Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia are sharing the title of Bachelorette, but that’s about it.
The Bachelorettes made a coordinated effort to make sure they didn’t do a repeat of their ill-fated romance with Bachelor Clayton Echard. “Gabby and I just went into it talking to each other and knowing that throughout everything, we just had to have communication,” Rachel told People July 6. “And that really just worked for us throughout the whole thing.”
And while the women signed onto the show to find love with only one of 32 men, Gaddy said they couldn’t fully commit to this experience without having a friend by their side. “We know each other the best, our relationship above all is the most important,” she explained. “Plus a man that’s worth it isn’t going to have us fight over him, nor would we ever compromise our relationship for it.”
Not that they weren’t attracted to the same contestants. Gabby said it’s “only natural” that they were drawn to certain figures, but they didn’t pursue relationships without consulting each other first, a strategy that served them well—at least, according to them.