It all comes down to this! Previews for the season finale of The Bachelorette show Gabby Windey arriving at her final rose ceremony, and she looks absolutely breathtaking. For the last rose ceremony of the season, Gabby wore a white gown with thin straps. While most of the dress is made of a wispy fabric, the top portion is completely sheer and embellished with a colorful floral design. Gabby completed her look with her hair styled in curls and pulled back into a half ponytail, and she wore minimal jewelry to let the dress do the talking!
Gabby eliminated two of her final three men — Johnny DePhillipo and Jason Alabaster — on their fantasy suite dates earlier this season because they admitted that they weren’t quite ready for an engagement. That left her with just one man, Erich Schwer, remaining. Gabby and Erich both said “I love you” to each other, and she introduced him to her family during part one of the finale on Sept. 13. However, the episode ended with a tense conversation between Gabby and Erich, where he also admitted that it might be too soon for a proposal.
Viewers will get to see how it all plays out for the pair during part two of the finale on Sept. 20. However, a lot has gone down publicly for Erich in the months since filming ended in May. First, he was exposed for wearing blackface in a photo from his high school yearbook. After the photo began to go viral, Erich “wholeheartedly apologized” in an Instagram post. “What I thought at the time was a representation of my love for Jimi Hendrix was nothing but ignorance,” Erich admitted. “I was naive to the hurtful implications of my actions to the Black community and those closest to me, and will forever regret my offensive and damaging behavior.”
Less than a week later, though, Erich was embroiled in another public controversy when one of his exes leaked alleged messages from him where he seemingly ended their relationship to go on The Bachelorette. Erich and the ex-girlfriend reportedly dated from January to March 2022, which is when he left for filming. “I know this isn’t ideal, I wanted to [go on the show] to see if there was something else I could do with my life,” Erich allegedly wrote in the March texts. “I really like you Amanda. I didn’t think it would be a big deal but I understand how you feel, I’m sorry and I understand if you don’t want to see me anymore.”
Erich also allegedly sent his ex flowers just one day before he left to film the show, and then allegedly reached out to her one final time ahead of the show’s premiere in July. In that alleged message, he wrote, “I am so sorry Amanda, what I did was terrible. I don’t expect you to forgive me. I just want you to know I think about you all the time and you really dserve the best. I won’t ever forgive myself. I hope you find happiness and everything you deserve.”
So far, Erich has not publicly addressed this situation. However, part two of The Bachelorette finale will feature live, in-studio portions, with Gabby, Rachel and their remaining men expected to attend, so we’ll see if it comes up then. The Bachelorette three-hour finale airs on Sept. 20 at 8:00 p.m. on ABC.