Michelle Young is ready to put her past behind her.
Three months after her public break up to her fiancé Nayte Olukoya, The Bachelorette star says she has “fully” healed from the split.
“[All I can really do is] make sure that I’m healing fully, which I’ve done,” Young told Celeb Secrets reporter Juliet Schroder backstage at the 2022 iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas last weekend. “I’m happy to say that I’ve done [that] and found closure and continue to move on and really truly block out all the noise.”
The former teacher and the Austin, TX account executive met on season 18 of The Bachelorette. She ended up giving Nayte her final rose, choosing him over Oregonian traveling nurse, Brandon Jones.
Prior to that, Michelle was a runner-up on Matt James’ season of The Bachelor.
Since their break up on June 17, Michelle shared that it’s been “a lot” to handle publicly.
“I come from a family that’s very private. We’re not used to being in the public eye and especially not going through a public break up and it’s been really interesting.”
So how has she been able to move on? Relying on her friends, family and believing in herself.
“My parents really taught me to control what you can control. I can control myself, my attitude and my emotions – my mental wellbeing is not dependent on people other than myself.”
Amen, sister.
The last time Michelle walked an iHeartRadio carpet was at 102.7 KIIS FM’s Wango Tango in the beginning of June, right before her and Nayte’s split. This time, she hit the star studded event with a handful of her Bachelor Nation friends, including Becca Tilley, Victoria Fuller, Genevieve Parisi and Rachel Recchia.
Talking about her bachelor nation support system, Michelle said, “You can connect in a different way when you meet someone who is from bachelor nation just because they go through this certain experience that is similar to yours. You understand the cameras, you understand the public, you understand the criticism.”
One person who has been extremely supportive of Michelle is her Bachelor Happy Hour co-host Becca Kufrin.
If there’s anyone who understands being in bachelor nation and having a public break up, it’s Becca Kufrin.
During season 22 of The Bachelor, Becca Kufrin got engaged to Arie Luyendyk Jr. but shortly after their engagement, he realized he was still in love with his runner up Lauren Burnham. He ended up ending he and Becca’s engagement while the cameras were rolling to pursue a relationship with Lauren.
Becca then became The Bachelorette and got engaged to Garrett Yrigoyen in 2018. The two moved in together to a home in Carlsbad, CA, adopted a dog together and seemed like they were endgame.
In the wake of the death of George Floyd, the couple hit a rough patch with Becca sharing that the two of them were not aligned on their social issues. They called off their engagement in September 2020.
“For those who are curious about my relationship with Garrett at this point, all I can say right now is I don’t know,” she shared on the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast before their split was confirmed.
Last year, Becca shocked everyone when she showed up to the beaches of Mexico to find love on Bachelor in Paradise. As it turns out, maybe third time’s the charm really is true?
She met Thomas Jacobs during season 7 of BIP and recently got down on one knee to propose to him.
So will Michelle follow in her friends footsteps and head to paradise? Her answer: Hell no.
“That can change, that can always change but right now my answer is hell no.”
Watch our full interview with Michelle below and let us know if you think she should head to paradise? Let us know by reacting to this article or by sending us a tweet to @celebsecrets.
For more coverage from the 2022 iHeartRadio Music Festival, click here.
