Getty, Michelle Young/ Instagram
Is the Bachelorette’s Michelle Young Single? She Soft Launches New Romance After Nayte Olukoya Split
Former Bachelorette star Michelle Young is continuing her journey following her split from ex-fiancé Nayte Olukoya.
The former ABC personality explained that the public feels like her “value as a person all of a sudden declines because I’m not in a successful relationship from the show,” while appearing on a March 2023 episode of Kaitlyn Bristowe‘s “Off the Vine” podcast. “If they think my value decreases as a human and as a woman after I’m not in a relationship with a man. … then, goodbye.”
During the same podcast episode, Michelle reflected on her breakup, saying that she’s always game to “move on” after a breakup.
It’s been seven months since then and the Bachelor Nation beauty has soft-launched a new man in her life.
Is Michelle Young Single?
The reality star caught fans’ attention after she brought a special plus one to cheer on the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings take on the Kansas City Chiefs on October 8, 2023. Michelle posted photos and videos of her Sunday funday via Instagram Stories alongside a selfie with an unidentified man kissing her cheek. He was wearing a Vikings baseball cap, so his face was not visible. That being said, the man seemed to be her new boyfriend as she flashed the camera a sweet smile during the PDA moment.
Before her soft launch, the former reality star spoke publicly about dating after being on The Bachelorette.
Michelle Young’s Quotes About Her Dating Life
The reality star alum is diving into the dating pool following her and Nayte’s split. When looking for a significant other, Michelle is focusing on “trusting your value and knowing your worth,” she told Life & Style during a December 2022 interview.
“Whether it’s from that person that you broke up with, whether it’s from everybody else around you, but you really truly have to be so confident in yourself,” she added. “Sticking to what you know, being who you are, never wavering from that.”
At the time, she admitted that dating has “been going well,” but it’s different because “The Bachelor world is so quick.” Overall, Michelle prefers to meet men in the “outside” world compared to Bachelor Nation. “It’s just, kind of, like a breath of fresh air,” she gushed.
Why Did Michelle Young and Nayte Olukoya Split?
Michelle and Nayte left season 18 of The Bachelorette as an engaged couple. They announced their split in June 2022.
“I’m struggling to say that Nayte and I will be going our separate ways but I stand with him in knowing the heaviness that is present in both of our hearts as this relationship has been very real for us,” the former teacher wrote, in part. “I will always acknowledge and appreciate the adventures, support and growth both Nayte and this experience have brought me.”
As for the reason behind their split, Nayte revealed that he was the one who broke off their engagement.
“I broke up with her over the phone. You don’t want to break up with someone, especially your fiancée, over the phone,” he admitted during a September 2022 episode of “The Viall Files” podcast. “It was her birthday weekend. We’re all here in L.A. because her and I got invited to this Wango Tango event. At the beginning of the weekend, things were kind of rocky. It got even more rocky. Wango Tango happened. Her and I got into an argument right before doing all those press interviews and whatnot.”
He went on to say that “somewhere we just stopped clicking.”
