Bachelor Nation’s Ariel Frenkel and Gabi Elnicki are “totally fine” with seeing ex Zach Shallcross and his fiancée, Kaity Biggar, after dating him on The Bachelor.
“Are you okay to see Zach when you hang with Kaity??” one fan asked Gabi, 26, during an Instagram Q&A on Tuesday, January 16.
She replied, “At the end of the day, Kaity is one of my best friends and we formed a friendship prior to really getting to know Zach. I want nothing but the best for them, and I am super grateful we have both been able to move forward with our lives in a positive way.”
Gabi continued: “I am happy. Kaity is happy. … Holding onto resentment out of pride or jealousy isn’t healthy and I get so many questions asking how I am still friends with Kaity. We are mature adults and we care more about our friendship than what happened on a tv show. … To answer this specifically – I am totally fine seeing Zach.”
Ariel, 29, feels the same. “Just because it didn’t work out doesn’t mean there can’t be maturity and normalcy a full year later,” she said while responding to a fan who asked whether it was “awkward” to see the couple. “I’ve seen how amazing he and Kaity are together and I’m happy they found each other.”
During their time on the show, Gabi, Ariel and Kaity finished as Zach’s top three constants. Ariel got sent home after the fantasy suite episode, which aired in March 2023.
Later in the episode, Zach told Gabi he was falling in love with her after they slept together, despite initially telling the women he would not “explore sexual connections” in the fantasy suites. “When sex is involved, it can cause so many additional hurdles, and real feelings are at stake,” he said in a confessional interview.
During his date with Kaity the following day, he confessed he had sex with Gabi. Although Kaity was initially upset, she still spent the night with Zach, and the duo ultimately got engaged.
Since exiting The Bachelor, Gabi confirmed via Instagram that she has a new boyfriend. Ariel, meanwhile, is single.
Zach and Kaity revealed during the After the Final Rose special last year that they were planning to move in together in Austin, Texas, and hope to set a wedding date for 2025. Earlier this month, the pair showed off their new place in Austin. “Officially our new home,” Kaity wrote via Instagram on January 11 alongside a photo of their house.
