The Bachelorette alum Michael Allio has introduced his new girlfriend, Jade Marie Chapman, to the world.
|
ADVERTISEMENT
|
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Michael, however, didn't reveal the woman's face or identity -- until now.
Michael took to Instagram on January 2 and shared a video montage of special moments he shared with his new love, Jade, from January 2024 to January 2025.
And the next day, Michael also posted a collection of photos he captioned, "Luckiest guy in the world."
The video featured Michael and Jade watching a sunset on the beach, dancing, and going on adventures and vacations. A clip also showed Jade playing with James and cuddling him close on a boat.
Michael and Jade clearly rang in the new year together, and The Bachelorette alum said he thinks this will be "the best year yet."
Michael captioned his January 2 relationship hard launch, "We met in 2021 and became instant friends. For years, that's exactly how we stayed -- always there for each other at any hour, sharing laughs when life got tough, and offering support when it was needed most."
"There's something special about being friends first. It sounds obvious, but I'd never truly experienced it until I met her," he continued of his dynamic with Jade.
"For the first time in forever, I've felt unconditional love and have been able to give it in return."
Michael told his followers that Jade is in his thoughts all day, every day.
"I wake up, she's in my thoughts, lifting my hope and filling my heart," he said.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW"She's the light that shines through the cracks, fitting seamlessly into our lives and completing our family in ways I never imagined possible."
Michael said "one of the greatest joys" in his life "has been seeing her and James form such a strong bond."
Michael welcomed James with his late wife Laura Allio, who passed away in 2019 following a battle with breast cancer.
Michael also gushed in his post, "Watching their relationship grow has brought me happiness beyond compare -- it's like she was meant to be here with us all along."
"Here's to love, friendship, and the beautiful journey ahead with my best friend by my side. Happy New Year my friends," The Bachelorette alum concluded.
Michael appeared on Katie Thurston's season of The Bachelorette in 2021. After claiming to have turned down a starring role on The Bachelor, Michael looked for love on Bachelor in Paradise's eighth season, where he met Danielle Maltby.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
Danielle was smitten with Michael, a widower and business owner from Akron, OH, when the pair appeared on Bachelor in Paradise in 2022, and they left the season dating and in a relationship.
ADVERTISEMENT
Danielle revealed on her "The WoMed" podcast that Michael "blindsided" and brutally dumped her one day after she had frozen her eggs. She said the breakup left her "hurt" and "confused" as well as overcome with grief.
"I moved up here for someone who I thought wanted to be with me forever," Danielle told Cleveland Magazine. "I genuinely believed we'd get engaged and married."
She added, "It's become such a thing in The Bachelor world to make a joint statement [when you split up], but there was nothing joint about this. I didn't decide it."
Danielle confessed that she "was in the trenches for a few months" after Michael broke up with her.
"I was in, like, constant communication with my therapist. Now, though, I've done so much healing," Danielle said.
And part of her journey to healing was accepting Cleveland as her new home, even though she had left her nursing job and friends behind in Nashville to become a part of Michael's life in Ohio.
"I didn't necessarily choose this place," Danielle admitted, "but I wanted to make it feel like home. It was like, 'Well, I'm here, so I now need to take my life back.'"
Most of Danielle's followers anticipated she'd move back to Nashville, but Danielle said she was ready and willing to embrace Cleveland as her new city, regardless of the fact she's single again.
"I just want to help empower anyone who's in a similar situation," Danielle shared, adding that she's "grateful" for her stints on reality TV because she now has a platform to share her opinions.
She added, "I'm someone who has always gone where life takes me, and I'm always open to an adventure."
Danielle has also overcome some major adversity in her life.
When Danielle was 25-years-old, she found the body of her then-boyfriend who had just overdosed on drugs in 2011. She had to resuscitate him and witness his death, which left her with a lot of trauma to carry and deal with.
ADVERTISEMENT
"In my last relationship, I was told that I wasn't resilient enough," Danielle admitted to the magazine.
"I just laughed because that's the last thing anybody would say about me. I've been through so much, and I'm still so hopeful."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
Former The Bachelor star Nick Viall, for instance, called Danielle "resilient" when she competed on his season in 2017.
In response to Danielle's allegation Michael had brutally dumped her and "traumatized" her, Michael confirmed on Jason Tartick's "Trading Secrets" podcast in September 2023 that he didn't warn Danielle ahead of time about how he was feeling and so she never saw the split coming.
"[But] there's a reason why. We broke up 13 weeks ago and over the span of that 13 weeks, we spoke multiple times about how we want to roll this out," Michael explained at the time.
"I suggested doing a mutual breakup post, but she did not want to do that mainly because this breakup was not mutual. She told me, 'Go out there, say what you want to say, do what you want to do. I'll follow suit.'"
According to The Bachelorette alum, Danielle asked him not to call or contact her because staying in communication would make healing and moving on "that much more difficult."
However, Michael claimed that he was not quick to throw in the towel, and that he and Danielle had attended couples' therapy to try to salvage their relationship.
"She wanted me to wait [to announce the breakup] and I felt, like, because I was the one that broke it off with her, I should be respectful of that. So, I kind of waited for her lead and when she started taking down posts on Instagram, I kind of followed suit," Michael said.
Michael also wrote via Instagram Stories at the time, "[If] there's something that you're looking for that doesn't exist in that other person, it doesn't mean you try to change that person and turn them into this perfect version for you because that's wrong too."
ADVERTISEMENT
The Bachelorette alum pointed out how Danielle had made a real "sacrifice on her end" and explained how he's unable to leave Ohio due to his "support system" that helps him take care of James.
Michael claimed he "totally" would have considered moving to Nashville if he didn't have a child to raise.
"Danielle was in a transition period and she wanted to leave her job," Michael said, adding how Danielle had been thinking about moving to Ohio for reasons other than their post-Bachelor in Paradise romance.
"If we would have stayed long distance we wouldn't have known whether or not this would have worked, and our goal was to make it work."
Michael also claimed via Instagram Stories at the time that before Danielle moved to Ohio, he told her that he couldn't fathom having another child.
Michael said he warned Danielle that he might never want kids and she handled the news "gracefully" and proceeded to freeze her eggs just in case he changed his mind down the road.
Prior to Michael's breakup announcement, split rumors had plagued the couple for months, and they both dodged talking about their relationship in the media.
On the former couple's Bachelor in Paradise season, Michael and Danielle revealed they had spoken via DMs on Instagram and become friends prior to filming the show, but Paradise marked the first time they were meeting in-person.
Michael and Danielle were able to connect quickly over their similar losses and traumas. The pair slowly got to know each other and never expressed interest in dating anyone else on the show.
Michael and Danielle chose to leave Bachelor in Paradise together as a couple before overnight Fantasy Suites. They both determined they weren't ready to get engaged, especially because Danielle had yet to meet James.
However, Michael revealed on the reunion show in November 2022 that James quickly came to adore Danielle, and that Danielle couldn't wait to become a bigger part of James' life.
ADVERTISEMENT
While Danielle had no reservations about moving to Ohio in order to progress her relationship with Michael naturally, she explained how they didn't want to live under the same roof -- at least not yet -- as to not rush things or disrupt James' comfortable routine.
"I'm just so excited," Michael said on social media in December 2022 of Danielle's decision to uproot her life for him.
"Long distance is difficult, but we've made the best of it and this next chapter and upcoming year is one I am so looking forward to. She's the best!"
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Interested in more The Bachelor news? Follow our Bachelor Nation News Page on Facebook or join our The Bachelor Facebook Group!
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
