The Bachelorette star Gabby Windey has explained in more detail why she and Erich Schwer broke up only two months after their engagement aired on the show's nineteenth season.
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"[Dancing with the Stars] does take up a lot of your time, but I feel like our time together was never really limited. We would still see each other afterward. Luckily, we were able to live in the same place."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Dancing with the Stars featured Erich dropping into rehearsals and helping Gabby with her routines towards the beginning of the season, and Erich also sat in the audience for a couple of performance shows.
But then fans noticed Gabby stopped wearing her engagement ring on the show in October, and Gabby's friends -- including fellow The Bachelorette 19 star Rachel Recchia -- supported her in the ballroom week after week sans Erich.
"So I think, truly, it was just getting to know the relationship in-person, because we were long-distance -- and before that, [we were] kind of in a bubble [while The Bachelorette was airing]," Gabby explained of the demise of her post-show relationship.
"Sometimes you don't always know the questions to ask or it's up to the other person to really know themselves and bring forth their truth. So I think it was a lot of getting to know each other in real life."
Gabby, who is promoting the upcoming "Dancing with the Stars Live 2023 Tour," added that Erich "is a really good guy" even though they didn't work out as a couple.
"I think we're just not each other's people, unfortunately," she continued.
"I don't want to sound dismissive at all because, you know, leaving the show, you really do want, hope and think that this is The One for you. I'm so ready to find my forever person, but I know now that it's going to come with time -- and I want it to be the RIGHT person, not just A person."
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Even though Gabby is currently single and still looking for love, she expressed to Us how she's "really grateful" for everything in her life right now.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW"I feel like I'm constantly gathering data about my new life... I've been blessed with so many opportunities, so I just want to make the most of it and not take anything for granted," Gabby shared.
Gabby said on the "Click Bait with Bachelor Nation" podcast last week that her romance with Erich ended "pretty amicably" and she doesn't "wish him ill will at all."
"I genuinely think it unfortunately just wasn't the right time for us," Gabby said, before adding, "I think we are just in two very different places in our life."
Erich proposed marriage to Gabby on The Bachelorette's Season 19 finale, which aired on ABC in September.
But reports swirled about the couple's breakup in early November, less than two months after Gabby and Erich's engagement was made public.
Gabby broke her silence on the split and stated on Dancing with the Stars' Season 31 semifinals episode on November 14 that she and Erich "weren't each other's best match," nor were they "in step" or "in sync" in terms of their goals and approaches to life.
Erich explained on Instagram Stories the very next day how he couldn't put his finger on one thing that went wrong with his relationship. He said that he and the ICU nurse simply aren't each other's person.
Erich teased late last month a new career project he's been working on, and based on his Instagram account, he is still single and just having fun with his boys.
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Around that same time, Gabby opened up to Us about how her split from Erich "was hard."
"Ultimately, I'm just grateful that I was able to do it on my own terms and when I was ready. It was just a new experience overall -- being so public and being thrown into this. I think now it's just kind of trying to move forward," Gabby explained.
And Gabby ultimately moved on by focusing her time, attention and energy on Dancing with the Stars, which she thought was very "therapeutic" for her.
Gabby and her Dancing with the Stars professional partner Val Chmerkovskiy finished the season as the runner-up couple behind winners TikTok star Charli D'Amelio and her pro partner Mark Ballas.
Around the time Dancing with the Stars was coming to a close, Gabby started flirting with former Jersey Shore star Vinny Guadagnino on social media.
Beginning with a comment from Vinny on November 15 in which he called Gabby his "Baby Mamma," the pair sparked rumors they're romantically interested in each other, and fans have since been shipping them as a potential reality TV couple.
Gabby recently said she'd "of course" go on a date with Vinny if he asked her out, and she even called Vinny her "celebrity crush."
While Gabby noted that dating Vinny could be a real "possibility" for her, she keeps hinting the ball is in Vinny's court and he needs to be the one to ask her out.
Gabby revealed how her flirty relationship with Vinny got started during her December 15 "Click Bait" podcast appearance.
Gabby, who also briefly dated The Bachelorettes alums Dean Unglert and Blake Horstmann before her stint on The Bachelor's 26th season starring Clayton Echard, has been wanting a commitment from a man who will love her unconditionally.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
