The Bachelorette alum Michelle Young has apparently soft launched a new relationship following her split from ex-fiance Nayte Olukoya.
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In the selfie, Michelle, a Minnesota native, was smiling big as an unidentified man with black curly hair -- who was wearing a purple Vikings hat -- kissed her on the cheek.
While the man's face was not visible in the photo, he and Michelle were clearly packing on PDA at the NFL football game.
The Bachelorette alum's apparent new relationship comes a little bit over a year since she and Nayte broke up in June 2022.
Michelle and Nayte got engaged on The Bachelorette's Season 18 finale, which aired in December 2021. On The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose, the couple was gifted a $200,000 check to put towards their first house together.
Nayte had initially planned to move to Minnesota to be with Michelle in March 2022, but he claimed on "The Viall Files" podcast in September of last year that he decided to stay in Austin, TX, due to back-to-back arguments he and Michelle had in the first few days of January 2022.
The couple allegedly continued fighting, and so Michelle and Nayte's relationship lasted only six months after the finale aired.
"It's been really interesting. Just, you know, you go through something and you think you know someone, and then more recently, [you don't]," Michelle told Celeb Secrets TV in September 2022.
On "The Viall Files" podcast, Nayte recalled there being a sudden and unexpected shift in his relationship with the former The Bachelorette star once they entered the real world, from being blissfully happy to living with tension.
"We started consistently and gradually going downhill, where we were just, like, it wasn't sunshine and rainbows anymore," he claimed.
"I remember crying my heart out to [my mom and stepdad, saying], 'I'm so frustrated and I have no idea what's going on in this relationship.' How can you be so sure about something and then just have it fall apart?"
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Nayte said he felt pressure to be perfect since Michelle was a famous face and they were the new hot couple in Bachelor Nation at the time. Nayte also said there were trust issues on his part, citing an incident when Michelle had allegedly suspiciously deleted a DM conversation with a famous male country singer.
The Bachelorette 18 winner also shared how he wants "more of a partner and less of a coach" in his next relationship.
"I miss the Michelle I fell in love with, but I'm not sure I miss the Michelle I broke up with," Nayte told Nick Viall last year.
Nayte ultimately admitted that he dumped Michelle over the phone in June 2022 only days after they had celebrated her birthday. Nayte said she proceeded to block him on social media, which he called "a low blow."
Michelle admitted to Celeb Secrets TV that the aftermath of her breakup was truly "a lot" to handle since her family is very "private."
Michelle, who moved to Los Angeles last year, continued, "All I can do, truly, is [remember] I know how things went down. I know the other person knows what went down, and I can stay true to myself and really that's all that I can do."
According to Nayte, he and The Bachelorette alum totally ended communication with each other in mid-July 2022.
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Nayte also raised eyebrows when he moved from Texas to Los Angeles a few weeks after his breakup with Michelle to pursue modeling, Us Weekly reported.
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The sales executive was also accused of moving on from Michelle quickly with The Bachelor alum Deandra Kanu after they were photographed flirting at a party, but Nayte insisted nothing romantic ever happened between them.
Michelle said in September 2022 it was "hard" dealing with "the public's opinion" of her personal life and the reports that were circulating online about Nayte.
"Everyone thinks that they know what happened, and all of this other stuff," Michelle said.
"And honestly, for me, my parents really taught me [to] control what you can control. I can control myself and my attitude, my emotions. My mental well-being is not dependent on people other than myself. And so that's where I was able to find that stability and consistency."
The former The Bachelorette star, however, said at the time she was "happy" and finally "done" healing her broken heart.
Michelle expressed gratitude to her family and friends for helping her through the dark time, adding, "I'm really, truly [trying to] block out all the noise. Everything comes in waves."
Michelle admitted in February 2023 that Nayte had "stripped" her of her "dream" engagement.
"Honestly, for me, [it's] tainted. Because it was my dream ring," Michelle said of her pear-shaped diamond on "The Ben and Ashley I: Almost Famous Podcast."
She added, "I wanted the relationship to work. I was willing to put in work for the relationship. And I had the person take off... Both people have to be capable of [working on the relationship]. And so, for me, it was yeah, I feel like that was literally kind of stripped away from me, so it pisses me off!"
Michelle said she's looking forward for her "real" second engagement, but The Bachelorette alum confessed to having very "high standards" for her future partner, which may result in her being "single 4 life."
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As far as dealbreakers go, Michelle said "complacency" and being "emotionally unavailable." She also said it's unattractive when men get stuck in a pyramid scheme, cannot read a room, give guilt trips, and fail to communicate effectively.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
