‘The Bachelor’ premiere: Did Charlotte therapist/model Madina hit it off with Joey?

“‘Bachelor” Mondays are back — and a North Carolina woman is among those looking for love on the 28th season of ABC’s hit reality dating show.

Madina Alam of Charlotte and 31 other women set out this season to capture the heart of Joey Graziadei, a teaching tennis pro from Charity Lawson’s season of “The Bachelorette.”

As the only contestant from North Carolina, we’ll be following along on Madina’s journey this season. (Note: Reality show contestants are typically only known by their first names, so this is how we’ll refer to everyone going forward.)

Here’s a recap of Madina’s first night at the mansion, and how it went when she met Joey. (Warning, we’ve got spoilers ahead)

Who is Madina Alam from ‘The Bachelor’?

31-year-old Madina is a mental health therapist, but also a speaker and model. She has a clothing line and mental health advocacy site called mentalhealthxmadina.com, CharlotteFive previously reported.

“Madina is passionate about her work as a mental health therapist and loves helping people change their lives. When she isn’t working with clients, Madina loves exercising, dancing and watching ‘The Great British Bake Off,’” her ABC Bachelor bio says.

“The therapist is hoping to meet a man who is mature, empathetic, and who won’t be on his phone the whole time during their date nights.”

Madina meets Joey

Like a lot of other contestants, Madina made a first impression with a nod to the Bachelor’s love for tennis.

Not with a sports pun, or even an umpire chair, but with dozens of tennis balls falling out of the limo before she made her grand entrance.

“It took me a lot of balls to come here,” she said.

From there, it was game on to see if the two would hit it off.

Game, set, perfect match?

During the cocktail party — arguably the busiest night of the show — Madina did get a chance to connect with Joey again with a private tennis lesson as he helped with her swing.

“Madina is very sweet, extremely attractive and she has a competitive spirit,” Joey said during the premiere. “That’s exactly what you want to see in a doubles partner and a partner in general.”

Did Madina get a rose?

Luckily, Madina did get a rose and will be joining the other women continuing their journey to love with Joey this season.

Who got eliminated during the rose ceremony?

Out of the 32 women, here’s who did not get a rose from Joey and ended up going home on night one:

• Chandler
• Kayla
• Kyra
• Lanie
• Nat
• Sam
• Samantha
• Sandra
• Talyah
• Zoe

How to watch “The Bachelor”

You can watch “The Bachelor” live every Monday at 8 p.m. on ABC, or streaming on Hulu the next day.

This story was originally published January 22, 2024 at 9:57 PM.

Chyna Blackmon

The Charlotte Observer

Chyna Blackmon was a service journalism reporter for The Charlotte Observer. A native of the Carolinas, she grew up in Columbia, SC, and graduated from Queens University of Charlotte. She’s also worked in local television news in Charlotte, NC, and Richmond, VA. Support my work with a digital subscription