Let their rosy journey begin! After Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia were named joint leads of The Bachelorette earlier this month, their season is already underway.
“The journey has begun… #TheBachelorette (s),” executive producer Mike Fleiss tweeted on Saturday, March 26, alongside a snap of the few of the ladies’ suitors nervously waiting on the iconic Bachelor Mansion couch.
The showrunner, 57, wasn’t the only member of the crew documenting the first night. Jesse Palmer, for his part, gave Instagram followers a behind-the-scenes tease of his late-night hosting dates.
“Alright, it’s about 7 a.m. [and] the longest night in television is officially over,” the 43-year-old former football player — and Bachelor season 5 lead — explained via a Sunday, March 27, Instagram Story video. “Night 1 is in the books for Rachel and Gabby. Their journeys are officially underway! Can’t wait for you to see it.”
The Canada native previously confirmed that both Gabby, 31, and Rachel, 26, would costar on The Bachelorette season 19 during the After the Final Rose special on March 15. The ICU nurse and the flight instructor rose to fame as finalists on Clayton Echard’s season. After both women met the 28-year-old Missouri native’s parents, he sent them home to rekindle his connection with Susie Evans, who left one episode prior. Gabby and Rachel’s dual appearance marks the first time the show featured two Bachelorettes all season long. (Kaitlyn Bristowe and Britt Nilsson briefly shared the gig before their contestants chose the “Off the Vine” podcast host, 36, as the sole lead.)
“Everyone keeps asking. We just got thrown in,” Gabby said during a joint interview with Rachel on Good Morning America earlier this month. “But I have faith and a lot of trust and I love Rachel to death. And I know we’re gonna have each other’s backs the whole way, so there’s really not a doubt in my mind that it’s gonna end up well.”
The ABC franchise teased the ladies’ potential suitors earlier this week, including a pair of twins and a man originally tapped for Clare Crawley’s 2020 season. While the show execs had yet to divulge further details of the new season, they denied that the Florida and Colorado natives would compete against one another.
“I love Gabby and Rachel but there’s no way this doesn’t pit these two against each other,” one fan tweeted in March. “Every guy is gonna be asked the same question ‘who do you like more!’”
Fleiss replied: “Not true! You’ll see…”
The Bachelorette season 19 premieres on ABC Monday, July 11, at 8 p.m. ET.
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Scroll below to see snaps from Gabby and Rachel’s first night as Bachelorettes:
