Who is The Bachelor contestant Lea? What you should know

Could this The Bachelor contestant catch Joey Graziadei's eye and heart?

THE BACHELOR - ABC's “The Bachelor” stars Lea. (Disney/Richard Middlesworth)
THE BACHELOR - ABC's “The Bachelor” stars Lea. (Disney/Richard Middlesworth)

The Bachelor Season 28 is all set to premiere, and we cannot wait to meet all the leading ladies vying for Joey Graziadei's heart. Thirty-two women competed; surprisingly, everyone made it to the final cut. Not a single one got cut; isn't that wild?!

As we get things started, we wanted to introduce you to the women who will be a part of the exciting season ahead. Amongst the 32 ladies in The Bachelor Season 28 is Lea Cayanan. More on who she is, where she's from, and perhaps, some **spoilers** ahead!

How old is Lea Cayanan?

Lea was born on February 20, 2000 and is from Waipahu, Hawaii. She's about a month away from turning 24, so yay for celebrating her birthday while the season is on.

If you're hoping to get a glimpse of Lea's life, you can head to her Instagram by clicking here. She seems like a world traveler, foodie, and has a larger-than-life personality. Did you know, in fact, she plays the flute, ukulele, guitar, piano, AND tennis? Well-rounded, if I do say so myself.

What does Lea Cayanan do for a living?

According to Life & Style Mag, Lea works for PepsiCo as an operation territory manager. She's quite the ambitious one as she is getting ready to graduate with her Masters from the University of Arizona in May 2024.

Good for you, Lea!

In case Lea looks familiar, we met her during Charity Lawson's "After the Final Rose" after Joey was announced as the Bachelor. She was introduced to the world by host Jesse Palmer, and I would like to point out that Joey looked quite smitten with her before filming even began.

Interestingly enough, Jesse also gave Lea a secret letter than she was instructed not to open until the first night at the mansion. He prefaced it by saying that it was not a date card, but that it was "absolutely going to help you on your journey. And it will absolutely change everything.”

If you're interested in SPOILERS, keep reading, because thanks to Reality Steve, we know the contents of that letter. If you don't want to know what happens, this would be your cue to stop reading and come back once the season has begun.

What did Lea's letter say? **SPOILERS AHEAD**

According to Reality Steve, the letter gave Lea the opportunity to steal anyone else's one-on-one date during the season. However, Lea did not like the idea of being able to do that to someone so she apparently tosses the letter right into the fire. I know we haven't met her yet, but I'm already a fan! I respect that she did that because it seems unfair!

In his post, Reality Steve wrote, “She said she felt like she wanted to be chosen by Joey for a 1-on-1 and not have to steal one from someone else.”

I absolutely respect that!

When Joey found out what Lea did, he was incredibly impressed (because why wouldn't he be?!) and ended up giving her the first impression rose. It appears that it pays off to naturally be a nice and kind person--you just might be rewarded!

It remains to be seen if giving up that card is going to come back to haunt Lea later in the season. But for those kinds of major spoilers, you'll have to wait for our other spoiler only articles.

Don't forget to tune in for the season premiere of The Bachelor Season 28 on ABC on Monday, January 22nd at 8 PM EST.