The Bachelorette star Gabby Windey believes her "dumb" fiance Erich Schwer was just trying to "save his own ass" when he texted his ex apologizing shortly before The Bachelorette premiered in July.
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On The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose that aired Tuesday night on ABC, Erich was asked about his ex Amanda Kaylor's recent claims he had continued dating her right up until he left to film the show, which he allegedly only did for "clout" and new career opportunities, and had hoped to resume dating her when he returned home.
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The Bachelorette host Jesse Palmer displayed one screenshot of text messages Amanda and Erich had exchanged back in March, before Erich met Gabby, in which Erich had said The Bachelorette "isn't real" and he wanted to do the show "to see if [there]'s something else I could do with my life."
But one text Erich had sent Amanda after filming ended, right around the time of The Bachelorette's July 11 premiere, was overlooked.
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According to a screenshot obtained by @bachelornation.scoop, Erich had allegedly texted Amanda -- while he was engaged to Gabby -- the following: "I am so sorry Amanda. What I did was terrible. I don't expect you to ever forgive me."
"I just want you to know I think about you all the time and you really deserve the best," he allegedly added. "I won't ever forgive myself. I hope you find happiness and everything you deserve."
Considering she and Erich were together at that point, Gabby was asked how she feels about that particular post-show text to Amanda in an interview with Variety.
"I can speak from my perspective, but ultimately it would have to come from him. Obviously I had concerns, the same as everybody else -- why would you reach back out to her after you're in a committed relationship? You're sending them the wrong message," Gabby said.
"As we know, boys are dumb," she added.
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Gabby insisted that Erich can't argue with that little fact, adding, "He knows he's dumb."
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As for why Erich reached out to Amanda again, months after she dumped him for going on The Bachelorette, Gabby explained, "I think it was his 'Hail Mary' to try and get her to not release the texts and to just end the relationship amicably."
"But she was past that," Gabby pointed out, "rightfully so -- he didn't treat her the best before. I think his intentions were just to save his own ass, and it just didn't work out like that."
During an appearance on the "Chicks in the Office" podcast, Gabby elaborated on the text-message scandal.
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"I told him [when I found out about the texts] he needed to buck up. He was like, 'I'm afraid they're going to leak,' and I was like, 'No, they're gonna leak! So you need to prepare yourself for what you're going to do after,'" Gabby recalled.
Gabby revealed on The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose that Erich had told her about the texts before they were leaked and she chose to forgive him because he's "gracious" and "honest."
However, Gabby admitted Erich had acted like "an assh-le" to his ex, and she apparently still stands by that statement.
"When he told me, I'm like, 'Honestly, I'd be pissed too if I was her. I'd probably run to spoiler accounts trying to ruin your life too,'" Gabby admitted.
"But yeah, I was like, 'It's not [about] text messages and this or that, it's your character and how you treated her.' But, you know, it was all before the show and you move on."
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Gabby insisted her relationship with Erich is much "different" from what he had with Amanda for a month or so, adding, "He's been good to me."
Erich apologized on After the Final Rose for having led Amanda on and handling their breakup poorly. Erich acknowledged he had taken "the cowardly way" out of that relationship because instead of a brutal dumping, he went on The Bachelorette, knowing Amanda wasn't The One and he "couldn't see a future" with her.
But Amanda called Erich out on "bullsh-t" in an interview with Us Weekly after the finale.
"He sent me two dozen roses two weeks after I ended things [in March] because I didn't wanna stay with him while he went on the show... With a note saying, 'I'll never stop thinking about you,'" Amanda claimed.
"[His finale explanation was] such bullsh-t," she added, "but I wish them the best."
Amanda also said Gabby "will learn" the truth about Erich once she gets to know him better in the real world.
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Gabby admitted on the "Chicks In The Office" podcast it was unnecessary for Amanda to have made that "will learn" comment because Erich simply feels stronger for her than he did for his ex.
"That's just a part of dating. You only end up with one person," Gabby reasoned.
"You're going to go through many breakups. If that was the case, do I wish he could've told her straight out instead of ghosting her for a reality TV show? A hundred percent -- but he didn't. And there's nothing I can do about it," Gabby said.
Gabby also shared how she's confident Erich won't ghost her and repeat his bad behavior.
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"And one thing I will really commend him on is he's never defensive. Whenever we fight or get into arguments -- well, we don't actually fight but we have miscommunication and stuff comes up -- he's always like, 'You're right. I see what you're saying. I get it,'" Gabby said on the podcast.
"He never tries to be like, 'Well, this, this and this!' That's a really good sign in a partner, that they're willing to work hard to be with you."
Gabby concluded that she and Erich are "a team now" and "united." They've apparently had "lots of conversations" and she wants Erich to hold himself accountable for any mistakes he's made in the past, including his blackface photograph in his high school yearbook.
Amanda told Us earlier this week that she initially leaked her messages with Erich in July because of his "lack of honesty" with her.
"I feel like [going on The Bachelorette] was something that he, maybe, had in his mind longer than... obviously, I found out right before," Amanda claimed, referencing how Erich had likely gone through an interview and casting process before being offered a spot on the show.
"He let me introduce him to [my toddler son] the week leading up to that and then in my head, that's kind of messed up to do knowing that [The Bachelorette is] a potential option and I don't believe that he just got the news March 10 because they're filming two weeks later... I was just blindsided and hurt."
Amanda admitted she and Erich were never official boyfriend and girlfriend, but she claimed their relationship was "very intense." (Amanda previously told Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone that she and Erich dated from January through March).
"We were obsessed with each other," Amanda alleged. "Every single day that month he was texting me, 'I need to be with you, I need to see you.'"
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