Finally, it feels real! Gabby Windey Erich Schwer couldn’t be happier about being able to show off their romance in public after the Bachelorette finale.
The New Jersey native, 29, cheered on his fiancée, 31, in the audience during the Monday, September 26, episode of Dancing With the StarsGabby and her pro partner felt extra special when they received it. Val Chmerkovskiy. “Oh, my gosh, having him here was amazing,” the former Denver Broncos cheerleader exclusively told Us WeeklyAfter achieving an impressive score with the waltz. “[I’m]He is excited to perform for him [for] him to see a different side of me that … we don’t get to share with each other, you know, every day.”
Gabby gushed: “This last week has been, honestly, like a dream come true. I feel like I’m on cloud nine. [It’s] so cheesy.”
Gabby Windey & Erich Schwer ABC/Craig Sjodin
The season 19 finale of the series saw the couple become engaged.The BacheloretteOn September 20, Erich initially appeared a bit hesitant about proposing to Gabby. “He said, ‘I want to continue to date you,’ so that doesn’t scream, ‘I want to propose,’” Gabby said during the finale before the romantic proposal aired. “I don’t want to force him into a decision.”
However, Erich’s worries faded and he asked Gabby to be his wife. “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,” he said as he proposed. “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.”
During her visit, the real estate analyst paid a visit to his partner DWTSAs they prepared for the Elvis Presley-themed week, rehearsals were held with Val, 36. The duo twirled to “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” and left the judges — and Erich — speechless.
“I’m so proud of you,” Erich raved after the live performance, coming onto the ballroom floor to give Gabby a kiss.
Gabby told reporters afterward that the romantic moment between her and her fiancé felt “like the perfect close to a beautiful dance.”
The judges awarded the ICU nurse and a native of Ukraine a 32. Bruno Tonioli telling the pair he was “totally, totally swept away” by their routine. Gabby and Val tied for the first place at the end. Charli D’Amelio Mark Ballas, who performed a quickstep. Wayne Brady Witney Carson, who performed a jive.
Though they landed at the top of the leaderboard, Gabby and Val aren’t planning to coast through the competition. “We’re only in week two, but I think we both worked our asses off, mostly me this last week and just, like, getting the basics of ballroom [dance],” the BachelorMonday, the alum said. “That validation feels great and I feel like it’s giving me more encouragement for the future.”
The ballroom professional teased a little about what the twosome have in mind for James Bond week. “We’re doing the cha-cha, which I’m excited for,” Val hinted. “I’m excited to show [a different side]Gabby also. The cha-cha is a little more sexy, a little more fierce. We showed the romantic side of ourselves, the beautiful side. Now we can get into the competition.”
Dancing With the StarsDisney+ Mondays, 8 p.m. ET.
Christina Garibaldi reports
