The Bachelorette alum Michelle Young has revealed what's happening with the $200,000 down payment for a house now that she and her fiance Nayte Olukoya have broken up.
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On the After the Final Rose special last year, The Bachelor family gifted Michelle and Nayte a down payment on their first house together by handing them a check for $200,000.
However, Michelle from Minnesota and Nayte, who has been living in Houston, TX, never moved in together. In fact, they never even moved to the same state.
The pair then announced their split on June 17 in separate Instagram Stories postings.
Michelle told Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti during the July 5 episode of their "The Ben & Ashley I: Almost Famous Podcast" about the $200,000 check, "That was money that was gifted to the both of us, and I think that's something that is going to be decided how that's going to be utilized, going forward."
"For me, personally, [I] haven't officially decided, but I kind of have started putting some different things in place to give back, you know, to build an organization or just promote the change that I've been talking about."
Michelle apparently doesn't want to waste the money or keep it for herself.
"I think that'd be something that I'd feel really good about," Michelle said, adding that she's been "literally crying on the phone with one of the producers."
"It's been emotional," she added.
"I'm like, 'Can I give [away] the money? Can I create this [fund] and give the money to someone else?' It's something I feel good about, and I know that's been the million-dollar question. It's been a lot."
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RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWIn late June, Nayte denied ever cheating on Michelle as fans continue to speculate what went wrong in their relationship and led to their split.
"No, I didn't cheat," Nayte wrote via Instagram Stories on June 25, according to Us Weekly.
"Not every breakup needs to have someone to blame. Yes, many of you seem to paint me as a red flag/ f-ck boy... But I'm actually a decent guy, and I only want to continue getting better. As we should all want for ourselves."
When Nayte first announced his split from Michelle, he wrote on Instagram Stories, "When we both started this journey, we were looking for our Soulmates. Our forever. Our best friends. However, as we grow and learn, we also realize that sometimes somebody that you hold dear to your heart isn't somebody that you're meant to spend the rest of your life with."
"Michelle and I are going to move forward separately. Hearts are heavy, emotions are high, and we are dealing with this the best way we can," he continued.
Nayte then said his "heartbreak is real" and the couple would be keeping the details of their split private. He also defended the genuineness of their relationship, which ended only six months after the finale of their The Bachelorette season aired last year.
In Michelle's statement, she thanked Bachelor Nation for their support and noted how having a relationship in the public eye was not easy.
"I'm struggling to say that Nayte and I will be going our separate ways but I stand with him in knowing the heaviness that is present in both our hearts as this relationship has been very real for us," she wrote last month.
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"I will always acknowledge and appreciate the adventures, support, and growth both Nayte and this experience have brought me. At the same time, I'm deeply hurting and will need time and space to work through this heartbreak."
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Nayte explained last month via social media how he and Michelle had decided not to move to the same city in order not to rush anything, according to Us.
"Plans changed as we decided there was no need to rush anything and get to know each other on a deeper level before taking the leap of living together," Nayte wrote.
"There's no rush in life. There's no rule book or timeline on how to go about your relationship. We believed that since the love was there, everything would fall into place naturally and in its own time."
"We tried," he added. "It didn't work. We're sad about it. We all grieve different."
Michelle and Nayte's split announcement came only a few weeks after Michelle took to Instagram on May 30 to deny rumors that The Bachelorette couple had split up and ended their engagement.
Michelle was spotted without her engagement ring on, but Michelle said her friend had tried on her ring momentarily and she's not a "zoo exhibit" for people to watch and record.
In April, Michelle had said she and Nayte were in the beginning stages of wedding planning.
"Nayte and I, we know so many different people and we have such big families and that's a huge part of [our planning process]," Michelle told Us at the time.
"And so coming out of a pandemic... one thing that we both can't imagine is having a small wedding," the Minnesota native added, "and so we want to make sure that we're completely clear of that so that's not even a stressor for us, and then, [we want to have] warm weather [on our big day]."
Prior to her The Bachelorette stint, Michelle competed on Matt James' season of The Bachelor and finished as his runner-up.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
