It was Gabby Windey’s turn for some turmoil during the Monday, August 15, episode of The Bachelorette as she and Rachel Recchia solidified their finalists.
The ICU nurse, 31, kicked off the episode with a one-on-one date with Nate. While she has strong feelings for the single dad, Gabby didn’t want to waste his time after realizing that she wasn’t ready to take on the role as a stepmother to his 6-year-old daughter.
“I’m terrified of not just being a mom, but being bad at it,” Gabby said through tears. “I see you and I know that you’re such a good dad. And I know she’s so lucky to have you, really. She has to be the luckiest girl in the world and I know, like, meeting her — if I were to — I wouldn’t have a choice but to fall in love because I know how much she’s like you. … Every time I see you, my feelings get deeper and deeper and it’s just so hard because it’s you.”
While Nate was upset, he told Gabby that she will be a “great mom” when the time comes. “I know somebody is gonna be lucky to feel like you picked them and vice versa. Just make sure you choose somebody who picks you, OK?” he said amid his emotional exit.
Rachel’s one-on-one date had a different vibe, with Zach admitting he was “falling in love” with the pilot before securing the rose. While Gabby was in good spirits during the day portion of her group date, she was caught off guard when Jesse Palmer told her that Logan was no longer on the show after testing positive for COVID-19.
“He’s doing fine, but because we’re trying to take a real abundance of caution for yourself [and] for the rest of the guys, we have to cancel tonight’s cocktail party,” the host said. “I know how important it was and how much we’re looking forward to it with, obviously, hometowns on the horizon. You doing OK?”
Gabby noted that she was “looking forward” to the evening and hoped Logan gets “better fast.”
“I feel terrible for Logan. But mainly I want his health and his safety to be OK,” she told the ABC cameras. “But I also truly feel bad for the other guys. There’s a rose on the table tonight. So I’m sure that the guys are probably going to be really shocked.”
During the rose ceremony, Gabby ultimately only felt comfortable giving out three roses, sending Spencer home and solidifying her final three.
Rachel, for her part, had a group date with Tino, Aven, Ethan and Tyler. After the Wildwood, New Jersey, resident scored the group date rose, Tino started to spiral.
“I’m at a loss for words. I don’t f—king get it. Like, I hit every point today, [I] had the amazing moments. I mean, we literally were just talking about, like, she feels so strongly for me and I just can’t see something connecting on a deeper level than that,” he said before one of his fellow suitors called him a “baby back bitch.”
During a chat with a producer, Tino added, “This is a f—king joke. … It’s just gutting to even think about.”
“It really makes me wonder if I am not seeing things clearly,” he continued in a confessional. “I don’t think she knows how deeply I feel. The fear is that I’m falling really hard for this girl and she’s not — and that never has occurred to me until tonight.”
At the rose ceremony, Rachel gave out two roses (in addition to Zach’s one-on-one rose and Tyler’s group date rose).
The Bachelorette airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. Keep scrolling for a list of the men still in the running: