After returning her Neil Lane diamond, Gabby Windey is taking things slow with girlfriend Robby Hoffman.
“I do feel like [I was a] little caught up in ‘Bachelor world.’ I think it is a little dated,” the 32-year-old former Bachelorette exclusively told Us Weekly about getting engaged to Erich Schwer on season 19. “Having said that, I was fully on board when I was there because it is, like, just a part of it. You don’t really allow yourself to think outside of the box with that kind of stuff, and I don’t regret anything. But now, I think I always allow my mind to change and evolve.”
Windey, who spoke to Us while promoting her partnership with Cupshe, made it clear that she still wants to walk down the aisle one day.
“I do want to get married. I think it’s another level of commitment to bring two people closer,” she continued. “Whether I want to do it [again] right away — I think I’m just now getting on my feet, getting accustomed to this new life, really finding myself processing all the big change that’s happened in a couple of years. So I kind of want to revel in that and I don’t want to rush a relationship. I want to be in the beginning. I want things to look forward to.”
Windey then quipped, “I feel bad for people who got married at 18, like, what else is there in life? You already did the biggest day of your life, you know what I mean?”
The reality TV personality confirmed her relationship with Hoffman in August, less than a year after news broke that she and Schwer called off their engagement.
“The best thing [about our relationship] is that we’re both girls. I mean, I feel like we’re best friends and we can talk for hours,” Windey gushed to Us. “We have a lot of the same views. We have similar experiences. So, it really feels like an ideal relationship where you’re friends first, but also with a connection and an attraction. It doesn’t get much better than that.”
Windey added that the reaction to her first public romance with a same-sex partner has been “overwhelmingly” positive.
“I didn’t have expectations because I just needed to do it for me,” she explained of making the reveal on The View, adding that she has found a “healthy relationship with social media,” something that many Bachelor and Bachelorette alums struggle with. “[The positive comments] mean so much — people in my DMs saying how cute we are. We meet a lot of people just running around. We’re always traveling. … I understand how it’s still new for people. We don’t see queer relationships all the time, but I think when you see us, you know [that] we just want to celebrate love.”
Windey also has Hoffman’s support for her “first partnership” post-Bachelorette — a holiday collection with Cupshe.
“I really feel like it’s versatile. There’s something for everyone and it really just gets you in the holiday spirit because everything is very lush and rich materials and sparkly or green and red, which naturally you think of Christmas,” she told Us. “So I feel like it’ll just get people in the mood to celebrate and bring on the holidays.”
Of the 49-piece collection with sizes ranging between XS-XL, Windey named the little black dress and the faux fur jacket as her favorite pieces.
“I feel like it’s an excuse to be a little bit extra decadent. I love to dress up and play,” she said. “There’s also a really good sweater dress that I’ve been talking about. I feel like it’s good for everybody. You can dress it up or dress it down and it’s just really comfortable.”
