Both leading ladies had their eye on some of the same men during Monday's season premiere.
Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia were committed to keeping their friendship intact as they dated the same 32 men. ET recently spoke with The Bachelorette's leading ladies, and they broke down the biggest moment's from Monday's season premiere -- from when they crushed on the same men, to when they jointly decided to send three guys home ahead of the first rose ceremony.
As they began their journeys as the first-ever season-long, co-Bachelorettes, Gabby and Rachel hid nothing from each other.
"I think we were both so open to getting to know the guys at the same time," Rachel said. "... We always just had open communication and that’s really just what helped us get through everything."
Gabby agreed, telling ET, "We just knew we wanted to be by each other's side no matter what."
That statement will be put to the test throughout the season, as the season premiere saw both Gabby and Rachel develop early connections with Erich and Logan.
"There’s 32 really good-looking guys, [so] we're gonna have a mutual attraction to a couple of guys," Rachel confessed. "Just talking to each other and always listening to the other one is really what helped us get through it."
"I think we're just always so open with each other," Gabby concurred. "There was never any secrets. If we were really into someone, we would tell the other person, 'This is what I'm feeling.' I think overall we just supported each other... the best we knew how."
"Ultimately, I think we just followed our hearts," Gabby added. "We started off dating the same pool of men, but naturally, when you're working towards a life partner, you have to have your own journey, just because you need to find who's best for you individually. This is the person you're going to be potentially spending the rest of your life with and you have to do that on your own."
Being open with each other, Gabby noted, was also necessary, because she and Rachel knew that, eventually, everything would air on TV and be out there for the world to see.
"Obviously it's all played back, so you're not allowed to have any secrets, plus we wouldn't wanna keep anything from the other person," Gabby said. "It builds such a big friendship knowing that you have that level of trust with another person."
Similar to how they both had an initial attraction to several of the men, Gabby and Rachel also immediately knew that three suitors were not the one for either of them. As such, they sent home twins Joey and Justin Y., as well as a magician named Roby, ahead of the first rose ceremony.
"The twins and Roby, we were able to have a conversation with, so we were unanimous in saying, 'You know, we think these men are great, but they're not what we're looking for romantically. We have to make hard decisions right here and right now 'cause it's just gonna get harder," Gabby explained, with Rachel adding that she didn't have "a connection" with any of the three men and wanted to "tell them up front."
After sending those three guys packing, Gabby and Rachel jointly decided to cancel the first rose ceremony, and move ahead with the 29 remaining suitors.
"I think it was so important for us night one to keep most of the guys, just because we really realized we didn’t get a chance to talk to the guys enough to know who we wanted to send home," Rachel said. "... It just felt like that was right for us. [Host] Jesse [Palmer] had our back and I’m glad we did keep them. It was definitely a challenge, keeping 29 [guys], but we got to navigate it together, so it worked out."
"We only talked to about half of them, so how can you send someone home solely based off their limo entrance or based off looks?" Gabby questioned. "So much of a personality, and chemistry, and a relationship is intangible, so you really need that time with another person. We're both really serious about finding a partner that is good for us. How else do you figure it out besides spending a decent amount of quality time with them?"
As their season gets underway, the women are eager for viewers to get an inside look at their joint journey to find love.
"I think there are just so many different twists and turns," Rachel teased of the season. "Obviously, this is just so different from anything everyone’s ever seen. Not only do they get to see two love stories, but they get to see our friendship as well, so I’m excited for them to kind of get an inside on that... It’s just gonna be really great."
The Bachelorette airs Mondays on ABC. Keep up with the historic season by following along with ET's coverage of the series.
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