Why Did Bachelorette Couple Michelle Young and Nayte Olukoya Split? They ‘Stopped Clicking’

A rocky ending to their fairytale romance. Why did Bachelorette stars Michelle Young and Nayte Olukoya split? The former season 18 contestant broke his silence about their breakup, revealing that he was the one who ended it.

“I broke up with her over the phone. You don’t want to break up with someone, especially your fiancée, over the phone,” Nayte shared on the September 8 episode of “The Viall Files” podcast, hosted by fellow former Bachelor Nation member Nick Viall. “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.”

So what went down? Nayte went on to say that there was “a build-up” to their breakup. Keep reading for more details.

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Why Did Michelle Young and Nayte Olukoya Split?

He explained that the weekend ahead of their breakup in June was “just a bad weekend for everybody.” At the time, the couple shared the news of their split via Instagram Stories.

“The last day in L.A., the conversation was kind of heading already towards a breakup,” Nayte told Nick. “It wasn’t our first time having breakup conversations.”

Before they decided to part ways, the former flames had “probably” three conversations about breaking up, one of which took place in January 2022 — nearly a month after their Bachelorette season officially came to an end.

“January 1st was our first really big fight and then the very next day was another really big fight. I was so freaked out,” Nayte recalled on the podcast, noting that they didn’t move in together so they could “figure out this relationship.”

In July, Bachelorette alum Kaitlyn Bristowe revealed that Michelle was “definitely blindsided” by the breakup.

“I don’t want to speak for Michelle because it’s her story and it’s his story and whatever, but I’ve obviously talked to her and I’m there for her, of course,” she shared on an episode of her “Off the Vine” podcast. “I was there for her through her whole experience.”

How Did Nayte Olukoya Break Up With Michelle Young?

Following their Wango Tango appearance, the couple was supposed to walk the CMAs red carpet together, but Nayte didn’t want to — especially because their relationship was in such disarray.

“I remember we were talking to each other and I was like, ‘I don’t feel comfortable going to CMAs.’ … “I was frustrated as hell, crying on the phone with my mom, and Michelle calls me. I thought she had just got home, but she was still in the airport, unfortunately, because that makes this story even worse,” he told Nick. “She’s like, ‘Hey, if we’re not doing CMAs next week we have to give them a reason why.’ And I just blurted out, ‘We’re not doing CMAs because I can’t be with you anymore.’ So yeah, I broke up with her over the phone, which is a d–k move.”

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What Went Wrong Between Michelle Young and Nayte Olukoya?

Nayte explained on “The Viall Files” that “somewhere we just stopped clicking.” However, he has no bad blood toward Michelle, calling her “phenomenal.”

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“I fell in love with this woman. I’m not saying that she changed into this terrible person, it just wasn’t the same super quick,” he explained. “Really quickly after everything was said and done, after the engagement, after we started going into the everyday motion of lives … things just started to shift.”

He added, in part, “Michelle and I, the beginning of that relationship, was probably one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever experienced. We had so much fun. … I miss the Michelle I fell in love with for sure. … I’m not sure I miss the Michelle I broke up with.”

Michelle has yet to speak publicly about Nayte’s comments.