The Stories Behind Gabby Windey's and Rachel Recchia's Engagement Rings on the 'Bachelorette' Finale

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: Craig Sjodin/ABC/Getty; Courtesy Neil Lane Couture

This post contains spoilers from Tuesday’s finale ofThe Bachelorette.

Courtesy Neil Lane Couture; Craig Sjodin/ABC

“I just have a hard time believing that what you can do on a whirlwind fairy tale trip is really going to prepare you for marriage,” Tino’s father, Joe, said during their hometown date.

Rachel and Tino made it to the end, though, and Tino dropped to one knee to process his love — and Rachel said yes.

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“You’re the most beautiful woman in the world,” he said in his proposal. “Your compassion, your wit, your charm, your intelligence make me fall in love with you more and more every time I see you. Every time we’re together you make me feel like the center of your universe and I’m here today to make sure you’ll be the center of mine. This crazy love is going to look too good to be true to some people, but it’s as real as it can be and quite frankly, the only person I care about understanding that is standing right in front of me right now.”

Courtesy Neil Lane Couture

After his big proposal, the couple rode off on a white horse together.

“When I sat with Tino there was the usual excitement and nervousness that you would expect on such a big day,” Lane tells PEOPLE exclusively. “He seemed to be genuinely in love with Rachel and wanted to select the perfect ring for her. He was really curious that the shape of a diamond could have a special meaning.”

In the end, Lane shares that Tino was torn between two rings — the oval-cut diamond with a diamond halo set in platinum and the emerald-cut diamond set in gold.

“There was a moment when I was almost certain he was going to choose the platinum ring and then all of a sudden he switched and picked up the emerald and gold ring and said, ‘This is the one.'”

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Courtesy Neil Lane

Craig Sjodin/ABC/Getty; Courtesy Neil Lane Couture

Lane adds that the ring Erich ended up with felt symbolic of their journey.

Lane, who has worked with ABC onThe Bachelor,The BacheloretteandBachelor in Paradisefor years, had his work cut out for him this season in having to design rings for two Bachelorettes.

“It was challenging to design six rings each having its own style and wow factor, not one outshining the other,” he says. “Both of the girls shared the style of ring they had hoped for at the beginning of their journey as Bachelorettes. Unbeknownst to one another, the two desired very similar designs and both were in the selection of rings for the men. It almost seems poetic — kismet given the beautiful bond and friendship these women have that they would have desired similar yet totally unique ring styles. A beautiful nod to their friendship and their connection as The Bachelorettes.”

“I wholeheartedly apologize for the insensitive photo of me in Blackface from my high school yearbook that has been circulating,” he captioned a photo of a blank black square, adding, “What I thought at the time was a representation of my love for Jimi Hendrix, was nothing but ignorance.”

Rachel and Tino have broken off their engagement since the show wrapped.

During theAfter the Final Roselive special, Rachel revealed she and Tino experienced “some difficulties” in the weeks following their engagement due to his past relationships that had come forward.

“I slowly was pulling on that string and revealing more and more. It really didn’t work out, he cheated on me,” she told hostJesse Palmer. “It’s just heartbreaking. This is the person I thought I was gonna spend the rest of my life with and start a family with.”

source: people.com