ABC Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia will headline season 19 of "The Bachelorette."
For the first time ever, “The Bachelorette” will feature two leads from start to finish in season 19. Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey were both blindsided by Clayton Echard during his season of “The Bachelor,” and now they are handing out roses as they try to find their soulmates from a shared group of guys. They were friends heading into filming “The Bachelorette,” but many fans wonder if they were able to maintain that friendship after potentially fighting over the same guys. Windey addressed that very question recently, and there is good news for viewers who love the friendship dynamic these two ladies share.
Here’s what you need to know:
Windey & Recchia Remain Good Friends Post-Filming
During a recent string of Instagram Stories, Windey answered a variety of fan questions. She shared a tease regarding her supposed final rose recipient, and she tackled some random questions about her personal life, too. When it came to a question about her relationship with fellow “Bachelorette” Recchia, she seemed all too happy to provide an answer. ABC has teased Recchia and Windey are “Best Friends,” which some fans might interpret as production setting the stage for the two women to clash over their men down the road. Luckily, it does not seem that became the case.
One “The Bachelorette” fan asked Windey, “Are you and Rachel still bff’s?” In response, Windey shared a photo from her time on Echard’s “The Bachelor” season that featured both Windey and Recchia with shocked expressions on their faces. “Us in some draaamaa,” she teased of the photo, tagging Recchia in the reply. “She’s my number 1!! Of course,” she said about still being good friends, adding some heart emojis to emphasize her answer.
The Potential for Drama Over the Men Didn’t Ruin Their Fun
Windey has shown she has a lot of fun joking around about her journey as “The Bachelorette,” but she seems to be consistent and serious about her friendship with Recchia. A few spoilers for season 19 of “The Bachelorette” have emerged, but so far, nothing suggests Recchia and Windey end up with any significant spats over the men.
Fans seem a little divided over this tight friendship between the two “Bachelorette” stars, though. “I actually think it’s impressive that they’re so close!” one fan noted on Reddit. “Am I the only one who would be bored if they had absolutely zero drama?” someone else questioned. That poster was not the only one expecting at least some level of drama between Recchia and Windey as they pursue the same group of men. “If there’s absolutely no drama between them, it makes the entire thing pointless and like they each got half a season,” detailed another Reddit commenter.
Another show fan speculated, “Production will try and they will not have it,” regarding drama between the two, and at least one fan suggested a really wild possibility. “My favorite hypothetical ending is the one where they ditch all the guys and end up falling in love with one another.” That poster added, “So I’m pretending this is a breadcrumb and ‘number 1’ = F1, lol.” That ending is highly unlikely, of course, but it would certainly give production an enormous opportunity to tease a major franchise first.