Former "Bachelorette" contestant Gabby Windey has revealed that she broke her back in an accident involving a vibration plate. Windey, 35, shared the news on Instagram, stating, "I’ve broken my back due to a speedy vibration. And I’ve barely lived to tell the story." She posted several hospital selfies, humorously referencing her injury as a "broke back, no mountain."
In a subsequent Substack essay, Windey elaborated on the incident, explaining that she was using a vibration plate at "level 30, supersonic speed." According to Windey, the rapid and intense vibrations caused her vertebrae to become crooked, rubbing against each other until a small piece fractured off from friction. She described the sensation as her "vertebrae turn[ed] crooked and rub[bed] against each other" until "a small piece [broke] off from friction."
Vibration plates are fitness devices that use whole-body vibrations to stimulate muscles, with potential benefits for strength, flexibility, and circulation, according to WebMD.
Windey also detailed ongoing side effects from the injury, including paresthesia, which she described as a "tormenting" tingling or "pins and needles" sensation. She characterized the feeling as "the strangest feeling the tickling nerve" and "ineffable."
She humorously defended her injury, stating it was not an "acceptable reason to call out of work" but rather a "debilitating in its affliction and indignant in its movement." Windey also alluded to societal pressures, attributing the accident partly to "beauty standard[s]" and the pursuit of "self-love and care."
Windey's wife, Robby Hoffman, commented on her announcement, calling her essay "brilliant." Windey and Hoffman, 36, married in a private ceremony in Las Vegas in late 2025 and legally wed in Beverly Hills in April 2025. This comes after Windey's engagement to "Bachelorette" Season 19 winner Erich Schwer ended in late 2022.