The Minnesota star of "The Bachelorette" revealed her engagement Tuesday night to a Winnipeg-raised, Texas-based sales executive.
On the season finale of the ABC-TV reality series, Michelle Young picked Nayte Olukoya, calling him her soulmate. It marked the first time in the show's 19-year history that a Black lead gave the final rose to a Black contestant.
"I've never been with somebody who makes me feel so beautiful," Young said, "inside and out."
In a live interview Tuesday, Olukoya promised to move to the state where Young grew up and now teaches fifth grade.
"Oh, I'm moving to Minnesota," he told host Kaitlyn Bristowe. "No hesitation."
He said they're already house-hunting in the Twin Cities, getting "Zillow notifications like crazy."
A big chunk of Young's season was set in the Twin Cities, with sweeping shots of the Minneapolis skyline and the Mississippi River, and dates at the Bell Museum and on Lake Minnetonka.
But Young, 28, also talked honestly about what it was like to grow up in Woodbury, where she often felt like "the token Black girl." During a date that involved performing spoken-word poetry, she told the men — and America — that "I was their stamp on diversity, all thanks to my nappy curls."
Her four finalists, including runner-up Brandon Jones and fellow Minnesotan Joe Coleman, were all men of color, a first for a franchise that has dealt with years of criticism around its handling of race.
Since the season's start, Olukoya, 27, stood out.
He emerged first from the limo, giving his full name, Babatunde Nayte Olukoya, and a line: "It's better Nayte than never." Young awarded him her "first impression rose," a major prize that often hints at a final choice.
At one point, when Olukoya suggested running away together, Young shot him a mischievous smile before unbuckling her heels and taking off.
But the finale found her in love with two men. Jones, a baby-faced traveling nurse recruiter from Portland, Ore., was expressive, emotional and attuned to Young's happiness. In the end, Olukoya "just was the person I could not imagine living without," Young said Wednesday morning on ABC's "Good Morning America."
Olukoya had struggled to convince Young's parents, Ephraim and LaVonne, that he was ready to get engaged. "I'm not sure you're 100% in," her mom told him.
They favored Jones, whom they had met in their Woodbury backyard, partly because of his willingness to move to Minnesota. Ephraim noted that Young has dreams of finishing her master's degree and becoming a school principal.
During the post-finale special, LaVonne said she'd since become close with Olukoya and his mother: "We are in love with Nayte."
The engaged couple noted that Winnipeg, where Olukoya's family lives, is just a seven-hour drive from the Twin Cities.
A teacher at Echo Park Elementary in Burnsville, Young only agreed to become "The Bachelorette" if they filmed during summer break. As it aired, she posted on social media about juggling press for the show with parent-teacher conferences.
A few of her current and former students appeared onscreen, encouraging her, planning dates and sometimes stealing the spotlight.
During a date that aired last month, fellow teacher Danielle Andvik's daughter Kelsey, 11, and son Luke, 8, judged the men on their fort-building and groceries-carrying abilities, inspiring a flurry of memes. Kelsey, in particular, homed in on the audience's favorite — and least favorite — contestants.
"I don't really like Martin," Kelsey said. "I don't know how to explain it. He's trying to show off ...
"And he wears too much cologne."
"Kelsey will share her opinion," Andvik said by phone, laughing. "I'm more the Minnesota nice. I don't know where she gets it from."
Andvik asked her kids whether they'd want to appear on the show, knowing it would mean a lot to Young.
"Home is important to her," she said. "Her people are important to her."
Andvik met Young in 2016, when Young joined the teaching staff at Normandale Hills Elementary in Bloomington. She meshed with the fifth-grade teaching team right away, Andvik said, and connected with students easily, too, sometimes through basketball.
Since the show began airing, friends have texted Andvik, amazed at how poised, how straightforward, how fun Young is.
"What you see on TV? That's Michelle," she said. "She's a sweetheart but also very honest in what she says. I love that she's using the platform to share her thoughts on the Black community, and George Floyd, and to share her thoughts about schools and students right now.
"I, as a friend and teacher, think that's really neat."
While all four of the the finalists were Black, the show's producers picked a white contestant — eighth-place finisher and ex-football player Clayton Echard — as the next star of "The Bachelor."
Fans have questioned why the show overlooked those finalists.
"I think 'The Bachelor' executives feel like they want to get back to what they know — which is cookie-cutter Midwestern white guy who will appeal to the vast majority of America," said Jareesa Tucker McClure, who watches the seasons of the show that feature Black leads.
"At the same time, clearly, people are also clamoring for a different type of experience and a different type of love story."
The production of Young's season wasn't perfect, said Tucker McClure, who lived in the Twin Cities for a decade before moving to Atlanta earlier this year. But it proved that "you can have a Black lead who is relatable," she said, while providing drama that didn't relate to race.
"A lot of other women have felt unseen or unwanted," she continued. "A lot of people have gone through this 'I'm scared to share my feelings' thing just like Nayte did. I love how many people related to it."
Tucker McClure wants the franchise to go a step further — featuring more families with two Black parents, perhaps — rather than backwards.
