The Bachelorette alum Gabby Windey has revealed that she once slid into former The Bachelor star Ben Higgins’ DMs on Instagram.
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Before Gabby starred on The Bachelorette’s nineteenth season last year, she apparently reached out to Ben and made a move, according toUs Weekly.
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“I know Ben Higgins is somewhere on the premises and I need to tell everybody that I slid into his DMs,” Gabby, 32, said in a teaser clip for an upcoming episode of the “Ben and Ashley I: Almost Famous Podcast.”
Gabby added in her joint interview with Rachel Recchia, “I’ve got to get it off my chest.”
Ashley posted a preview of Gabby and Rachel’s podcast appearance, which included Gabby’s juicy confession, via Instagram Stories on Saturday, May 20.
Ben — who starred on The Bachelor’s 20th season but is currently happily married to a woman outside of Bachelor Nation, Jessica Clarke — has yet to share his reaction to Gabby’s revelation.
It also remains unclear when exactly Gabby had sent Ben a private message on social media.
Gabby, Rachel and Ashley reunited this past weekend in California along with former The Bachelor host Chris Harrison and his fiancee Lauren Zima, Season 16 The Bachelorette star Clare Crawley and her husband Ryan Dawkins, Season 27 The Bachelor star Zach Shallcross and his fiancee Kaity Biggar, and The Bachelor alum Andrew Firestone.
“Wonderful weekend reconnecting with old friends and making new ones,” Chris reportedly wrote via his Instagram Stories on Saturday. “And recording a few podcasts… @iheartradio @themostdramaticpodever.”
Gabby and Rachel got dumped simultaneously by Clayton Echard on The Bachelor’s 26th season after they both slept with him in the Fantasy Suites and met his family.
Clayton ultimately chose Susie Evans — a “once-in-a-lifetime woman,” as he called her — as his winner, but Susie was hurt by his actions on the show and didn’t begin dating him until after the show taped in the real world.
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After Susie and Clayton announced they were dating on The Bachelor: After the Final Rose in March 2022, Gabby and Rachel both went on to star on The Bachelorette, hoping to find true love.
Gabby got engaged to Erich Schwer on The Bachelorette’s Season 19 finale, which aired in September 2022, but they called off their engagement, in an alleged amicable manner, less than two months later.
News of Gabby and Erich’s split surfaced on November 4, and then Gabby revealed while she was competing on Dancing with the Stars’ 31st season later that month how she and her former fiance weren’t “in sync” or “the best match” for each other.
When asked if she’d be The Bachelorette star again, Gabby revealed on the April 25 episode of the “Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe” podcast, “I would honestly be the Bachelorette again — for the right price.”
After Gabby and Erich broke up, Gabby set her sights on her Dancing with the Stars Season 31 competitor, Vinny Guadagnino.
Gabby admitted she had a “crush” on Vinny and would “of course” go on a date with him if he asked.
The pair flirted on social media for months beginning in November 2022 and spent a lot of time together on the Dancing with the Stars tour earlier this year, but Vinny confirmed in January that he and Gabby weren’t dating.
“It takes a lot more for me than just, like, a couple Instagram comments to be dating someone,” Vinny explained to Us, adding, “I would actually go to dinner with Gabby. It’s just that we just met, you know what I mean? It’s not like anything serious.”
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Vinny, however, gushed about how he has “great chemistry” with the brunette beauty.
“We’re both, like, comedians. So, that’s why we get along and that’s also why we flirt so much on Instagram because we have that same banter with each other,” Vinny shared at the time.
Gabby told Kaitlyn on “Off the Vine” that she and Vinny still talk all the time and he likes her, however, she said dating would be difficult since she lives in Los Angeles and he lives in New York.
Gabby also confirmed she has no romantic interest in Dancing with the Stars pro Alan Bersten, whom she was spotted on a dinner date with in March. Gabby said they’re “just friends” and she also feels he brings “little-brother energy” to their relationship.
Erich, meanwhile, recently shared how his mental health struggled during and after The Bachelorette.
Erich announced in mid-February he was in a new relationship with model and social media influencer Elizabeth Turner. Elizabeth’s Instagram account shows they’ve been hanging out all the time and are still going strong as a couple.
For Rachel’s part, she is currently single after her The Bachelorette engagement to Tino Franco fell through. She is checking out the dating scene after undergoing a breast reduction procedure.
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About The Author:
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.