Miss Moving On! Former Bachelorette star Michelle Young is officially “healed” following her split from ex-fiancé Nayte Olukoya, the Bachelor Nation alum exclusively revealed to Life & Style.

“I really did the work early on, and it’s a lot when so much is going on outside of you,” Michelle, 29, told Life & Style at the iHeart Jingle Ball red carpet in Los Angeles on Friday, December 2. “You have to heal otherwise, you are going to constantly — like, your emotions depend on what is happening.”

The Minnesota native got engaged to Nayte, 28, at the end of The Bachelorette season 18. While their relationship seemed perfect to fans, the couple ultimately called it quits, announcing their breakup via Instagram on June 17.

“Honestly, just really truly trusting your value and knowing your worth. It’s hard when so many people — there’s so much noise going on,” Michelle explained of navigating the public split. “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. Sticking to what you know, being who you are, never wavering from that.”

Now that she’s a single woman, Michelle is jumping head-first back into the dating world.

“It’s really weird because, you know, you sit down and you’re like, ‘OK, so are we getting married in like two weeks?’ … You know, like should we talk about our favorite colors, or should we talk about how many kids we want on the first date?” she shared. “It’s just a really weird balance because The Bachelor world is so quick. It’s been going well.”

When it comes to dating within Bachelor Nation, Michelle prefers the “outside” world.

“I’ll never close the door to anything, but definitely outside,” the teacher expressed to Life & Style. “It’s just, kind of, like a breath of fresh air.”

The former ABC star has also bonded with fellow former Bachelorette Rachel Recchia over their Bachelor Nation breakups and “dating people who we thought were gonna be our person” but “it not working out.” Rachel, 26, for her part split with ex-fiancé Tino Franco following her season of the show. 

Former Bachelorette Michelle Young Says She's Officially 'Healed' After Nayte Olukoya Split
John Salangsang/Shutterstock

“Honestly, being in the public eye, you bond over this. There’s so much that’s constantly happening,” Michelle said of their budding friendship. “We really just came together with how to navigate, and we are very similar in so many different things. All of our time is spent laughing, crying, picking each other up — whatever it is. It’s been really awesome. It’s been a beautiful friendship.”

Reporting by Jessica Stopper