The breakup is Instagram official. After Michelle Young and Nayte Olukoya‘s split, the Bachelorette season 18 alums unfollowed each other on social media.
The former elementary school teacher, 29, no longer follows the Canada native, 27, on Instagram nor does he follow her. Though photos of Olukoya remain on Young’s page and vice versa, he is no longer tagged with his username and profile. Young doesn’t appear to be tagged in any of Olukoya’s photos either, leading some fans to speculate that the exes blocked each other. Their mutual tags, likes and comments on each other’s profiles have all seemingly disappeared in one fell swoop, which typically only happens if blocking is involved.
The pair, who got engaged during the December 2021 finale, initially announced their split via the social media platform last month.
“To those who have supported Nayte and I, including Bachelor Nation, I know I speak for the both of us when saying having a relationship in the public eye has not been easy,” Young wrote via Instagram Story on June 17. “I’m struggling to say that Nayte and I will be going out separate ways but I stand with him in knowing the heaviness that is present in both our hearts as this relationship has been very real for us.”
Olukoya echoed the amicable sentiment in his own statement. “Michelle and I are going to move forward separately. Hearts are heavy, emotions are high and we are dealing with this the best way we can,” he shared at the time. “When we both started this journey, we were looking for our soulmates. Our forever. Our best friends. However, as we grow and learn, we also really that sometimes somebody that you hold dear to your heart isn’t somebody you’re meant to spend the rest of your life with.”
Since then, the two have had to address rumors and speculation about their romance, with the Texas resident denying any infidelity. “I didn’t cheat,” he wrote via Instagram in June. “Yes, I like to hang out with my guys. As she likes to hang out with her girls. Nothing wrong with that. If anything, super healthy. We are social people. Not everyone who goes to bars are cheaters.”
However, his former fiancée left fans wondering about what really happened during her Tuesday, July 5, interview with Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti on the “Almost Famous” podcast. “I will say this is not something that I foresaw and I’ll leave it there,” Young said.
The pair had a long distance romance. Young lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, while Olukoya is based in Austin, Texas, and they planned to eventually move in together.
“When we are together, we just spend time together like non-stop so it’s nice,” Olukoya gushed exclusively to Us Weekly in April at New York Fashion Week.
Young chimed in, telling Us, “If we’re not hanging out, we’re texting [or] FaceTiming. We do a lot of movie nights like over FaceTime or Zoom. We’ve been making it work. But, he’s been in Minnesota for a little bit now so it’s been nice.”
With their plans to buy a house no longer moving forward, the educator hopes they can donate the $200,000 down payment that ABC gave the couple after their engagement on The Bachelorette finale.
“That was gifted to both of us, and I think that’s something that is going to be decided how that’s going to be utilized, going forward,” she said on the “Almost Famous” podcast. “For me, personally, [I] haven’t officially decided but I kind of have started putting some different things in place to give back, you know, to build an organization or just promote the change that I’ve been talking about and I think that’d be something that I’d feel really good about.”
