ABC Some fans think "Dancing With the Stars" pro Val Chmerkovskiy threw shade at Gabby Windey's ex boyfriend.
Some fans think “Dancing With the Stars” professional dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy used social media to throw shade at the ex-boyfriend of his partner, “Bachelorette” Gabby Windey.
Chmerkovskiy took to his Instagram Stories to share a video of the lift he and Windey performed during the dance relay on the Monday, November 7 episode of “Dancing With the Stars” that had the caption “how did they do that?”
Chmerkovskiy wrote, “When he tells you he got a job, a car, and his own place to live” alongside the screenshot.
Fans Think Chmerkovskiy Was Not-So-Subtly Shading Windey’s Ex
Fans took to Reddit to share Chmerkovskiy’s Stories, with the original poster adding the caption, “The SHADE on Val’s Instagram Story !!”
Windey and her fiance, Erich Schwer, were engaged coming out of the “Bachelorette” finale, but People announced their split on November 4, 2022 after weeks of fan speculation.
Before the announcement, Windey told Fox News that “life is just really busy” and the couple was “going forward with each of our individual interests and supporting each other from afar.”
Fans in the Reddit thread thought the comment from Chmerkovskiy was a sex joke but also poked fun at Schwer and Windey.
“This feels like a sex joke but also shade like Val has probably teased gabby about him not being a real catch for all these reasons (not sure if he has a car or not tho) … but Val dirty deleted once he realized he made bachelor nation lose their sh**,” one person wrote.
Another person commented on the “Bachelor” subreddit, “It’s not like she didn’t know she was unemployed when she picked him.”
“Gabby was definitely fed up with Erich ‘leaving his wallet at home’ the three times they ever went out in public together. She’s a very valuable lesson that it’s just not worth it to be a pick me,” one person joked.
Windey, for her part, shared a screenshot of the lift, which involved her legs on Chmerkovskiy’s shoulders and him holding her only at the waist as they spun around.
“Honestly never felt more alive,” she wrote in her Instagram Stories.
The lift came just a couple of weeks after Windey opened up about feeling awkward when having to get sexy with Chmerkovskiy when they danced a Rumba together.
“It’s a learning curve for all of us,” she told reporters, per Us Weekly. “We’ve never been in this arena before, but it was great having Jenna [Johnson] to come into the rehearsal space and teach me and getting to learn from her. And Erich has been so supportive. He understands this is a performance and we have a goal.”
Michael Bublé, who was a guest judge on the episode, said their routine was “easily the sexiest version I have seen” of his song, “Home.”
‘Bachelorette’ Host Jesse Palmer Says Schwer & Windey are Trying to Work it Out
Jesse Palmer, the host of “The Bachelorette,” told Us Weekly he was still in contact with both Windey and Schwer and he was bummed that it hadn’t worked out between them.
“I spoke to her yesterday [and] spoke to Erich this morning, and I know they’re still trying to kind of work through things, so just giving them the space they need,” he told the outlet. “[They are] two amazing people and everybody saw the potential in that relationship and just wish them the best for whatever that is, whatever that means.”
“Dancing With the Stars” airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Disney+.