Joe Coleman is one of Michelle Young's Final 3 bachelors on The Bachelorette's eighteenth season.
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ABC says Joe has a "heart of gold" and wants to settle down, and Michelle has said she appreciates the bachelor's quiet confidence.
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Given both Joe and Michelle are from Minnesota and grew up playing basketball, she thought the stars had aligned for them on the show, and she called her time with Joe "powerful" and "special."
"I feel like you had two souls that have kind of been living side by side without even knowing it, and I feel like we got brought together," Michelle gushed during a one-on-one date in her hometown.
"And I am very excited to see what the future has in store for me and Minnesota Joe!"
Leading into Joe's hometown date later on, he surprised Michelle with "fairy-tale" prom. He confirmed he was "falling for" Michelle and even felt ready to propose marriage to her.
Michelle told Joe's family that he felt like "home" to her, and Joe couldn't believe how quickly his feelings had grown for The Bachelorette star in such a short amount of time.
"I just want you to know that my feelings for you are getting stronger and stronger, and I am falling in love with you," Joe said after Michelle met his family. "I just feel like you are that special person for me."
Michelle kissed Joe but didn't say anything in response.
Until viewers can watch Joe and Michelle potentially fall in love on The Bachelorette, let's get to know a little more about this reserved and soft-spoken bachelor right now.
Below is a list of ten facts Reality TV World has compiled about Joe Coleman.
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Joe Coleman is a Minnesota-born-and-raised city boy
Joe works as a real estate developer, property manager, and investor for single family/small multi-family properties in the Minneapolis area. He has worked full-time since November 2020.
The Bachelorette bachelor considers himself to be pretty introverted
Joe said he can be a quiet guy unless he knows someone pretty well.
Joe's family therefore feels Joe needs a confident, strong and outgoing woman who will complement him well and challenge him.
Joe said he's "looking for a queen," someone who is smart, caring, articulate and able to make him laugh.
He wants to find a partner with aligning values and would love to start a family in the near future. He hopes to find a "real one" with whom he can build something solid that will stand the test of time.
In fact, Joe wants to have at least three or four kids!
Joe bounced back and forth between colleges
After graduating from Hopkins High School in 2011, the bachelor attended the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities from 2011 to 2013.
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Joe continued his education at the University of Minnesota, where he studied Business and Marketing Education and Communication Studies from 2015-2016.
The Bachelorette bachelor played college ball
Joe played basketball as a guard at the University of Minnesota and Saint Mary's College of California.
He was named 2011 Minnesota Mr. Basketball and was a Top 100 ESPN Recruit.
While Joe says basketball was his first true love, he's now ready to build a life outside of sports and find a wife.
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Joe had serious sports injuries that derailed his dreams
Joe broke three bones in his leg in seventh grade, which left his foot susceptible to further injuries. And then in college, Joe broke his fifth metatarsal and underwent surgery.
"But the doctor who did my surgery ended up putting too big of a screw in my foot, and it ended up splitting my fifth metatarsal in half, just completely shattering it," Joe revealed to Michelle.
Joe ended up having another intensive surgery, which resulted in Joe getting seven screws and a plate put into his left foot just to correct the error.
Joe said that was a very tough time in his life and he was never able to perform basketball the same way afterwards.
"I didn't want to be out there because I couldn't handle it mentally. It was beyond difficult. It was anxiety, depression, and there were times where I was thinking if I even still wanted to be here," Joe admitted.
Joe added, "Ball was life and that life was gone, and so, I've always had such high standards and I didn't feel like I was [reaching them]."
Joe said he was broken and "not in a good place" mentally at the time, and he recalled going to rehab constantly and having to overcome mental hurdles.
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Joe said he had to find himself again and discover new interests, which left him feeling really lost. When Joe was at his lowest, he returned home to his parents in Minnesota and said that was ultimately a good decision to make.
Joe previously worked in sports and sales
From January 2016 to October of that year, Joe worked as a digital content specialist for SportsEngine, who executed a social-media marketing strategy and covered basketball tournaments.
The following year, Joe served as a business development specialist for the same company.
Joe proceeded to land a job as a basketball trainer at Lifetime fitness from January 2019-March 2020.
Afterward, Joe was hired by Infor software company to do business development and eventually inside sales.
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Michelle slid into Joe's DMs before The Bachelorette began filming
Michelle has revealed she and Joe "messaged back and forth about basketball briefly" -- a few exchanges -- on social media before The Bachelorette kicked off filming and then he "ghosted" her.
Joe claims he had a lot going on at the time, including handling a property a few blocks away from George Floyd Square, where a lot of shootings and anxiety was going on. Joe didn't feel ready to open up to somebody at the time, and he assured Michelle that he wasn't dating anyone else when they had communicated.
Michelle could relate to Joe's struggle, especially in regards to the aftermath of George Floyd's tragic death, but she expressed to the suitor how she wished he had communicated better with her in the past and just said that he wasn't ready for a commitment yet.
"How do I know you're not going to shut down again?" Michelle asked.
"It's something I've been focusing on with myself, better understanding how my actions have affected others and how my not responding is lacking communication skills -- which is something I need to learn to be better at. And I'm working on it; I've gone to therapy," Joe explained.
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"I do not want to get hurt," Michelle said. "The hardest part about Joe is that my heart wants to let loose but my mind is trying to guard. That guard is a red flag."
Michelle also wondered why Joe was suddenly popping up in her life again.
"Why now? Why did you wait? Is it because I'm the Bachelorette? I'm here to find my one soul mate, and at the end of this, I don't want my heart broken -- and so I'm torn," Michelle revealed.
But Joe has been receiving roses and advancing in the Season 18 competition ever since.
Michelle says Joe understood her in a way "none of the other guys did"
Michelle explained her apparent strong connection with Joe in a late November interview, saying both she and her bachelor grew up in Minnesota and had similar upbringings.
"We both understood so many things about each other without having to necessarily talk about those things because of how we were raised, because of the basketball community, because we had similar passions," Michelle told People.
"And so that's somebody who I felt just understood a piece of me that none of the other guys did."
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Joe looks forward to traveling with his future wife
While Joe's idea of a perfect date is dinner at sunset and a movie in Minnesota, he would love to travel to the Galapagos Islands one day with his partner.
A couple of other fun facts about the bachelor? He is scared of spiders, loves snacks, and his grandparents had owned and operated a dairy farm which taught Joe how to work with animals!
Joe reveals how he was cast on The Bachelorette 18
During a November 17 appearance on the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast hosted by Becca Kufrin and Tayshia Adams, Joe shared how he was "nominated" to compete on Michelle's The Bachelorette season.
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"They asked me if I wanted to apply and I told them, 'No, there is no way I'm ever doing that LOL,' along with some emojis. And then, like, an hour later or something, I got a screenshot [from my friend] and it was like, 'Your application has been submitted.'"
Joe recalled, "I was like, 'Wow, you really did it! You really did it.' And I just sent crying emojis, not thinking anything would really come of it. And I was reached out to that night [by producers]."
Joe confirmed the casting process was "so quick" for him, adding, "I was like, 'No way?!'"
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
