Gabby Windey is a twice-over Bach Nation star, having starred on Bachelor Clayton Echard’s season, and then co-hosting The Bachelorette with Rachel Recchia for season 19. But despite being on a reality dating show two separate times, she hasn’t found lasting love.
During her Bachelorette season, Gabby fell very much in love with contestant Erich Schwer. He got her final rose and proposed with a beautiful ring. Things seemed good for a little while, but quickly deteriorating post-show. Erich and Gabby ended up calling their engagement off in November.
Fast forward through months of speculation and gossip and… Gabby is dating someone new. And she looks *really* happy about it. Here’s everything to know about this Bach Nation star and her new relationship:
She has a new woman in her life.
After years of heartbreak, Gabby posted an Instagram this week hard-launching her new girlfriend, Robby Hoffman, a New York-based writer, comedian, and talk show host.
“Told you I’m a girls girl!!” Gabby captioned a photo dump of herself hanging out with Robby (and looking totally, adorably happy). Her fans were all over it. “I love this. ❤️,” Selma Blair commented. “Summer’s for the girls 🥹❤️,” wrote Hayley Kiyoko, who dates Bachelor star Becca Tilley.
“I always just want to live my truth, and my story,” Gabby said on The View, per TheWrap. “And 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!”
She then posted a sweet pic of her kissing Robby behind the scenes on The View.
Gabby worked as an ICU Nurse.
Before going on the Bachelor/Bachelorette, Gabby was an ICU nurse at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora. She had worked as a nurse since she was 22.
“I’ve always loved being a nurse. I’m grateful to have given back,” Windey said during an appearance on “Talking It Out,” a “Bachelor” podcast, per a clip posted on Instagram.
She was a cheerleader for the Denver Broncos
Gabby was also an NFL cheerleader for the Denver Broncos for five years.
She even received the Pop Warned Humanitarian award for her commitment to helping others off the field. And, fun fact: She’s the first woman to ever receive the award, which is usually given to NFL players (go, girl!).
She’s a Capricorn.
Windey was born on January 2, 1991, making her a Capricorn, a sign known for their work ethic and determination. (FWIW, Rachel is a Pisces.)
Her Bachelor limo entrance was hilarious.
Gabby stans know that our girl is seriously funny. When she stepped out of the limo on night one, she told Clayton, “I just want to sit on your face.” She then whipped out before a giant pillow with his face on it.
Relive the magic in this clip:
As the season progressed, she hammed it up for her fellow contestants, and Bach Nation fell head over heels.
But she’s said it’s ‘terrifying’ to be vulnerable on TV.
Don’t let the jokes fool you, though. During a one-on-one date on The Bachelor, she opened up about her strained relationship with her mother.
“Thank you for letting me share a glimpse of my story,” she wrote on Instagram after the episode aired. “As you can see, it takes me a while to warm up and let my guard down; however, the people I met during my time here have helped me start to overcome this struggle. It’s terrifying being yourself on national TV for fear of criticism, and that fear is compounded while being vulnerable.”
She broke up with Clayton in the most epic way.
Things got ~messy~ toward the end of Clayton’s season, and Gabby decided to self-eliminate. However, Clayton convinced her to stay.
Then, after introducing her to his family on hometown dates, Clayton broke up with Gabby and Rachel— at the same time.
Rachel cried. And Gabby immediately left the room. And when Clayton asked if he could walk her out, she firmly said “No.” (The live audience at “After The Final Rose” cheered when they saw it all play out in a video.)
Gabby also has some serious Bachelor Nation ties.
Long-time viewers are probably familiar with Dean Unglert. After competing on Rachel Lindsay’s Bachelorette season, Dean went on to star on both Bachelor In Paradise and The Bachelor Winter Games. He met his current girlfriend, Caelynn Miller-Keys, on BiP—although it took the pair a while to actually start dating after the show ended, per Us Weekly.
Turns out, before all of that, Dean and Gabby dated way back in college. “You know, my ex-girlfriend is actually on the season of the next Bachelor,” Dean revealed on the Help I Suck At Dating podcast. “She was one of the main exes. She was my girlfriend from college.”
BTW, Dean also thought Gabby would become the next Bachelorette if she didn’t win Clayton’s season, and he couldn’t have been more on the nose.
She is super close with her dad and grandpa.
During the season 26 hometowns episode, viewers got to see Gabby’s adorable relationship with her family, including her grandfather. “My family may be an atypical one and we may look different from others, but I am so grateful for how perfectly to me we are stitched together and wouldn’t have it any other way,” Gabby explained on Instagram.
She’s incredibly close with her dad, his girlfriend, and his side of the fam: