Michelle—a 28-year-old school teacher from Minnesota who won fans over with her sweetness and confidence on Matt James’s season of The Bachelor—had her choice of 30 eligible men to find her Mr. Right on The Bachelorette. As it always does in Bachelor Nation, Michelle’s decision came down to one very difficult question: Should she choose Brandon Jones, who was clearly her family’s preferred suitor? Or should she go with the guy who clearly gave her more butterflies and goosebumps, Nayte? Here’s everything we know about who Michelle picked—and why—on TheBachelorette Season 18. (Warning: The Bachelorette Season 18 finale spoilers ahead!
Who does Michelle pick on The Bachelorette Season 18?
Spoiler god RealitySteve called it from the very beginning: Michelle picked Nayte Olukoya, who had been a frontrunner practically since the very first episode of the season. Still, the Season 18 finale did a convincing job of making it seem like Nayte was the long-shot contender for Michelle’s hand in marriage—which Steve also picked up on. When Nayte and Michelle participated in a series of rituals with a Mexican shaman that were meant to release any emotional “blockage” they may be experiencing, Michelle noted that Nayte “was very uneasy” and that his inability to tear down his own walls could be a “dealbreaker” and a “massive red flag” for her. But later on, Nayte was able to articulate his feelings more eloquently. “Ups, downs, I want to get over fights with you, I want to do the real world with you,” he proclaimed. “It’s terrifying because this really could be it for me and I’m scared as hell… When all you do is think about life with somebody and there’s a chance that that could get ripped away, later this week? Heartbreak.” In response, Michelle said, “This is what I wanted.” Nayte insisted later that night when Michelle quizzed him about whether he’d be ready with the right words to propose, “All I do is think about life with you… So as crazy as it is for me to get down on one knee, I am more than ready to do that with you, because I just really want this to be for, like, forever.” That prompted Michelle to say in a voiceover, “This is my person.” She later reiterated that belief while waiting for Nayte on the beach, saying in voiceover that she followed her heart from the very beginning. For his part, Nayte told her in his proposal, “The very first time I met you, I knew then and there that we had a connection. That second night we were together, we talked about running away together. I’m standing in front of you right now and the feeling is the same: I want to run away with you.” (Aww!) Michelle then gave Nayte another scare when she told him, “This has not necessarily been a smooth ride.” After the longest pause ever, she told him, “I love you with my entire heart” and told him he was her soulmate—and later on, her “soul-Nayte.” (Aww!)
Who is Nayte Olukoya again?
Nayte is a 27-year-old sales executive from Austin, Texas, according to his official Bachelorette bio. He’s an impressive 6-feet, 8-inches tall, and has been a steady presence on the show all season. Nayte also refused to engage in drama throughout the season, even when Chris Sutton tried to rope him in.
Who got Michelle’s first impression rose of The Bachelorette Season 18?
Whaddya know? It was Nayte! Michelle has already spoken publicly about how he blew her away from the start. “I’m not a love-at-first-sight [person , but was] honestly very attracted to him as he came out of the limo,” she told Entertainment Tonight. She also pointed out that she and Nayte had a “natural conversation” when they first met.
Who was in Michelle’s final 2 on The Bachelorette?
With Nayte becoming Michelle’s fiancé in the season finale, her runner up was Brandon—despite the fact that Brandon told Michelle he was in love with her in the season finale and she said it back. “That’s the love that I’ve been looking for,” Michelle rhapsodized about Brandon at one point during the finale, “filled with chemistry and passion and everything else in between.” Brandon even gifted her his sweatshirt and left her a handwritten love letter at her hotel door, in which he said he will give her “the kind of love where I will always place your happiness above mine… You will never need to ask for my love because I will love you forever.” As some finale viewers picked up on, Michelle may have telegraphed during the episode that Brandon was headed for Breakup City… thanks to her wardrobe choices! She was dressed in blue—or what’s sometimes known in Bachelor Nation as “breakup blue.” And then, when Brandon proclaimed his love for Michelle one last time on the beach as the waves crashed (VERY! LOUDLY!) on the shore, viewers could tell that she was steeling herself to reject him. (And later on, during the After the Final Rose special, Brandon said that he could likewise tell in her eyes that he wasn’t going to be her pick.) “I don’t think it was a mistake. I think she followed her heart,” Brandon nobly stated after he left Michelle. To many, many Bachelor Nation fans, that selfless statement was just the final example of why Michelle may have made the wrong choice.
Who was in Michelle’s final 3 on The Bachelorette?
On the Dec. 14 “Fantasy Suites” episode, Michelle’s final three were Nayte, Brandon and fellow Minnesota native Joe Coleman. Before that, a Reddit post had suggested that Brandon, Joe, Nayte and Rodney Mathews (who was eliminated in fourth place, right before Season 18’s “Men Tell All special) were all spotted on a plane together, most likely on their way to Mexico, as Michelle’s overnight dates and the final rose ceremony were filmed in Punta de Mita, per Reality Steve and the Season 18 midseason trailer. Reality Steve also pointed out that Michelle and Brandon were spotted on a date there. “I told you I had pics from Mexico 2 days before the final rose ceremony of Michelle on a date with someone jet skiing but I couldn’t tell who it’s. Well, now I know it’s Brandon. Here were the two pics I had and here’s him on the beach w her in same swimsuit that day,” he said.
Were there any Bachelorette Season 18 spoilers about Michelle and Nayte on social media?
One noteworthy, pre-season finale clue that Michelle and Nayte were engaged? On social media, Nayte revealed that he got a dog, and Michelle is definitely a dog lover. She noted in an Instagram post not long before the finale that she’d spent a weekend “filled with fresh air, cozy fires, and dog hair,” although she shared a pic of herself with her own dog. FWIW, Nayte got a puppy named Percy back in the spring of 2021: Michelle and Nayte never accidentally dropped any spoiler goofs, though, that showed them in the same spot or anything. In fact, Nayte made a point to post on Instagram that same weekend when Michelle said she was getting fresh air and hanging by a fire to say that he had a boys’ weekend: Was he just trying to throw people off the scent? Probably.
So, is Michelle from TheBachelorette engaged?
Yes! “Michelle is engaged to Nayte Olukoya,” Reality Steve wrote on his blog in early October. “Had heard rumblings since the season ended but got the confirmation I needed the end of last week.” Next, We Finally Know Who The Good Doctor Star Freddie Highmore Married! Find Out What His New Bride Does for a Living and More
