Gabby Windey Opens Up About One of Her ‘First’ Loves, Dean Unglert

ABC/Getty Images Gabby Windey opens up about her past relationship with Dean Unglert.

Gabby Windey is on Clayton Echard‘s season of “The Bachelor,” but she has a history with other Bachelor Nation stars, including Dean Unglert and Blake Hortsmann.

Gabby sat down for a chat with Bryan Abasolo and Mike Johnson on the January 6, 2022, episode of the “Talking it Out” podcast when she opened up about her past relationships — and her time on “The Bachelor.”

“When I came home — you know, we don’t have our phones when we’re filming — and then I came home to, like, all of this stuff that Blake and Dean had been talking about me. It seemed like all positive things, which, you know, I’m grateful for,” Gabby said. “I think they’re great people,” she added.

Later on in the podcast, Gabby said that “a lot is going to unfold” over the next several weeks. She said that her journey with Clayton was “special,” and she explained that her past relationships with Dean and Blake weren’t “ever brought up.” “People will see, eventually,” Gabby said.

Here’s what you need to know:


Gabby Dated Dean When She Was in College & Called Him 1 of Her ‘First’ Loves

I dated Dean, so like, over 10 years ago. I think we were 18, 19… in college. He’s one of my first loves,” Gabby told Bryan and Mike on “Talking it Out.”

“It was just so long ago. It’s a distant past from my experience on ‘The Bachelor’ and, you know, Clayton and I’s stories,” Gabby said.

Gabby said that she would still consider Dean “a friend.” “We are both really supportive of each other,” she said.

Meanwhile, Dean previously opened up about Gabby on an episode of the “Help! I Suck at Dating” podcast back in October — before Clayton’s season began airing.

“My ex-girlfriend is actually on the season of the next ‘Bachelor.’ She was, like, one of the main exes. She was my girlfriend from college. 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,” Dean said.

He went on to say that Gabby was “the second love of [his] life.”


Gabby Said She Never Actually Dated Blake

Despite what may have been circulating on the internet, Gabby cleared things up about the kind of relationship that she had with “Bachelor in Paradise” star, Blake Hortsmann.

“Blake and I had mutual friends,” Gabby explained on the “Talking it Out” podcast. “We never actually went on a date. There was no drinks paid for. No dinner paid for… He’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 explained.

“It’s nice to have that separation,” Gabby continued. She admitted that the two aren’t friends and she hasn’t had any communication with Blake “at all.”

After Gabby opened up about her past relationships, Mike and Bryan decided that she’s actually on the show “for the right reasons.”

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