'Bachelorette' Star Erich Schwer's Father Died Right Before the Show Aired

If you've been keeping up with The Bachelorette this season, odds are that you're familiar with Erich Schwer. The contestant has been wowing fans with his low-key confidence levels, candidness, and particularly profound budding relationship with the show's star, Gabby Windey.

For all of the romance and nail-biting moments that Erich and Gabby have already given fans, the former has also shared some pretty emotional tidbits about his personal life on social media, namely focusing on his parents. So, who exactly are they? Keep reading for the details.

According to Gossip Next Door, Erich Schwer was born to Allan and Donna Schwer. Allan was born in 1957 while Donna was born in 1962. Few details are known about his parents' early lives, but the publication reported that Donna attended Hunterdon Central Regional High School in Flemington, NJ. It's unclear how Erich's parents met, but he was born on Jan. 7, 1993.

What we do know about Erich's father is that he tragically passed away from cancer on July 6, 2022, just ahead of the premiere of The Bachelorette, per an obituary on ApyreNCS.

On July 9, 2022, Erich shared a photo carousel to Instagram along with the caption, "Thankful for everything you’ve done for me. We are gonna miss the hell out of you Big Al. I love you so much, dad."

Outside of this post, the star has not spoken publicly about the loss of his father, though he did share a few more images during the airing of the Hometown episode on Monday, Aug. 22.

In an Instagram post, Erich is holding up two photos — one of his dad sitting on a motorcycle, and another of Allan and baby Erich asleep together in a chair.

ABC also paid tribute to Allan's life with an "in memory of" dedication during the episode. Our thoughts are with Erich's family, friends, and fans as they continue to deal with the loss of Big Al.

We may be nearing the end of the season, but fans of The Bachelorette are still learning a lot about Erich. The budding reality star hails from Bedminster, NJ, but seems to currently live in L.A. Erich largely keeps his private life exactly that, only sharing choice flicks and personal tidbits on social media, but we can piece together a good bit about him from that alone.

Erich is a real estate analyst and, according to his LinkedIn page, he previously worked as an acquisition analyst at Rexford Industrial. It appears that his left the company in March 2022, likely to film The Bachelorette.

Outside of work, he appears to enjoy staying active. Many of his posts on Instagram showing him surfing, hiking, and riding his motorcycle.