While Gabi Elnicki may have thought about eliminating herself from The Bachelor, the Season 27 runner-up chose to stay until her final breakup with Zach Shallcross.
Viewers saw Gabi on the heartbreaking finale episode last Monday night, where it was clear that she knew early on she was not going to be Zach’s final pick.
As she stepped out of the car in Thailand to see Zach one last time, Gabi even made a note for the driver to avoid the muddy patch when Kaity would be dropped off next.
Gabi said that the unfortunate dropoff spot “would really matter” for Kaity’s arrival and didn’t want it to ruin her friend’s mood before her special moment — insinuating that Gabi knew she would not be chosen.
While recently appearing on the Click Bait with Bachelor Nation podcast, Gabi opened up about her decision to stay until the very end of the show, despite having a gut feeling that she wouldn’t be getting engaged.
Putting her friend’s feelings before her own, Gabi admitted that she didn’t want Kaity to feel like she won by default.
Gabi Elnicki gets real about why she didn’t self-eliminate on The Bachelor
Gabi said she first knew she wouldn’t win after the Fantasy Suite Week rose ceremony when Zach refused to look her in the eye.
Fans will remember Gabi feeling as if she had a scarlet “A” on her chest after she and Zach had their intimate overnight date. Zach had broken his “no sex” vow, and although he told Gabi the details of their date would remain private, he ended up coming clean to Kaity and, essentially, millions of viewers.
“Anyone who loved me and wanted it to be me wouldn’t speak of something that was a special moment in that way,” Gabi said on the matter. “I knew that it was not me.”
While she could have left on her own terms, Gabi admitted she stayed for Kaity’s sake.
“I thought about my relationship with Kaity and if I were in her shoes,” Gabi said. “It was clear, Kaity was the choice. Kaity had been the choice. But if I had left, she could have felt like she was the choice by default, and she was truly the choice, and I never wanted her to feel like, ‘Well, Gabby left so he had to choose me.'”
Gabi clarified that if she were to have left early, it would have only been because she knew that Zach was going to pick Kaity.
However, Gabi ultimately didn’t want her friend to feel even a little bit of doubt when watching the season back that she was, in fact, Zach’s number one.
Kaity and Gabi developed a lasting friendship over the course of filming The Bachelor — one that has since gone beyond the depths of a reality television show.
Kaity Biggar shows support for Gabi Elnicki amid Fantasy Suite Week drama
After Gabi was the only woman to be intimate with Zach during her overnight date, some online trolls took to her most recent social media post to share their negative comments.
Gabi clapped back, admitting to deleting the hateful comments and not allowing the critics to take over her Instagram posts.
After a stressful week, Kaity took to her own Instagram page to show support for Gabi, saying she was “beyond grateful” for the friendship the two had built.
Gabi reciprocated the sentiment by replying, “Love you so much my Kaity girl! Forever grateful for our friendship and that you are in my life. A true forever friend.”
Gabi has also opened up about how close she, Kaity, and fellow top contestant Ariel Frenkel got during the final few weeks of filming.
The three ladies shared the same photo on Instagram with the same caption after the airing of the Fantasy Suite episode, which Gabi said was to show their support for one another.
“We wanted to show that we’re in this together. The girls from this season were all so awesome,” Gabi explained, saying the girls all came up with the idea to post the photo together.
They also wanted to show that they “have each other’s back through the rest of this and afterwards,” despite how they may have been perceived on the show.
The girls were also close with Charity Lawson, Zach’s third runner-up, who will lead the next season of The Bachelorette this June.
The Bachelorette premieres on Monday, June 26 at 9/8c on ABC.