Who is Lea Cayanan From 'The Bachelor' Season 28? Meet Joey Graziadei's Love Interest

Source: US Weekly

Remember Lea from the "After the Final Rose" special back in 2023? Well, it turns out she was also in the audience for the season finale of "The Bachelorette," where Joey was one of the two finalists vying for Charity Lawson's heart. 

Things didn't quite work out for Joey and Charity that time around (Charity got engaged to the other finalist, Dotun), but hey, that just opened the door for him to become the next Bachelor. And guess who snagged an invitation to his mansion this season? You guessed it – Lea!

So, who’s exactly Lea? Is there a pre-existing spark between her and Joey? Or is this just a case of Bachelor Nation serendipity? Tune in to find out!

Who is Lea Cayanan?

Lea Cayanan is an account manager from Waipahu, Hawaii. According to her bio on ABC's website, Lea loves "painting, hiking and being by the ocean," and is also an avid cliff-diver. Aside from her outdoor passions, she also plays the flute. When it comes to her romantic relationship, her bio says that she doesn’t like casual dating, and generally takes her romantic interests seriously. "She is ready to be wifed up and is a sucker for big romantic gestures," Lea’s bio reads.

When did Lea and Joey first meet? 

The two first met during the 'After the Final Rose' special which aired in August. After the host, Jesse Palmer announced that Joey was going to be the next star of "The Bachelor," he said that Joey would get to meet one of his contestants right then and there. Lea was pulled from the audience, and she and Joey got to exchange hellos for the first time. 

She also received a special envelope with a secret message from producers that Lea was forbidden to open until arriving at the mansion. And on Monday’s episode of “The Bachelor,” she finally opens the envelope, revealing that she now has the ability to "steal" a one-on-one date from another woman at any point in the season up until the "Hometown" dates portion of the series.

As she learns about her advantage, she grows emotional and tearfully points out that stealing a date from a woman in the house would not only put her at odds with her fellow “Bachelor” contestants but can also affect Joey’s own connections with the women. 

Ultimately, she decides to get rid of her advantage after describing the situation to Joey. Lea says that if she's going to form a strong connection with Joey, their chemistry would allow them to do so regardless of whether or not she steals a date from someone else. It appears she’s throwing her card into the fire, to cheers and applause from other women in the house.

What made Joey give Lea the coveted first impression rose

In a recent interview with Business Insider ahead of the "Bachelor" season 28 premiere, Joey Graziadei said he was "impressed" by Lea's decision to burn her advantage.

Source: Yahoo

"I think that it's something that no one knows how they're going to act unless they were in that situation. Everyone says, 'I would've done this, I would've done that.' But it's a whole different animal when you're actually handed that card," he told BI.

"I said it the whole time, from the beginning of 'After the Final Rose' to that moment with the card, she was dealt the hardest hand out of everyone. That's a very difficult position to be in," Joey said about Lea's situation on the first night. He also added, "I thought she handled it with grace and it showed a lot about her character."

Joey’s conversation with Lea about her tough position made him realize he wanted to continue to get to know her, and that’s why he decided to give her the first impression of Rose. He explained saying "I was very excited to get to know more about Lea. The one tough thing about that card and 'After the Final Rose' is that that was a lot of what our conversation was about.” 

He further told BI that he wanted to convey a lot by giving Lea the first impression, namely that he was impressed with how she managed the tough situation. "It's shown a lot about who you are, and this rose means I really want to get to know who you are as a person moving forward," Joey said. 

New episodes of season 28 of "The Bachelor" premiere on Mondays. You can watch a brief Joey's season below.

Source: A Look at the Unprecedented 2024 Season with Joey Graziadei - The Bachelor

Frequently Asked Questions 

Q. What is Lea Cayanan's nationality?

As Lea was born and raised in O'ahu, Hawaii, her nationality is American. Lea’s parents immigrated to the United States from the Philippines, she says in a clip from the show.

Q. Who are Lea Cayanan's parents? 

Lea Cayanan was born to her parents Archimedes Cayanan 57 years old and Lilibesth Pamintuan-Cayanan 52 years old. She also has two brothers; an older brother named Arleigh Cayanan 27 years old and a younger brother whose name is not disclosed yet.

Q. What is Lea Cayanan’s age?

As per Lea's official ABC bio, she is a 23-year-old account manager from Waipahu, Hawaii. Lea was born on February 20, 2000.

Q. How did Joey and Lea meet?

Joey first met Lea during the Bachelorette's "After The Final Rose" episode, where Lea was given a letter by Joey to open on the first night of the season. “Having the card is driving me crazy,” she says in a clip from the show. “I’m anxious to open it and see what it is. I think it could be a bit of a target on my back.”

Q. Why did Lea get a card on The Bachelor?

The reason Joe gave Lea Cayanan the first impression of Rose was actually because of the way she handled the mystery card. As Joey explained, "She wasn't feeling great and she did something that I know was tough to do and it was just the best way I could give her something that I think would mean a lot."