Gabi had a 'gut feeling' she wouldn't be Zach Shallcross' pick, but decided to stick it out till the end.
Gabi Elnicki is opening up about her decision not to self-eliminate from The Bachelor. During the season 27 finale of the show, Gabi had a "gut feeling" that Zach Shallcross wouldn't pick her in the end but decided to stay until the last day regardless and suffer through an awkward final rose ceremony.
Her decision to stick it out, Gabi revealed on the Click Bait with Bachelor Nation podcast, had everything to do with the woman who did ultimately get Zach's final rose, Kaity Biggar.
For Gabi, the drama started during Fantasy Suite week when Zach broke his self-imposed, no-sex rule with her, and then confessed as much to Kaity. At the rose ceremony that followed, in which Ariel Frenkel was sent home, Gabi became sure that she wouldn't be Zach's final pick.
"In that rose ceremony when he was only speaking to Kaity and he wasn't making eye contact with me, it was a really isolating feeling," she said on the podcast, which is presented by Wondery. "In that moment I knew it was not me because anyone who loved me and wanted it to be me wouldn't speak of something that was a special moment in that way."
"I understand he was speaking about his parameters and the mistake he made by setting that parameter, however, there was a level of, like, 'These words are really mean. Why are you saying these words? They're so mean,'" Gabi added. "I knew it was not me."
Even so, Gabi continued on the journey and even met Zach's family.
"When I met his family I felt so much love, but I think I was craving my family so badly," she explained. "I just wanted to be home with the people that I love. I could feel the love in his family. They are a very close family. It reminded me so much of my family, and I felt very in love in that moment. I don't know if I was just craving my family that I just needed any kind of love."
The family meeting was followed up by a date on the beach, and that's when Gabi "knew for sure." So why didn't she send herself home then and there?
"I've hesitated saying this, but I think it is important to know why I did stay," Gabi said. "I thought about my relationship with Kaity and if I were in her shoes. It was clear, Kaity was the choice. Kaity had been the choice. But, if I had left, she could've felt like she was the choice by default."
"She was truly the choice and I never wanted her to feel like, 'Well, Gabi left, so he had to choose me.' Because, no. He was always choosing Kaity," she added. "The only reason I would've left is because I knew he was choosing Kaity. But I didn't want her to feel any kind of doubt when he proposed to her and she watched it all back."
With that in mind, Gabi stuck it out on the show and made one last kind gesture for her friend. When she arrived to what would be her breakup with Zach, Gabi's car let her out in the mud, so she told production, "Don't do that to Kaity."
"This is about to be Kaity's moment when she gets out and she's happy and excited," Gabi said of the reason behind her comment. "Don't make her heel sink into the mud and throw her off balance!"
Gabi later reunited with Zach during the live finale. In that conversation, Gabi slammed the Bachelor for putting her in the "extremely violating" position after their intimate night together. While Gabi told podcast host Joe Amabile that she said most of what she wanted to during her conversation with Zach, she did have one final message for the tech executive.
"I wish he would've sent me home," she said. "I didn't get to say that to him, but I do wish he would've sent me home when I felt like he knew. I also don't want to accuse him of lying about how he's feeling, because I don't know how he's feeling."
During ET's interview with the happy couple, Zach had one final message for Gabi too.
"I just want to reiterate to her how sorry I am and how I handled things, because I know I was in the wrong," Zach told ET. "I never intended to hurt her with my actions. All I wanted to do was act with honesty, because I knew I had messed up, and I saw the pain that had caused Gabi. I saw the pain that had caused Kaity and Ariel, and that was the last thing I wanted."
Despite everything that has gone down, Gabi remains good friends with Kaity. "I'm happy for him and Kaity," she said. "Truly, from the bottom of my heart, I want nothing but the best for them."
Kaity concurred while speaking to ET, revealing that her relationship with Zach "hasn't negatively impacted" her friendship with Gabi.
"We've gone on trips together. We have a trip coming up at the end of April. We're going to Miami together, so we're super excited," Kaity said. "Gabi and I, as well as the other girls too, we continue to uplift and support each other, and I feel like that's never going to stop... We have a trauma bond and that honestly [makes us] forever friends."
Zach is all for Kaity's friendship with Gabi, telling ET, "I know that they're great friends, and I'm so loving and supportive of their friendship and all of her friendships, and that makes me happy."
As for Gabi, she said on the podcast that she does "still want to find love." She's unsure if she'd be open to finding that love on Bachelor in Paradise, though she does have her eye on a couple of franchise stars.
"Tyler Cameron, duh," Gabi said. "I really liked Aven [Jones] from last season. He was really cute... I thought Spencer [Swies] was cute."
Whether or not it comes from within Bachelor Nation, Gabi said she's now "open to dating if they're not an a**hole." As for how a guy could catch her eye, Gabi advised, "Be funny. Just be funny. I love funny guys. Somebody who's confident and funny and is not afraid to shoot their shot."
Zach Shallcross' journey for love has come to an end. You can relive the season with all of ET's coverage. Next up for Bachelor Nation is Charity Lawson's season of The Bachelorette, which will premiere June 26 on ABC.
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