'Bachelorette' Star Gabby Windey Comes Out, Shares She's Dating a Woman

Gabby Windey, who has appeared on The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, and Dancing With the Stars, has come out as queer and revealed she’s dating a woman — Emmy-winning writer Robby Hoffman.

Windey discussed her new relationship on Tuesday’s episode of The View. “Knowing how much people really care, I just want to be honest,” she said. “I don’t want to, like, live and not be living my full truth. I don't want to do that to myself. I don’t want to do it to my girlfriend. I don’t want to do it to other people who really care about me and feel like they know me.”

She said she didn’t expect to be involved with a woman. She was previously engaged to a man, Erich Schwer, who’d been on The Bachelorette. “I was trying to make the relationship work after Bachelorette,” she said. “And then I had finally had time to settle in L.A., and I think it was always a whisper in me that just got louder and louder, and I didn’t really know to pay attention to it.”

She then revealed her girlfriend’s name in an Instagram post. She shared a picture of herself with Hoffman, captioned “Told you I’m a girls girl!”

Windey elaborated in an Instagram story. “Lots to say honestly, and it’s hard to get it out all right now,” she said in the video. “But I know everyone’s been really curious about who I’m dating. You know I love to stir the pot and tease, but I did want to wait until I was ready.”

“This is a larger conversation because I’m dating a girl,” Windey went on. “It’s been honestly, truly the best experience over these last three months. I’ve been in a relationship [that] I feel like I’ve never had before. I wanted to tell you guys because I always just want to live my life honestly and have you all along with me.”

On her initial post, Windey received congratulations from fellow Bachelor alum Demi Burnett and singer Hayley Kiyoko, who is in a relationship with another former Bachelor contestant, Becca Tilley.

Hoffman is a comedian and TV writer. She began a career in stand-up comedy in New York City after growing up in Montreal, and one of her shows was filmed for television as Robby Hoffman: I’m Nervous. She has written for shows including The Chris Gethard Show, Baroness Von Sketch Show, and Odd Squad. She won a Children’s & Family Emmy Award for the latter in 2019.

GLAAD released a statement praising Windey's coming-out. “As one of today’s most visible reality stars from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, Gabby Windey’s decision to continue to share her private life with the public as a queer woman is a key reminder to people, including the many millions who watch the franchise, that there are no rules for coming out and that everyone’s journey is different," said GLAAD’s vice president of communications and talent, Anthony Allen Ramos. "This should also be an important reminder to the industry that LGBTQ people have a place in mainstream dating and relationship shows and that we must be included.”