Heavy Michelle Young opens up about finding love again.
A former “The Bachelorette” star has found love again and now she has opened up about her relationship. Michelle Young got engaged to Nayte Olukoya at the end of her season, which aired in 2021. However, the two split less than a year later.
Young and Olukoya have moved on to new relationships since then. Both “Bachelorette” stars have revealed their romantic partners via social media, and Young gave fans insight into her romance in recent Instagram Stories.
Here’s what you need to know:
Michelle Young & Jack Leius Met Through a Mutual Friend
After hinting at a new boyfriend for a while, Young hard-launched her relationship with fellow Minnesotan Jack Leius in October 2023.
In a TikTok posted by Young on March 9, the lovebirds shared the story of how they met. It turns out, they have a mutual friend named Garrett to thank.
Leius explained he first saw Young in a social media post of his friend’s during the summer of 2023. He reached out and asked him about Young, and the following day, the friend showed Young a photo of Leius.
Meanwhile, Young was at a Minnesota Vikings BootCamp event with some of her friends. Garrett is the brother of one of her best friends, and “The Bachelorette” star jokingly asked him if he had any single friends.
Garrett asked Young if he’d ever introduced her to his friend Leius, and showed her a picture. “I started blushing,” she admitted.
Leius and Young met that very night, and she revealed he put his number in her phone within 10 minutes of meeting her. They hung out that night, as well as the following three days, and then he asked her to be his girlfriend.
In a series of Instagram Stories posted by Young on March 20, the couple answered fan questions and revealed additional tidbits about their romance.
The couple noted that she is 30, and he is 26. The night they met, she asked him his age and panicked to learn he was four years younger than her. However, he urged her to give him a chance, and she did.
The night they met, “We were inseparable,” he revealed. “We remember who was there with us, but we don’t, at the same time, because we were so focused on each other.” Young concurred, admitting they had “tunnel vision” for one another.
He gave her a ride home at the end of the night, and they stayed in the car talking for another two hours. Before she left, Leius admitted he “couldn’t let her leave without, I just had to give her a kiss.”
Leius & Young Live Together & Suggest They’ll Marry Within a Few Years
Leius also revealed he was the first to say “I love you.” Young admitted she panicked when he said it, at first.
She noted that she was nervous about saying those words after being in an environment like “The Bachelorette” where that can be said prematurely. He didn’t put any pressure on her, though.
They have moved into a place together and noted they love traveling, trying new food spots, and experiencing new cultures together.
The couple shared they have been to Mexico together several times, as well as California and Texas. An Instagram story shared by Young on March 22 revealed they are currently on a 6-day trip to Grenada.
A “Bachelorette” fan asked if Leius would want to be married before the age of 30. He nodded and replied, “Come on now, absolutely.” Young joked that there was no way she was living with him for the next four years without getting married.
Leius said his favorite feature of Young’s is her eyes, admitting, “The first time I met her, they froze me.” He also loves her smile and her heart. She loves “the way his eyes look at me,” and raved over his intuition and how he calms her nerves.
For months, “The Bachelorette” fans have been buzzing over rumors the couple filmed a reality show of some sort in Minnesota in 2023. A fan asked if they would ever do a reality show together, noting, “I think you two would do so good on ‘The Amazing Race’!”
Young and Leius did not give an actual reply. Rather, they gave one another a knowing look. That seemed like a confirmation something was in the works.