The reality TV veteran opens up about The Body, her unexpected path to acting, and the freedom of being unapologetically herself.

Gabby Windey is doing just fine. Sure, she posted her first Substack in October, titled “Broke Back, No Mountain,” in which she revealed that she had cracked a vertabra using a vibration plate, sparking plenty of concern among friends and fans. But despite what you may have read online, she’s thriving. She swears. “The press took the story and ran with it, but I wrote the Substack a month later…so I was like,&nbsp;You guys are late. I’m fine,” she tells L’OFFICIEL. “Everyone's been calling my wife [actor and comedian Robby Hoffman] and asking if I’m okay. People have really taken this back break to heart—and thank god, because I love attention. It couldn't have gone better, honestly.”&nbsp;
Much to her delight, Windey is about to get even more attention. She makes her scripted acting debut today in the Netflix horror series&nbsp;The Body, playing Coach Miller, the pregnant coach of a Catholic school dance team whose members begin experiencing unsettling prophetic visions. She’s also already filmed a role in Peaked, Molly Gordon’s highly anticipated A24 comedy. Though she’s become a familiar face on reality TV—first appearing as a contestant on&nbsp;The Bachelor in 2022, then co-leading The Bachelorette alongside Rachel Recchia that same year, before competing on (and winning) The Traitors in 2025—acting has long been in the cards for the former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and ICU nurse.&nbsp;
“People have asked, Did you always want to act? And it's like, Who doesn't? I just never said it out loud,” says Windey. “Of course, I know there are people who would hate the idea of being on TV. But I’ve always been a performer: I want to reach the masses, and I understood that you had to play the game first and be a little savvy. I couldn't come out of reality TV on the first try and be like, I'm going to be an actress.” When she eventually got signed and began auditioning, Windey remained a realist. “It’s not like I expected anything out of it,” she says. “But I’ll try anything and give it my best shot. Twice, if I like it.”
Windey, who also hosts the weekly podcast Long Winded with Gabby Windey, was as thrilled as she was surprised to land a role in The Body. “I didn't even know I was auditioning for a drama until I got the script,” she says. “I thought it was a comedy, because I was like, What am I doing in a drama? I wouldn’t expect it.” The experience turned out to be better than she could have imagined. “I got really lucky, because [creator and writer-director] Quinn Shepard is amazing,” she says. “I want a new vocabulary word for queer, but we’re both queer, and the show is very sapphic—which automatically made me interested. When it came to the character, I was also a dancer for a long time, and I've always said that I wanted to be pregnant, but I never wanted to raise the kids. So, it was kind of a manifestation and just a dream.”
Still, she admits, the bar was low. “I could have been drawn to the role of a gopher,” she laughs. “Like, you can tell me to do anything, and as long as I get a second on TV, I will say yes.”&nbsp;
Read our full conversation with Windey below about acting, queer identity, and why she's always been “the personality hire.”

L’OFFICIEL: The Body gets pretty dark. Have&nbsp;you always been a horror fan?
GABBY WINDEY: Yes, and there are so many classics, from Alfred Hitchcock to the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I think horror is kind of back right now. For me, when I watch, I’ve got to feel something. I'm massively depressed; I’ve got to be scared, because I don't feel anything else. It's also kind of sexy. I'm a fan of anything that’s hot and will make me feel something—and that takes a lot.
L’O: You’re known for being candid and unfiltered on reality TV and your podcast. Was it hard to switch gears and stick to a script?
GW: Well, I definitely didn't [stick to a script]. I did get in trouble, which is fine, because you have to just throw it out there and see if they'll use it; you never know! Sometimes they would let me go wild, which was nice, because I do think that is where I thrive. The beauty of acting is to try out a version of yourself that you don't have permission to be in real life. And once I get that green light, I'll take it, run with it, and abuse it. I don't even know who I turn into…a monster, but I like it. There was a lot of on-the-job training, learning to take direction and ask questions. You can’t pretend you have all the answers. But I took it very seriously and learned that it’s more about telling the story than being the star of the show, unfortunately.&nbsp;
L’O: Although the show is a drama, your character provides some comedic relief. Her energy is very much like Amy Poehler's mom in Mean Girls,&nbsp;right down to the video camera.&nbsp;
GW: In all areas of my life, I try to find the humor. We're all traumatized. But I’m from a military family—we’re not, like, from the arts—and growing up, the culture was all just “USA,” the band Journey, and the movie Airplane! As I got older, I was drawn to comedic actors like Kristen Wiig and Amy Poehler. I was like,&nbsp;Oh my god, I want to be like them. It's fun trying to be funny, or at least being goofy. But I told my agents that I don't have to be in comedies exclusively. I could try drama, too. Then again, I don't know if the set would be as fun. And I'm trying to enjoy life.&nbsp;

L’O: Has being married to a comedian changed or influenced your approach to comedy?&nbsp;
GW: Well, Robby worked on all my scripts with me, which was nice. We joke all day, but we have very different voices, and I think it's important to maintain that. We came together before either of us had this big of a platform, and that’s something I hold so dear—that we're able to grow together and have such normal, natural roots. But it's also important for us to maintain our own identities in our careers. My comedy is different from hers, which is a good thing.&nbsp;
L’O: You were an NFL cheerleader for 5 years. Did you bring any of your own cheer background to The Body, since it’s set in the world of competitive dance?&nbsp;
GW: Definitely. I mean, the cast is, like, 18-year-old girls. I'm in no competition with them—I can barely do the splits anymore, although I am stretching because I miss it. It was nice to remove myself from the competition a little bit. I was also always the personality hire; I was never technical. My center of gravity is way too high. I was always there for the hairography.&nbsp;
L’O: Was there any kind of cheer team initiation when you joined the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders?
GW: As a rookie, they wouldn't let you sit in a chair to do your makeup in front of the mirror. We had a gorgeous, well-lit locker room, but rookies had to sit on the floor, without the lights, cross-legged and paying their dues. I think someone eventually told—I'm not a narc, so it wasn't me. Still, it was only one game day of initiation. And it wasn't forced ecstasy.
L’O: Despite its darker themes, at its core, The Body is a coming of age story that explores ideas of female friendship and high school romance—particularly between the two female dance captains at a Catholic school. What do you hope people take away from their story?
GW: Obviously I'm a big fat lesbian, so my mind is going to go there. I think it's such a common story for gay people—or at least for women who have early sexual experiences with girls—to kind of write it off. You follow society, you try to date men, you end up hating them and yourself, and then you go back to your beginning. It's like, Oh, I should have known back then. So I think it is a really honest telling of how many girls and women on the gay spectrum figure it out. It's very true to a lesbian experience. This is how a lot of us discover our sexuality in high school, and it's fun to feel like you're doing something bad. That’s, like, the basis of a lesbian relationship.&nbsp;I love when people stare at us. [Robby and I] will walk in somewhere and people are trying to figure out what's going on, and I'm like, Oh my god, this is so fun. I just feel like we haven't had such a mainstream telling of that—plus, it's not like we're not shoving it down your throat. It's just a part of the bigger story. And not that I really care about being a role model, but maybe some young high school girl will see herself in it and be like, Oh my god, this is okay.

L’O: The characters are also caught up in this mass hysteria, with a real groupthink mentality taking hold. Have you ever found yourself swept up in a craze?
GW: Any kind of viral pop culture story, every day. We're all sheep, you know? I actually don't know if people know how to think for themselves. I guess it's an easier way to live, though, especially in a religious community where people are reaffirming one another's hopes and dreams of miracles. The coach really buys into it after her baby is saved. She believes in aliens, she loves conspiracies. And who wouldn't? But me, personally…I'm a big skeptic.&nbsp;&nbsp;
L’O: Are you superstitious?
GW: I try not to be. I don’t want things to happen because I stepped on a crack. I can understand it—my wife is very superstitious. But if my life is going to be ruined, I'd rather it be under my control.
L’O: Between dancing from a young age and spending years on reality TV, you’ve been in two worlds where women’s bodies are often scrutinized. Now you’re starring in a show called The Body. How has your relationship with your own body evolved over time?
GW: Given my ailments, I’ve learned that you really do take your health for granted until you can't move and you're walking around like an old lady, holding your ischium in a silk robe. I did just get a vintage one, might I add. I honestly try not to talk about body positivity—I know it shouldn't be coming from me—but I do hope we can all defy this heroin-chic movement we’re unfortunately in, revel in our curves, and allow ourselves to have a full woman’s body. I want to look like a woman! I want to look like Jessica Rabbit! But I’m also not trying to be a spokesperson or a preacher. You can do whatever you want with your body.

L’O: How did it feel to wear the pregnancy bump for the show? Did it make you think about motherhood in any new way?
GW: I've never thought about motherhood, ever. And this definitely didn't change that, which is how I know I don't want kids. But I've always appreciated and been mystified by the miracle of not only childbirth, but the fact that a woman's body can literally grow a baby. Like, that's insane when you really think about it. I do want to feel the hormones—not that badly, but I wonder what it’s like. I've always said I would love to be pregnant, but I do not want to raise kids under any circumstances. So it was the best of both worlds for me. I loved wearing the belly. But I had sciatica because the belly had to be heavy to look real.&nbsp;
L’O: You have Peaked coming up, plus a book of comedic essays in the works. How are you feeling about this next chapter?
GW: It's a lot of balance, and I think I'm just evolving—as an actor, as a writer, and as a person. I hope to keep growing. I'm excited for people to see me in Peaked, and I have to be really dedicated to writing the book. It's nice to take a step back from the public and have an excuse to just be at home, doing work that's not so extroverted. I'm enjoying my life and actively writing every day—pages are due, and I need that advance. I'm getting paid as a writer. I am Carrie Bradshaw.

Gabby Windey Just Wants Your Attention

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