Gabby Windey, a former Bachelorette who became a fan favorite for her candor and quick wit, just became the latest franchise alum to come out after her time on the show.
On Wednesday’s The View, Windey said, “I always just want to live my truth, and my story. I have been seeing someone for a couple months, and I’ve been keeping it a little more private because it is a bigger story and a bigger conversation, because I’m dating a girl.”
Windey also posted photos of herself with her girlfriend, writer and comedian Robby Hoffman, on Instagram with the caption, “Told you I’m a girls girl!!”
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Windey told The View’s anchors that her sexuality “was always a whisper in me that just got louder and louder, and I didn’t really know to pay attention to it.”
The former Bachelorette added that initially, “I think I had to, a little bit, navigate through the shame—like, what is it? Where is it coming from? But ultimately, like I said, I always just want to kind of do me, do what I want, figure it out later.”
Windey’s season of The Bachelorette was an unusual one; it was the franchise’s first with two Bachelorettes, as Windey co-starred with fellow Bachelor Season 26 runner-up Rachel Recchia. Both women had previously competed for the heart of Clayton Echard, who wound up giving his final rose to Susie Evans.
At the end of her Bachelorette season last year, Windey got engaged to Erich Schwer—who was asked on stage during the “After the Final Rose” finale to explain the text messages he’d exchanged with a sort-of girlfriend just days before he pulled up to the show in the limo. (Schwer was not asked to explain the photos of himself donning blackface in high school during that finale, although he did apologize on Instagram.) The couple announced their break-up two months later, in November 2022.
Windey is now one of multiple Bachelor cast members who have come out after their time in the franchise. Demi Burnett, who competed on Colton Underwood’s season of The Bachelor, later came out on Bachelor in Paradise. Becca Tilley, who competed on both Chris Soules’ 2015 season and Ben Higgins’ a year later, also revealed last year that she was dating the singer Hayley Kiyoko. And Underwood dedicated an entire Netflix series, Coming Out Colton, to his own sexuality—albeit amid stalking allegations from his Bachelor ex Cassie Randolph. Alexa Caves, who competed on Peter Weber’s season, described herself as sexually fluid in an Instagram Story posted after her elimination. And Jaimi King, who dated Nick Viall in Bachelor Season 27, was the franchise’s first openly bisexual contestant.
When asked on The View how her parents reacted, Windey said their jaws dropped upon hearing the news, but they’ve told her they just want her to be happy. As someone from a conservative family, a former Broncos cheerleader, and a former Bachelor and Bachelorette figure, Windey said, “My whole world was kind of male gaze-y. So I feel like it’s not something my parents ever imagined for me. I think it’s gonna take time, just like the rest of the world—just like for me. It took me a while to stop questioning and start trusting.”
Windey did not explicitly state her precise sexuality while on The View—although anchor Joy Behar did ask her, “Is it girls now? That’s it—girls?”
“I think so,” Windey replied. “I think it’s just my girl. She’s the best.”
Windey later added, “It’s about sexuality. But it’s also the person I met. She is so special. She makes me feel so safe, so loved—a love that I always wanted going on these dating shows.”
