The Bachelor runners-up Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia have been chosen to star on The Bachelorette's upcoming nineteenth season, jointly!
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RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
The Bachelor host Jesse Palmer announced at the end of the live finale broadcast how both Gabby and Rachel will star on The Bachelorette next season after enduring a tumultuous and emotional ride on Clayton's season.
"Who will the next Bachelorette be? When I say this decision was the hardest we ever had to make, it was the hardest we've ever had to make," Jesse said, hinting that women such as Serene Russell and Teddi Wright also would have made great candidates for the leading role.
Jesse said producers received thousands of tweets, DMS, and comments from Bachelor Nation and fans around the world expressing their support for "so many of the incredible women from Clayton's season."
Jesse went on to reveal the new Bachelorette "is not Gabby," a 30-year-old ICU nurse and former NFL cheerleader from Denver, CO, and "it's also not Rachel," a 25-year-old flight instructor from Clermont, FL.
"It's Gabby AND Rachel!" Jesse shouted, before footage showed the two women hugging each other.
"That is right! This is crazy! For the first time ever, we will have two Bachelorettes for the ENTIRE season. I want you to know this."
Gabby questioned if she and Rachel were going to date the same guys, but Jesse admitted he still has "no idea" how the format is going to work and they're "going to figure this thing out together."
The Bachelorette featured two Bachelorettes once before on Season 11, but the men voted for their favorite of the two women on Night 1 and selected Kaitlyn Bristowe to star on the series over Britt Nilsson.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
"We beat ourselves up trying to make this decision. It took weeks and weeks," Jesse shared once Gabby and Rachel joined him onstage during the live finale.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW"But at the end of the day, watching you both support each other in Iceland, and also how you have tonight, that's really the big reason why we decided to give you both a shot. You truly are deserving of this. This is going to be amazing -- this is your journeys!"
Rachel said she was so happy for Gabby and also so excited to embark on this journey with her pal.
"We did it once together, and we've been through the most crazy experience together," Rachel noted.
Jesse said the ladies will "probably be connected forever based on what they had to go through" with Clayton, and they totally agreed.
"I'm a girls-girl through and through, so having a friend by my side is the best thing I could ask for!" Gabby gushed.
When asked what they're looking for in a perfect man, Rachel shared how she'd like a supportive man and someone who actually loves her, which was clearly a jab at Clayton.
And Gabby told Jesse, "Someone who's emotionally intelligent, mature, who can challenge me, and... [a sense of humor."
Gabby and Rachel will soon be meeting 30 men, and Gabby yelled out with glee, "Hell yeah!"
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RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
The women admitted it's possible they may fall in love with more than one man on the show, but Gabby pointed out how they will use "a little more discretion" with their words, especially when saying, "I love you."
Rachel's dad Tony then announced, "I love you baby... Be good, I'm watching," and Gabby's grandpa shared how the men will certainly be challenged and it will be a crazy ride for them.
Jesse also confirmed he'll be hosting The Bachelorette's nineteenth season, and so he'll be along for the ride and he's "so excited" to come back.
"We've been through so much, and so I'm ready for us both to get our happy ending," Rachel said with a smile.
"Yeah!" Gabby agreed.
Jesse declared there could not be two better choices or two more deserving ladies to share this leading role.
Although Rachel and Gabby got their hearts broken on The Bachelor, they both stood their ground and put Clayton in his place during The Bachelor finale.
Gabby accused Clayton of having "misled" and "betrayed" her by not revealing he had been "the most in love" with Susie after Fantasy Suites, when he was trying to convince both Rachel and Gabby to stay and continue fighting for him. Gabby also said she felt totally "dismissed."
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"As you said, you compartmentalized our relationships. Watching it back, everything is so muddled and you were clearly pitting us against each other," Gabby vented.
"It really seemed like a competition, which I had expressed to you I didn't want to be a part of... When you say you love someone, you are assuming responsibility to protect them and to care for them and to not hurt them, and you didn't do any of those things."
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"That was the most completely selfish journey," Rachel told Clayton.
"I feel like watching that back, there was no empathy at all for me or Gabby. And you not shedding a single tear and watching myself, I can't even imagine how you could do that, and I just think it's so disrespectful."
Rachel criticized Clayton's "group breakup" with them and lamented, "You just completely disrespected me, not only as someone you loved but as a human."
Clayton apologized for hurting the women and for his mistakes, and he revealed he's moving to Virginia soon to be with Susie, who dumped him at the Final Rose Ceremony but apparently reached out to Clayton after filming wrapped so they could try again.
The Bachelorette's previous season starred Matt James' runner-up Michelle Young and aired in late 2021.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
