All eyes are on Taylor Frankie Paul right now — not only because The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Season 4 is underway (streaming with a Hulu subscription), but because the single mom is about to kick off her journey to find love on The Bachelorette. Before Season 22 hits the 2026 TV schedule, however, former Bachelorettes reunited to show their support, with a few notable exceptions. Gabby Windey explained why she missed the reunion, and she shared her thoughts on Paul as the franchise’s new lead.
It wasn’t that long ago that Gabby Windey was the co-lead of The Bachelorette along with Rachel Recchia in Season 19. Let’s just say the results were disastrous, but it apparently wasn’t any lingering trauma that kept Windey from The Bachelorette: Before the First Rose special that aired March 15. ET caught up with the Dancing with the Stars runner-up, who said:
I was out of town. … I’ve just been so busy, so it’s hard to make everything work. But no, that’s amazing. I’m so happy for them just to, like, get together again.
There’s no question that Gabby Windey has blown up since her Bachelor/Bachelorette days — and hers is a rabbit hole definitely worth going down.
Article continues belowShe came out as queer and married comedian Robby Hoffman (who’s also on the rise with a recurring role on Hacks, one of the funniest comedy specials I’ve ever seen and currently appearing on Steve Carell’s HBO series Rooster). Gabby Windey also won The Traitors Season 3 and is now set to recur in the upcoming Netflix series The Body.
Between everything Gabby Windey and Robby Hoffman have going on, it’s easy to see why she wasn’t able to fit The Bachelorette reunion in, but Windey still, of course, has an opinion about the upcoming season. She called Taylor Frankie Paul a “genius” choice as the new franchise lead and said:
I think she’ll crush.
As disappointing as it was to not see Gabby Windey amongst all of the familiar faces, it was impressive to see so many ex-Bachelorettes together in one place!
Attending The Bachelorette: Before the First Rose reunion were Trista Sutter, Meredith Phillips, DeAnna Pappas, Ali Fedotowsky-Manno, Ashley Hebert-Rosenbaum, Emily Maynard-Johnson, Desiree Siegfried, Andi Dorfman, Kaitlyn Bristowe, JoJo Fletcher, Rachel Lindsay, Becca Kufrin, Hannah Brown, Tayshia Adams. Katie Thurston, Rachel Recchia, Charity Lawson and Joan Vassos.
Season 5 lead Jillian Harris also missed the big night, but she sent Taylor Frankie Paul a video message with some words of wisdom:
Hi Taylor, it’s Jillian Harris here. I’m so happy for you. Here’s some advice. I didn’t shave my legs on the very first date and we ended up having a pool party and I ended up on Jason Mesnick’s shoulders with hairy legs, so shave your legs and embrace the moment. Good luck, and I’m sending you tons of love from Canada.
Jenn Tran of Season 21 also phoned in her words of support, saying:
Hi Taylor, it’s Jenn. I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there today with you. I’m so excited for you. In those moments where I was really pushed past my limits, that was when I discovered some of the most beautiful things about myself. And trust your heart, as cliché as that sounds.
Clare Crawley, one of Season 16’s leads, previously addressed her absence on Instagram Stories, saying it was a “hard pass” when producers asked her “to rehash things from six years ago.” Other than that, it was just Season 3’s Jen Chefft and Season 18’s Michelle Young who were MIA.
I love seeing so much support for the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star’s big crossover on The Bachelorette, and I can’t wait to tune in when Taylor Frankie Paul’s season premieres at 8 p.m. ET Sunday, March 22, on ABC and streaming the next day on Hulu.
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