Gabby Windey says she wasn’t free to have “whatever kind of hair” she wanted while filming season 19 of The Bachelorette.
The 32-year-old TV personality appeared on the Wednesday, August 30, episode of Bethenny Frankel’s “Just B With Bethenny Frankel” podcast and got real about the alleged hair rules she was forced to abide by on the reality dating series.
“They wouldn’t let me dye my hair while we were filming,” Windey — who rocked chocolate-colored tresses during the show — told Frankel, 52.
Windey revealed that right before production began, she got highlights — and producers weren’t happy. “They sent in a team at the last second to take my hair back dark,” she recalled.
She continued, “I was crying on the phone, screaming at a producer, telling them, like, ‘I should have free will!’”
When Frankel joked that Windey wants to “identify as a multicolored hair person,” Windey responded, “Yes. I want the room to have whatever kind of hair I want. I’ll always change it.”
Earlier in the episode, Windey told Frankel that fans “get really attached to what you look like” while following along with their favorite reality stars — so much so that her recent blonde hair transformation has stirred controversy.
“Why do people talk about it?” Frankel asked Windey, who responded, “I think a little bit is because it was after I moved to L.A., so they were like, ‘Don’t be a basic L.A. bitch.’”
Windey continued, “First of all, I am what I am. I am as basic as they come. It’s not L.A. It’s deep in my soul.”
Despite the backlash, Windey is loving life with lighter locks. “I’m newly blonde. Well, I was a blonde before Bachelor, but in quarantine, I wanted to try something different [and went darker],” she said. “So, now that I’m going back blonde, it’s like a controversy … but this is my natural state.”
In addition to rocking the new ‘do, Windey is in a new relationship.
Earlier this month, Windey revealed via Instagram that she’s been dating a woman. After appearing on Clayton Echard‘s season of The Bachelor, Windey was the co-lead for season 19 of The Bachelorette and was briefly engaged to Erich Schwer. The former couple called it quits in November 2022, less than two months after Schwer’s proposal aired on the Bachelorette season finale.
Windey gushed over her girlfriend, writer and comedian Robby Hoffman, noting she’s had “the best experience” since they started dating.
“[I’m] in a relationship like I’ve never had before,” Windey told her followers on August 2. “But I wanted to tell you guys because I always just want to live my life honestly and have you all along with me.”
