Gabby Windey On Botox, Landing Strips, and Her Body Hair Journey

All the cool girls know it's been a full bush summer. As the "full bush in a bikini" phenomenon has spread to all corners of the internet, pubic hair managed to do the impossible and become this summer's hottest accessory. Even the people's princess Gabby Windey recently appeared in a campaign with Miracle-Gro to officially crown this the summer of the full bush.

As a former cheerleader and breakout star on "The Bachelor," Windey, who came out as a lesbian in 2023, has plenty of experience in traditionally heteronormative spaces where women experience intense pressure to groom themselves in specific ways. That's part of why she feels it's so important to follow her own intuition about her body modifications — whether it's something small like a wax or bigger like surgery — rather than to make changes solely to please someone else.

We recently sat down with Windey to learn more about her grooming habits and why she thinks pubic hair is having a moment. Read on for her takes on avoiding ingrown hairs, immersing herself in lesbian culture to feel more at ease in her body, and what happens when she brings her wife — comedian Robby Hoffman — to her beauty appointments.

Popsugar: People loved the Miracle-Gro campaign and the video you did. It's getting a lot of praise for being the perfect message for the moment, and it's very topical, coming off of the "full bush in a bikini" moment on TikTok. Why do you think full bush energy is so hot right now?

Gabby Windey: I know it does feel so topical. Even in my real life, I was just having a walk with my good friend Liz, and we were talking about this exact thing — just literally having a bush. I feel like there's kind of a cultural change where women are just really coming into themselves and learning more about why we were kind of trained to act the way we do, and honestly, just waking up to ourselves and doing things for us versus other people — or, shall I say, men. I think women are over the pressure to be perfect in all areas of life and Miracle-Gro knows that. They help bring joy to gardening without the pressure to be perfectly manicured, and this partnership allowed us to share that message in a cheeky way.

PS: I'm curious because you mentioned talking to your friend about having a bush. What is your relationship to your body hair, and how has that changed throughout the different eras of your life?

GW: I'm a staunch feminist, but I haven't really delved in, myself, to exploring my body hair. But you know what? I support everyone who does it. We're all on our own journeys. I laser hair removal just because that's what I prefer, but I just like the conversation about it, and maybe I'll give myself the freedom if I want to switch gears [someday] and allow myself room to change.

Before, I was like, 'Oh, this is just what women do.' But being in lesbian culture, it's much different. I feel like [being a lesbian] just allows me to look at things differently in general.

PS: How often do you do that?

GW: I'll go in maybe once a month or once every couple months just because it's easy. I like it for the ingrowns personally, it really helps with that. I don't keep on top of the shaving and I'll let it grow in between [appointments]. Obviously, I don't have a partner that's going to be like, 'Shave your armpits!' So it's kind of less maintenance all around.

PS: Now that you're married to a woman and very publicly not catering to the male gaze so much anymore, how has that impacted how you think about your body and body hair?

GW: Overall, I'm just way more accepting of myself, especially in the presence of another person. I feel like we're all fine with having our pussy hairs and our armpit hairs hang out when we're by ourselves, but then once you're around a partner or somebody intimate, it's different. But now [that I'm with Robby], it just doesn't matter. It's on my terms so I don't feel like she's ever going to judge me.

It's like, OK, yeah, once I get up enough energy to shave my legs, or once I have the time to make a laser hair removal appointment, it's on me. It's not like I feel like there's any pressure in my relationship to go do it for somebody else. If my bikini line isn't shaved or if I have a pube hair hanging out of my swimsuit, it's like, oh, yeah, who cares? We've all been there.

PS: Especially with your background in cheer — and even the reality dating shows — that feels like such a big shift. I feel like there's so much pressure to present or groom yourself in a specific way as a woman.

GW: I mean, we weren't looking at each other's bushes on TV or cheerleading, but I will say even when I was a cheerleader, you'd be surprised by how much women have different preferences. Some people are like, 'I have a landing strip.' Some people are like, 'Oh, I don't shave.' It was very open and different. But I also think those were safe spaces with women. Maybe it's a heteronormative experience being a cheerleader, but there were only girls in the locker room, and being cast on the "The Bachelor," it's only girls. So I think that's also kind of reflective of the conversation we're having; we feel women coming together and making a change for ourselves and doing something for ourselves. You feel safer doing that with the support of other women.

PS: Have you ever modified anything on your body, whether it's shaving something or getting a procedure done, because someone else asked you to do it or because they expressed their preference? Or do you do that just for yourself?

GW: No. I'm sure things like that have been said to me, but I just block it out because I know it's none of their business. And now Robby's actually the opposite. If I ever want to get Botox or lip filler or something, she's like, 'Don't do it. You don't need that.' So it's nice because then I really feel like I'm doing it for myself.

But also the opposite is true. If you do want to get a little Botox or this or that and your partner's mad at you for it, that's also a red flag to me. My body is mine and you don't get to comment on it. I don't care if I look like the cat lady. That should be on the surgeon to tell me no. If you're my partner, you love me no matter what.

PS: And you feel like Robby is generally just supportive of whatever you decide to do?

GW: Yeah, she'll protest a little bit just because she doesn't get the beauty standards and this and that [...] but now she just comes with me to all my appointments so I can take a sedative. She just sits in the corner — she's good comic relief.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Emma Glassman-Hughes (she/her) is the associate editor at PS Balance. In her seven years as a reporter, her beats have spanned the lifestyle spectrum; she's covered arts and culture for The Boston Globe, sex and relationships for Cosmopolitan, and food, climate, and farming for Ambrook Research.