Gabby Windey revealed why she wasn’t present at The Bachelorette special for Taylor Frankie Paul.
“I was out of town,” Windey, 35, told Entertainment Tonight on Sunday, March 15. “I’ve just been so busy, so it is hard to make everything work. But that’s amazing and I am so happy for them to just get together again.”
Windey, who is married to comedian Robby Hoffman, said she thinks Paul “will crush it” as the lead for season 22. Ahead of her debut, ABC gathered former Bachelorette leads from throughout the seasons for The Bachelorette: Before the First Rose, where they offered Paul, 31, advice on her journey to find love.
Nearly 20 former leads were present for the special event, including Trista Sutter, Meredith Phillips, DeAnna Pappas, Ali Fedotowsky-Manno, Ashley Hebert-Rosenbaum, Emily Maynard-Johnson, Desiree Siegfried, Andi Dorfman, Kaitlyn Bristowe, JoJo Fletcher, Rachel Lindsay, Becca Kufrin, Hannah Brown and Tayshia Adams. Katie Thurston, Rachel Recchia, Charity Lawson and Golden Bachelorette Joan Vassos were also in the Bachelor Mansion the night of her first rose ceremony.
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There were some noticeable absences, however, with season 5 lead Jillian Harris submitting a video message.
“Hi Taylor, it’s Jillian Harris here. I’m so happy for you,” she said. “Here’s some advice. I didn’t shave my legs on the very first date and we ended up having a pool party and I ended up on Jason Mesnick’s shoulders with hairy legs, so shave your legs and embrace the moment. Good luck, and I’m sending you tons of love from Canada.”
Season 21’s Jenn Tran offered virtual advice as well, saying, “I’m so excited for you. In those moments where I was really pushed past my limits, that was when I discovered some of the most beautiful things about myself. And trust your heart, as cliche as that sounds.”
Jen Schefft (season 3), Clare Crawley (season 16) and Michelle Young (season 18) were also not featured in the reunion. Crawley, 44, previously spoke out about why she wasn’t available to film the special.
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“I was super sick. The producers asked me to come, and I thought about it since it would be nice to see all the ladies,” Clare said in a February Instagram Story, explaining that she changed her mind after allegedly being told “to rehash things” from six years ago. “Hard pass.”
Paul, meanwhile, is gearing up for her search for The One after rising to reality TV stardom on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
“There was no other reason for me to do this other than I wanted to get outside of Utah and the toxicity that I’m in and venture off and really do something for myself,” she exclusively told Us Weekly in her recent cover story. “Who gets this opportunity as a single mom to just purely focus on dating and love and yourself? It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. That is why I was there.”
The Bachelorette season 22 premieres on ABC Sunday, March 22, at 8 p.m. ET and streams the next day on Hulu.
