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Gabby Windey and Erich Schwer’s engagement was finally revealed during The Bachelorette finale on Sept. 20 — just in time for her stint on Dancing With the Stars! Obviously, being on the Disney+ show is Gabby’s focus right now, but she’s also looking ahead at the future with Erich. “We both live in L.A. and we love L.A. and love the city, so I think we’re just waiting for each of our leases to play out and see where we’re at,” Gabby told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “It is a big step just getting released into the public. I feel like we have a whole new part of our relationship to explore and that’s our focus right now — just enjoying each other and reveling in the new love and new relationship bliss!”
Now that the two don’t have to keep their romance a secret any longer, Gabby said she’s excited to just “go to dinner and do normal stuff,” like trips to the beach or walking to breakfast. “We just want to be with each other and do all your normal, mundane life things.”
Of course, Gabby is still majorly in the spotlight thanks to Dancing With the Stars, which premiered on Sept. 19. However, she and Erich are already making sure to continue prioritizing their relationship amidst this busy time. “I think just having the intention and making the time [is important],” she admitted. “Luckily, we’re in the same city and I think we’re both pretty easy people, so even it’s just dinners together or a sleepover or something like that. I’m squeezing in time with him whenever I can. And he’s so supportive! He wants to come to as many performances as he can. He knows how much this means to me and it is a lot right now, but it’s temporary. It’s just one more thing. It’s nice that we actually get to be public and not sneak around, so that makes it easier now.”
Erich was Gabby’s final man standing ahead of the final rose ceremony on The Bachelorette. Although he briefly questioned whether or not he was ready to propose so soon, he ultimately got down on one knee and asked Gabby to marry him. An engagement was something Gabby wanted from the beginning, and she was glad that she and Erich were on the same page about that.
“I always saw an engagement as a symbol of being ready to commit,” she explained. “If you’re at a point in your life where you’re ready for a relationship that could last forever, that’s half the battle, in my experience. If I wanted to leave with a boyfriend, I would be back to Hinge. That wasn’t successful [for me]. I’m at a point in my life where I want to meet someone else who can meet me where I’m at. I wouldn’t change anything.”