 winner confirmed that she and Joey Graziadei would no longer be moving forward with their live, televised wedding special, ABC reportedly issued a formal threat to sue for millions, accusing her of violating a strict exclusivity contract.
The network claims that the couple’s agreement included a multi-million dollar “wedding mandate” that prohibited them from seeking private ceremonies or rival media deals, a move that has dragged Joey into a “financial nightmare” as he remains caught in the crossfire.
“I think people will be surprised by the aggression coming from the network, but from their perspective, they’ve invested a fortune in this couple’s ‘happily ever after,’” a legal analyst told Entertainment Weekly in a report shared on February 2. “Obviously, the contract wasn’t just a suggestion; it was a binding commitment to a broadcast event.”
“There is so much money on the line. It’s a hard situation, but ABC is making it clear that if they don’t get their wedding special, they’re going to get their money back through the courts,” the analyst added.
According to insiders, the breakdown between Kelsey and the network began when she expressed a desire for a smaller, private ceremony in New Orleans rather than a Hollywood production.
“It started as a request for more creative control, and people kind of picked up on the tension,” a source close to the production admitted. “But ABC didn’t budge. They have advertisers and schedules built around this wedding. It was like the worst kept secret in the industry that Kelsey was feeling suffocated by the cameras.”
“She wasn’t lying about wanting a ‘real’ wedding, but the network decided that a ‘real’ wedding didn’t generate the ratings they were promised. Ultimately, Kelsey decided to rip the band-aid off and cancel the broadcast entirely,” the source continued.
Although there have been rumors that Joey is trying to mediate between his fiancée and the network, he has reportedly been warned that he could be held “jointly liable” for any breach of contract.
“He’s decided to just try and keep the peace,” a friend of the couple explained. “The last thing Joey wants is to start his marriage in millions of dollars of debt to the very company that brought them together.”
Regarding the “financial nightmare,” lawyers for the network have allegedly pointed to specific clauses that require the couple to repay production costs and potential lost advertising revenue if they fail to deliver the televised event.
“We don’t know if they can settle this out of court. There’s no playbook for a ‘Bachelor’ winner walking away from a million-dollar wedding deal at the eleventh hour,” the legal expert reasoned. “The energy is very hostile, and it’s overshadowing the actual relationship.”
That said, Kelsey has remained firm in her decision, with her team insisting that her mental health and the sanctity of her marriage are worth more than any network contract.
“She’s gonna do some press in the coming weeks to explain her side. This isn’t a situation where she’s just being difficult; she’s being protective of her life,” the source shared. “Kelsey has her own back. She still loves Joey, so in a world where it makes sense to fight for their privacy, she’s willing to fight.”
Kelsey then acknowledged the “lawsuit threats” during a brief social media post, mentioning that she never intended for her love story to become a “legal commodity.”
“We don’t really plan to let the network dictate our future,” she reportedly noted. “I just hope that we both find peace, whatever the heck a ‘normal’ marriage looks like after all of this.”