Keeping it real.

Bachelor Nation fans first met Gabi Elnicki during her search for love on Season 27 of “The Bachelor.”

While things didn’t work out with Bachelor Zach Shallcross, Gabi went public with her boyfriend, Zach Espinosa, in summer 2023.

The two have been going strong ever since, and in October 2025, they announced the exciting news that they are officially engaged!

Gabi has continued to keep fans updated on her life via social media. And this week, she joined the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast to share more about her engagement, time on “The Bachelor,” and more.

In Part 2 of her interview, the Bachelor Nation star admitted that while she was on the show, she knew Zach Shallcross was going to choose Kaity Biggar before the “Bachelor” finale. 

Looking at behind-the-scenes photos from her season, Gabi reflected on the Rose Ceremony heading into the finale. “This was a really tough time for me though. I definitely wanted to leave at this point. I was pretty like, ‘Okay I think it’s my time,’” she confessed. 

Recalling if she knew it was going to be Kaity in that moment, she shared, “In this moment I felt like, I had that initial gut instinct of, like, ‘No.’ Then, I met his family and I think I missed my family so much, I was craving any kind of family. And I will say that gave me a little bit of hope because I did talk to him before that date where I was like, ‘Hey, I’m not going to meet your family unless we hash some things out.’”

Gabi went on and admitted that while she felt some hope, she ultimately knew before the finale that Zach was going to choose Kaity. 

“I just had this feeling — like, this gut feeling. It really should’ve been like the Daisy and Kelsey situation because me and Kaity were so close,” she stated. “And it was like, ‘Oh, this is your best friend, how could you do that to your best friend? You really want her to feel like the pity choice?’ And obviously I never wanted that for Kaity. And if I were in her shoes, I’d probably feel like, ‘Oh, I was the only option.’ Even though she was the choice, but I didn’t want her to feel like she was the only option. But I knew.”

The Bachelor Nation star also shared what those last few days looked like for her. 

She said, “Going into that day, I had already mentally prepared. In all the interviews for the last day or two, it was me being like, ‘Yeah he’s really nice but he’s not my person. It’s not going to be me.’ And then I remember Cary [Fetman] came, the stylist. And you know Cary, the sweetest guy ever…I had said something to him like, ‘I know it’s not me’ and he just got so quiet.”

Gabi then gave some insight into the moment she stepped out of the car in Thailand. 

“I knew. I mean you guys saw me when I got out of the car. I was honestly being so mean that day because I didn’t want to be there,” she admitted. “No one wants to be publicly dumped on a beach. So embarrassing, I don’t know if I can go back to Thailand ever. I couldn’t eat Pad Thai for a month. I mean talk about a dagger to the heart.”

Hear the rest of Gabi’s interview and more BTS stories in the full episode below!