Bachelorette’s Gabby Windey Breaks Silence on Erich Split

Sharing her side. After weeks of reports about Gabby Windey and Erich Schwer’s status, she broke her silence during the Monday, November 14, episode of Dancing With the Stars.

“The end of our relationship happened because we weren’t completely in step and in sync with each other in our common goals or just the way we approach life,” Windey, 31, explained to her partner, Val Chmerkovskiy during rehearsal. The reality TV personality added that she and Schwer, 29, “weren’t each other’s best match.”

Despite her recent split, the Illinois native chose to focus on the positive examples of love she has in her life. “I’m just so grateful that my dad and my stepmom encompass so many fundamentals and values that I look for in a relationship, like never placing blame,” she told Chmerkovskiy, 36. “I want to channel that kind of everlasting love in this dance.

Windey and Schwer, who got engaged during The Bachelorette season 19 finale, which aired in September, reportedly confirmed their breakup to People on November 4. Jesse Palmer subsequently told Us Weekly that the twosome were trying to “work through things.”

The New Jersey native romanced the ICU nurse during her season of The Bachelorette, which aired earlier this year.

“When I met you, I, like, immediately was 100 percent myself. I’ve never met anybody that I felt that comfortable with — that deep of a connection. I felt like I really knew you for years,” Schwer said in his proposal, which was featured on the September finale of the ABC dating series. “I didn’t know it, but I had met my soulmate. … You are the most amazing person I’ve ever met. It’s you and me until the wheels fall off. I’m head over heels in love with you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Following their reality TV romance, the twosome were eager to take their relationship public.

“This last week has been, honestly, like a dream come true. I feel like I’m on cloud nine. [It’s] so cheesy,” Windey exclusively gushed to Us Weekly last month, noting it was “amazing” that her then-fiancé came to cheer her on at Dancing With the Stars. “[I’m] excited to perform for him and [for] him to see a different side of me that … we don’t get to share with each other, you know, every day.”

As the former Denver Broncos cheerleader and pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy continued impressing the DWTS judges and audiences, speculation surrounding her relationship status with Schwer made headlines. Eagle-eyed fans noticed that the real estate analyst had not attended a DWTS taping since Disney+ night and Windey has stopped wearing her diamond engagement ring during performances.

“Life is just really busy for the both of us right now,” Windey quipped to Fox News on October 31, sparking further rumors about a potential breakup. “So I understand their concern but we’re just kind of, you know, going forward with each of our individual interests and supporting each other from afar.”

Windey served as the Bachelorette alongside co-lead Rachel Recchia, who was briefly engaged to final pick Tino Franco. The twosome split ahead of After the Final Rose when the 28-year-old contractor admitted to cheating on the 26-year-old pilot.