Since she was announced as the season 18 Bachelorette, fans had one question on their mind: Who is The Bachelorette 2021 winner for Michelle‘s season and are they engaged and still together?

Michelle Young, a 27-year-old teacher from Edina, Minnesota, was a contestant on The Bachelor season 25 with Matt James, where she was the runner-up. Michelle was confirmed as the season 18 Bachelorette during the season 25 “After the Final Rose” special, where guest host Emmanuel Acho announced Michelle and Katie Thurston, who was eliminated in 10th place on Matt’s Bachelor season, as the next Bachelorettes. Katie, who was the season 17 Bachelorette, aired her season from June to August 2021. Michelle’s season will air from October to December 2021.

According to Reality Steve, Michelle was the first choice to be the season 17 Bachelorette but because of her job as a fifth grade teacher, she didn’t want to leave her students during the school year like she did on Matt’s Bachelor season, so ABC postponed filming for her until the summer when school is out. While Michelle was still in school, Katie filmed her Bachelorette season, which is why there were two Bachelorettes in 2021.

In an interview Entertainment Tonight in October 2021, Michelle explained that she wanted to find a love like her parents’ on The Bachelorette. “Growing up just with my parents, seeing how they treated each other through stressful times, I mean life is not always easy but the fact that they have been married for so long and they still laugh so hard? I am not going to settle for anything less,” she said. “That is what I am going to look for.” She continued. “Finding a relationship where it is not going to fade out. You can’t predict everything that is going to happen to you in your relationship but knowing that I have a person that is going to stick it out and has that same mindset is incredibly important.”

Tayshia Adams, who hosted Michelle’s Bachelorette season with Kaitlyn Bristowe, also teased to Entertainment Tonight in October 2021 that Michelle’s finale is unlike any recent Bachelorette finale. “How it ends? I don’t think we’ve seen an ending like what happens in a couple of seasons now,” Tayshia said. “We’ve seen a lot. So there’s a lot of highs and lows. It’s all good things. I would just say she definitely leans into her heart and puts it all out on the line.”

So…who is The Bachelorette 2021 winner for Michelle‘s season? Read on to find out who Michelle ends up with and picks in The Bachelorette season 18 finale and whether she and her Bachelorette winner are engaged and still together. Like everything in Bachelor Nation, Michelle’s journey to love is far from easy. (For more spoilers about Michelle’s Bachelorette season, click here.)

Who is The Bachelorette 2021 winner for Michelle’s season?

So…who is The Bachelorette 2021 winner for Michelle’s season? The winner is Nayte Olukoya, a 27-year-old sales executive from Austin, Texas, according to Reality Steve. Brandon Jones, a 26-year-old traveling nurse recruiter from Portland, Oregon, was her runner-up. Her other final four contestants were Joe Coleman, a 28-year-old real estate developer from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Rodney Mathews, a 29-year-old sales rep from Rancho Cucamonga, California.

Because Nayte received Michelle’s First Impression Rose, this makes him the seventh Bachelorette winner to receive the First Impression Rose after Dale Moss (season 16, Clare Crawley); Garrett Yrigoyen (season 14, Becca Kufrin); Bryan Abasolo (season 13, Rachel Lindsay); Shawn Booth (season 11, Kaitlyn Bristowe); Roberto Martinez (season 6, Ali Fedotowsky) and Jesse Csincsak (season 4, DeAnna Pappas.)

Are Michelle and Nayte still together and engaged after The Bachelorette 2021?

Yes, Michelle and Nayte are still together and engaged after The Bachelorette, according to Reality Steve. Nayte proposed to Michelle during the Final Rose Ceremony in Punta de Mita, Mexico, where Michelle filmed her Fantasy Suites. Michelle accepted Nayte’s proposal and gave him her Final Rose.

It’s unclear what Michelle’s engagement ring from Nayte looks like, but it’s almost certain that the ring was designed by Neil Lane, a celebrity jeweler, who has created engagement rings for The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise since 2008.

 In a 2016 interview with Entertainment Weekly, former host Chris Harrison revealed that Bachelor Nation couples have to stay together for a certain amount of time, otherwise they have to return the free engagement ring to Neil Lane. “There’s some rule, after a certain number of years, you get to keep it anyway,” he said. “But after months… it goes back.”

Lane told StyleCaster in 2016 that he doesn’t know where the rings go, but that he designs them with the hope that the couple to stays together. “I make rings hoping that people stay together forever, but after they get the ring, I don’t have a say in it, and what happens after that, I don’t know,” he said. “Where the ring goes, I have to say, I don’t really know. I just say it goes to ring heaven.”

Who is Nayte from The Bachelorette 2021?

So who is Michelle’s Bachelorette 2021 winner? Nayte is from Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, but currently lives in Austin, Texas. He graduated from Eastern Washington University in 2019 with a bachelor’s of arts in business administration and a minor in African American history, according to his Linkedin. After graduation, he worked as an account executive at Indeed before he was promoted to senior account executive in January 2021. Nayte has also worked as a bartender at Press in Spokane, Washington, and a sales representative for AT&T in Cheney, Washington. He also has a volunteer experience as a teacher’s aid for Omaha Public Schools and a caregiver for Oberlin House.

In his Bachelorette bio, Nayte, who is 6 foot, 8 inches, talked about how he’s looking for a “teammate for life.” “When you walk into a room, it’s hard not to notice Nayte. He has a smile that sparkles like the stars, he is always the life of the party; and to boot, he is a 6-foot, eight-inch Adonis of a man,” his bio reads. “Nayte doesn’t have trouble meeting women, but as he edges closer to 30, he’s more focused on finding a long-lasting relationship that will go the distance. His dream woman is outgoing, spontaneous and has enough swagger of her own to keep up with him. He’s looking for a connection filled with heat and for someone who will be just as passionate about him as he is about her. Nayte is looking for a teammate for life and is confident that Michelle may just be the one he’s been waiting for.”

For his fun facts, Nayte listed the following:

– Nayte dreams of visiting the Taj Mahal.

– Nayte can’t dance to save his life.

– Nayte likes Edible Arrangements.

Who is The Bachelorette 2021, Michelle Young?

In case you don’t know by now: Michelle Young is The Bachelorette 2021 for season 18. Michelle, a 27-year-old teacher from Edina, Minnesota, was a contestant on The Bachelor season 25 with Matt James, where she was the runner-up. During the season 25 “After the Final Rose” special, Michelle and Katie Thurston, who was eliminated in 10th place on Matt’s Bachelor season, were announced as the next Bachelorettes. Katie, who was the season 17 Bachelorette, aired her season from June to August 2021. Michelle’s season will air from October to December 2021.

So who is The Bachelorette 2021, Michelle Young? Michelle was a Division 1 college basketball player and played Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, from 2011 to 2015. Michelle’s current job is as a fifth grade teacher at an elementary school in Bloomington, Minnesota. She joined Instagram on April 2020, just a couple months before Matt’s Bachelor season premiered.

 In her Bachelor bio, Michelle describes herself as an “over-worker” and described her “dream man” as confident but not cocky.” “Admittedly, she is an over-worker and says she is here because she is ready to find love and a man with whom to start a family,” Michelle’s Bachelor bio reads. “As a partner, she describes herself as loyal, compassionate and supportive, and shows love through acts of service. Her dream man is confident but not cocky and will look at her as his equal in all things.”

The Bachelorette airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC. Here’s how to watch it for free.

Buy: 'Bachelor Nation' by Amy Kaufman $13.89

To get more of an inside scoop, check out Los Angeles Times writer Amy Kaufman’s book, Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure, for a deep dive into the Bachelor franchise. The book uncovers the secrets of Bachelor Nation, from how much the Bachelor and the Bachelorette are paid to the rules contestants have to follow, that producers don’t want fans to know. It’s a must-read for any Bachelor Nation member.

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