Does Gabby Win ‘The Bachelor’? Here’s Whether Clayton Picks Her in the End

If you’ve heard the rumors that she dated not one but two Bachelor Nation alums before her relationship with Clayton, you may want to know more about Gabby from The Bachelor 2022 and what the truth is about her past Bachelor romances.

Gabby was one of 30 contestants on The Bachelor season 26 with Clayton Echard. Clayton, a 28-year-old medical sales rep from Columbia, Missouri, was a contestant on The Bachelorette season 18 with Michelle Young, where he was eliminated in eighth place. Clayton was announced as the season 26 Bachelor in November 2021, however, photos of him filming The Bachelor leaked in September 2021, a month before Michelle’s Bachelorette season even premiered.

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According to Reality Steve, several contestants from The Bachelorette season 17 with Katie Thurston were on the short list to be the next Bachelor, such as Greg Grippo and Andrew Spencer, but ABC chose Clayton for his story. “Clayton stood out right off the bat,” a source told Us Weekly at the time. “Producers ended up going with him because they believed he was the best fit for the role. They wanted to switch things up and go with someone new and someone who hasn’t been in the spotlight yet.” 

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In an interview with Good Morning America in November 2021, Clayton confirmed that he found love on The Bachelor season 26. “I did find love, and I was a little skeptical going into the whole journey but I’m so pleasantly surprised that things worked out much different than what I had thought,” he said. “I’m just so excited to watch it back and have everyone else watch it as well.” Clayton also told Good Morning America that came into The Bachelor with a “checklist of sorts” but but the women surprised him when “they brought all of that and so much more.”

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So who is Gabby from The Bachelor 2022 and who are her Bachelor Nation ex-boyfriends? Read on for what we know about Gabby on The Bachelor 2022 and how far she makes it on Clayton’s season. (For more Bachelor 2022 spoilers, click here.)

Who is Gabby from The Bachelor 2022?

Who is Gabby Windey from The Bachelor 2022? Gabby is 30 years old. She’s from O’Fallon, Illinois, but lives in Denver, Colorado. Her Instagram handle is @gabriela.windey. In her Bachelor bio, Gabby described her dream man as someone who has a “quiet confidence.” “Gabby is much more than meets the eye. Not only is she beautiful, but she also has a lot of substance, emotional depth and a wealth of lived experiences,” her bio read. “Gabby is looking for a man with quiet confidence. She doesn’t have a physical type but says that if he doesn’t have a personality, then it’s a hard pass. Her ideal man will challenge her, communicate his feelings and work hard to equally carry the weight of the relationship.”

Her bio continued, “The one nonnegotiable for Gabby? Whatever man captures Gabby’s heart must also have room in their life for her four-legged friend because she and her goldendoodle Leonardo are a package deal. While Gabby would love to find a man, she isn’t the type to lose herself in a relationship. She’s hoping to find a man who will love her for the independent woman she is.”

For her fun facts, Gabby listed the following:

• Gabby is terrified of humpback whales but would love to see one in person from a safe distance.

• Gabby loves to write cards.

• Stomping grapes in Italy is at the top of Gabby’s bucket list.

Clayton also isn’t Gabby’s first Bachelor Nation relationship. Gabby is the ex-girlfriend of both Dean Unglert from The Bachelorette season 13 with Rachel Lindsay and Blake Horstmann from The Bachelorette season 14 with Becca Kufrin. Dean, who also starred on Bachelor in Paradise season 5 and 6, confirmed the relationship on an episode of his “Help! I Suck at Dating” podcast in October 2021. “She was, like, one of the main exes. She was my girlfriend from college,” he said. “Producers called me and were like, ‘Hey, we’re thinking of casting this person — what do you think of her? We know that you dated 10 years ago.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, she’s great. If she gets selected for the show, she’ll either win the show or she’ll be the next Bachelorette.’ And I firmly believe that.”

Blake, who was also on Bachelor in Paradise season 6, also confirmed that he dated Gabby for a “couple months” on an episode of the “Behind the Rose” podcast in October 2021. “We like the same girls, man. I didn’t know Dean until obviously, like, 2018, but Gabby was a good friend of one of my very good friends from college, they were roommates,” he said. “I met Gabby long before I was on The Bachelorette, like, I want to say maybe 2015 or 2016. We hung out for a little bit, so I know her very well. And Dean, I don’t know how it came up, but one time, me and Dean were sitting there — I think we were in Buffalo, and he mentioned Gabby — and I was like, ‘How do you know Gabby?’ And he was like, ‘Dude, she was, like, my girl in college, you know, we were in love and blah blah.’”

He continued, “She’s fun. She has a very outgoing personality, very loud, like, when she walks into a room, you know she’s in a room. You never know if the lead is going to be into something like that. You never know if they like the more shy, quiet type or they like the loud, outgoing type, but she’s definitely very loud, very outgoing, she has a lot of friends. So if Clayton’s into that, I see her getting hometowns, for sure. She’s a beautiful woman. … They’re gonna have the football player, cheerleader story line.”

In an interview on the “Talking It Out With Bachelor Nation” podcast in January 2022, Gabby claimed that she and Blake “hung out for a little” but weren’t ever in an official relationship. “Blake and I had mutual friends,” Gabby said, noting that they met after she graduated from college in 2014. “We never actually went on a date. There was no drinks paid for. No dinner paid for. [Blake’s] saying we dated… He’s definitely friends of friends. You know, we had spent time together and stuff but definitely no, like, official dating, like, no really kind of formal, no exclusivity and again, it was a really long time ago.”

She called Dean, however, one of her “first loves.” “It was just so long ago,” she said. “It’s a distant past from my experience on ‘The Bachelor’ and you know, Clayton [Echard] and I’s story, it’s very much its own thing. I’m always really grateful that it was so far in the past, so I could focus more on Clayton and kind of separate [that].”

What is Gabby’s job?

What is Gabby’s job? Gaby lists her job on The Bachelor as an “ICU Nurse.” Gabby also worked as a registered nurse in the medical ICU at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, according to her Linkedin.  In an interview with The Athletic in 2020, Gabby opened up about what it’s like to work on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re all leaning on each other, and it really becomes a new normal kind of fast,” she said. “All of health care is ever-changing because we’re always trying to make sure we’re doing things the best way, which comes with evidence-based practice and re-evaluating the way we’re doing things. So we are used to change. But it is hard and, of course, this is different because of the seriousness of it and how many people it’s affecting.”

She continued, “There is always kind of a thought and worry of working so close to it, there’s obviously a risk of transmission. But we have the suitable PPE and have been trained extensively how to take it on and off carefully so we don’t give it to ourselves while we’re taking it off. You have to be vigilant and you have to pay attention to what you’re doing at all times. “I haven’t had to reuse any other PPE, but putting it out there early on that we need to not be wasteful has really helped us now.”

Along with her job as an ICU nurse, Gabby is also a cheerleader for the Denver Broncos. In 2021, Gabby, who’s been cheering for the Denver Broncos since 2016, became the first woman to receive the Pop Warner Humanitarian Award, an honor usually given to football players. “Windey is the first female and NFL cheerleader in the history of the award, which has traditionally been awarded to NFL players,” Pop Warner Little Scholars said in a press release. (Kansas City Chiefs lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif also received the honor.) “Both Windey and Duvarney-Tardif’s selflessness and commitment to helping others are an embodiment of sacrifice and teamwork, making them model representatives for young student-athletes across the nation.”

What happens to Gabby on The Bachelor 2022?

What happens to Gabby on The Bachelor 2022? Gabby won a Baywatch-themed group date in episode three hosted by Baywatch actress Nicole Eggert. The contestants compete in lifeguard challenges, which Gabby placed first in and won more time with Clayton. She also received the group date rose later that night. According to Reality Steve, Gabby received one One-on-One date with Clayton in Toronto, Canada, in week five. Reality Steve also reported that Gabby makes it to at least the final three contestants and had a Fantasy Suite date in Iceland, where the Final Rose Ceremony was also filmed. In The Bachelor 2022 trailer, Clayton is seen telling his final three contestants that he’s in love with all three of them.

SPOILER: Who is The Bachelor 2022 winner?

Who is The Bachelor 2022 winner? Reality Steve confirmed that the winner of The Bachelor season 26 with Clayton Echard is Susie Evans, a 28-year-old wedding videographer from Virginia Beach, Virginia, however, she rejects Clayton in the end. According to Reality Steve, Susie was eliminated in third place during Fantasy Suites after Clayton told her that he was in love and had sex with his other two finalists—Rachel Recchia, a 25-year-old flight instructor from Clermont, Florida, had the first, and Gabby Windey, a 30-year-old ICU nurse from Denver, Colorado—and Susie questioned how he could be serious about their relationship when he was intimate with someone else. The fight escalates, and Clayton decides to eliminate Susie after she tells him how she doesn’t know if she can stay on the show if he’s in love with other women.

At the final three Rose Ceremony with Rachel and Gabby, Clayton tells both Rachel and Gabby that he’s in love and had sex with both of them. Both Rachel and Gabby walk away and try to leave the show, which leads Clayton to beg them to stay. Both Rachel and Gabby agree to stay and Clayton gives them both roses. The finale continues with Gabby and Rachel meeting Clayton’s parents. After Gabby and Rachel’s meeting with Clayton’s parents, Clayton realizes that he still has feelings for Susie and decides to talk to her. Host Jesse Palmer knocks on Susie’s door and tells her that Clayton wants to talk to her. Susie agrees and she and Clayton reunite. Susie then also meets Clayton’s parents, after which he decides he wants to choose her at the Final Rose Ceremony and eliminate Rachel and Gabby. Clayton tells Rachel and Gabby about his decision separately in their hotel rooms. Rachel was more sad, while Gabby was more angry at Clayton. At the Final Rose Ceremony, Clayton arrives with an engagement ring and a plan to propose to Susie, but before he can do so, Susie tells Clayton that she’s not in love with him and walks away, which forces Clayton to leave The Bachelor single.

Reality Steve also reported that Clayton’s relationships with Rachel and Gabby ended once he eliminated with them, and there was no hope for them to get back together after he was rejected by Susie. “There is zero chance he is rekindling anything with Gabby or Rachel. They have nothing to do with anything since they left Iceland,” Reality Steve wrote. “I don’t think anyone expected it to end the way that it did, including myself, nor did I want it to be that way. There was a lot of things that I just never would’ve thought would’ve happened the way they did. So everyone will be kind of surprised. I wish it could have went any other direction, but it went the direction that it did. Ultimately, I had to react accordingly,” Clayton said of how his Bachelor season ended on the Women Tell All. 

During his “After the Final Rose” special in March 2022, Clayton revealed that he left Iceland to “what I thought was my normal life” until Susie contacted him to ask him to take her back. “I was absolutely shocked there was maybe that came from all of it,” Clayton said. Susie later came out during the special and confirmed that she and Clayton were back together and still dating. “We’re really happy and we’re happy to be here today,” she said. “That’s my boyfriend.” Susie confessed that she and Clayton “took some steps back,” but are currently in love. “I can confidently say yeah, he’s incredible,” she said.

Clayton and Susie also confessed that they expect some backlash for their relationship and “could have done better” with how their finale played out. They also revealed that they’re planning to move to Virginia (Susie’s hometown) together and their relationship is “serious.” Engagement ring designer Neil Lane was in the audience, and host Jesse Palmer also asked Clayton if a proposal was coming, to which Clayton responded that he has other things for his relationship with Susie planned for now. Clayton then asked Susie if she would officially accept his final rose, to which she did.

Reality Steve’s spoilers come after a Reddit post by @workingbach13 in December 2021 theorized that the final two were Susie or Rachel. The post suspected this because Susie and Rachel both followed Cary Fetman on Instagram. Cary is the Bachelor franchise’s stylist and costume designer who often styles the lead and the last two contestants for the Final Rose Ceremony.

The post speculated that Susie could’ve won Clayton’s Bachelor season because she was the first of the final three Bachelor contestants to return to social media, which has been consistent with past Bachelor and Bachelorette winners. Susie’s family and friends also follow Clayton on Instagram. A fan account has also posted an alleged screenshot of Susie commenting heart eye emojis on one of Clayton’s recent Instagram photos, which he liked. Susie also received the Pretty Woman date—a.k.a. a date where the lead and the contestant go on a shopping spree—in Vienna, Austria, in week seven, which has been indicative of other Bachelor and Bachelorette winners who have had similar dates, such as Rachel Kirkconnell from The Bachelor season 25 with Matt James; Hannah Ann Sluss from The Bachelor season 24 with Peter Weber; Becca Kufrin from The Bachelor season 22 with Arie Luyendyk Jr.; and Bryan Abasolo from The Bachelorette season 13 with Rachel Lindsay. Reality Steve also hinted in a tweet in November 2021 that there’s evidence that Susie won Clayton’s Bachelor season. “Do I post pics of Susie from Clayton’s season out last night so the subsequent dissection of the pics, freak out, and speculation from the fans can commence?” he tweeted.

The post, however, also speculated that Rachel could’ve won Clayton’s Bachelor season because she returned to social media at the exact time Clayton did. Rachel’s mom also followed Clayton on Instagram but unfollowed him when filming ended. Rachel Clayton also both liked the same Instagram photo of The Bachelor host Jesse Palmer 20 minutes after it was posted, even though Rachel doesn’t follow Jesse on Instagram. Rachel was also the only contestant from Clayton’s final three that liked season 18 Bachelorette Michelle Young’s first photo with her winner, Nayte Olukoya, which Clayton also liked.

Reality Steve confirmed in February 2022 that Clayton does not have a traditional ending, there was no finality to his Bachelor season. Reality Steve also reported that Clayton didn’t have a traditional “Final Rose Ceremony” with two women, where he picks out a ring, one woman arrives and is eliminated and the other woman arrives and he proposes to them. Reality Steve also reported that he didn’t have any “Happy Couple” visits (a.k.a. when the Bachelor and their winner have a secret weekend together) the whole season.

For Clayton’s proposal to Susie, it’s almost certain that the ring was designed by Neil Lane, a celebrity jeweler, who has created engagement rings for The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise since 2008. In a 2016 interview with Entertainment Weekly, former host Chris Harrison revealed that Bachelor Nation couples have to stay together for a certain amount of time, otherwise they have to return the free engagement ring to Neil Lane. “There’s some rule, after a certain number of years, you get to keep it anyway,” he said. “But after months… it goes back.”

Lane told StyleCaster in 2016 that he doesn’t know where the rings go, but that he designs them with the hope that the couple to stays together. “I make rings hoping that people stay together forever, but after they get the ring, I don’t have a say in it, and what happens after that, I don’t know,” he said. “Where the ring goes, I have to say, I don’t really know. I just say it goes to ring heaven.”

Who is The Bachelorette 2022?

Who is the next Bachelorette in 2022? Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey, two contestants from The Bachelor season 26 with Clayton Echard, were announced as the season 19 Bachelorettes at the “After the Final Rose” special in March 2022. “After unwaveringly supporting each other through a devastating dual breakup in the season 26 finale of ‘The Bachelor,’ fan favorites and fierce women Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia will stand by each other’s side yet again as they set out on a journey to find love,” ABC said in a press release at the time.

Rachel, a 25-year-old flight instructor from Clermont, Florida, and Gabby, a 30-year-old ICU nurse from Denver, Colorado, were both eliminated in the final three after Clayton chose Susie Evans, a 28-year-old wedding videographer from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and sent home Rachel and Gabby before the Final Rose Ceremony. Susie was the winner of Clayton’s Bachelor season after Clayton chose her at the Final Rose Ceremony. Before the Final Rose Ceremony, however, Clayton and Susie have a fight during their Fantasy Suite Date after he tells her that he had sex and is in love with both Rachel and Gabby, and she questions how he could be serious about their relationship when he was intimate with someone else. The argument escalates, and Clayton decides to eliminate Susie after she expresses how she doesn’t know if she can stay on the show if he’s in love with other women. Clayton and the producers convince Susie to return to Clayton’s Bachelor season. At the Final Rose Ceremony, Clayton—who eliminated Rachel and Gabby before the finale—told Susie he loved her, but she told him that she didn’t love him back and left. “I don’t think anyone expected it to end the way that it did, including myself, nor did I want it to be that way. There was a lot of things that I just never would’ve thought would’ve happened the way they did. So everyone will be kind of surprised. I wish it could have went any other direction, but it went the direction that it did. Ultimately, I had to react accordingly,” Clayton said of how his Bachelor season ended on the Women Tell All. 

According to Reality Steve, Clayton’s relationships with Rachel and Gabby ended once he eliminated them, and there was no chance for them to get back together with Clayton. He also reported that The Bachelorette season 19 starts filming in late March 2022. “I can’t believe anything you say, not one thing,” Gabby told Clayton during The Bachelor season 26 finale after he told her that he chose Susie over her. “You sound actually ridiculous because you don’t want to admit that you’re wrong…Your actions speak way louder than words.” Rachel, for her part, told Clayton that he would regret his decision. “I promise you that when you look back at this…this is going to haunt you, the fact that you let me go,” she said. “I tried so hard, I gave you everything. I fought for this every single day and you never once fought for me.”

Before the season 19 Bachelorettes were announced, Reality Steve also confirmed that Gabby was a frontrunner to become the next lead.A source also confirmed to E! News at the time that producers were considering Gabby to the next Bachelorette due to the positive fan response to her on social media. In an interview with Us Weekly, Genevieve Parisi, a 26-year-old bartender from Los Angeles, California, revealed that Gabby was her choice for the next Bachelorette because of her sense of humor. “I would say Susie or Gabby,” she said. “Rachel is amazing too, but honestly, I think Gabby would just bring such a different element to it. She’s so funny. And as you see, as this season goes on, she really has a great heart and she’s an emotional person. And it’s hard to see that because she just jokes all the time. She’s always laughing and just joking with people, but she has a very big heart and I think she deserves love so much and she just would be so entertaining to watch.” Serene Russell, a 26-year-old elementary school teacher from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and another contestant from Clayton’s season, also noted Gabby as strong choice for the next Bachelorette. 

Who is The Bachelor 2022, Clayton Echard? 

In case you didn’t know: Clayton Echard is The Bachelor 2022. Clayton, a 28-year-old medical sales rep from Columbia, Missouri, was a contestant on The Bachelorette season 18 with Michelle Young. He was eliminated in week six in eighth place. He was sent home after a One-on-One date with Michelle, who told him that there’s “something missing” between them. “I just want to find love so badly,” he said in a confessional interview after his elimination. “And have a family. And start that chapter of my life. I want it more than anything else. I’ll do whatever it takes to get there. Whatever it takes.” After his elimination, Clayton received a letter from Michelle’s student, who cheers him on. “This just shows me I want kids one day,” Clayton said as he read the letter. The episode also shows a producer asking the student what should be next for Clayton, to which the student says, “He’ll be the next Bachelor.”

So who is The Bachelor 2022, Clayton Echard? According to his Linkedin, Clayton graduated from the University of Missouri, Columbia, in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in health professions and related clinical sciences. He’s also set to earn a Master of Business Administration in health and healthcare from Southeast Missouri State University in 2023. Clayton has worked a sales representative at Stryker, a medical devices company, since January 2018. He was hired in 2016 as a sales associate.

While at the University of Missouri, Clayton was a division 1 collegiate athlete for the university’s football team, the Missouri Tigers. After graduation, he was a professional NFL player for the Seattle Seahawks from August to September 2016. “After outperforming 4 other tight ends on a tryout basis with the Seattle Seahawks, I signed on as a free agent. While there, I practiced daily with the team and played in 4 preseason games. I made it past the first round of cuts, however, I was not able to make the final roster. Nonetheless, it was a unique experience that I was blessed to be a part of,” Clayton’s Linkedin reads. According to his Instagram, @claytonechard, Clayton is also a former freestyle rapper and refers to himself as a “washed-up athlete.” He confirmed that his current industry is still orthopaedic sales.

In his bio for Michelle’s Bachelorette season, Clayton described his “perfect woman” as someone who is “funny, independent, intelligent and athletic enough to join him at the gym for a workout.” “Clayton is a Missouri thoroughbred who has it all – good looks, a great job and a wonderful family,” his bio read. “The only thing missing is the perfect woman with whom to share his life. His dream woman is funny, independent, intelligent and athletic enough to join him at the gym for a workout. He wants to find something truly special and is willing to put in the hard work to find love that will last forever. Clayton is so excited to meet Michelle and loves that she has a passion for her career. His mom is a teacher just like Michelle, and he finds it impressive that she’s made this journey work without having to take time away from her students. Clayton truly believes that Michelle could be the perfect match for him. Will they hit it off?”

For his fun facts, Clayton listed the following:

– Clayton had a mohawk in college.

– Clayton’s rapping alter ego is named Clay-Doh.

– Clayton would love to own multiple gyms

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Bachelor Nation by Amy Kaufman

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To get more of an inside scoop, check out Los Angeles Times writer Amy Kaufman’s book, Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure, for a deep dive into the Bachelor franchise. The book uncovers the secrets of Bachelor Nation, from how much the Bachelor and the Bachelorette are paid to the rules contestants have to follow, that producers don’t want fans to know. It’s a must-read for any Bachelor Nation member.

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