Who Is Michelle Young? From Matt James’ ‘Bachelor’ Contestant to Bachelorette Season 18

Credit: Courtesy Michelle Young/Instagram; ABC/Craig Sjodin

Who Is Michelle Young? From Matt James’ ‘Bachelor’ Contestant to Bachelorette Season 18

Sporty spice alert! Michelle Young is looking for love as the Bachelorette after joining the competition for Matt James’ heart during January 25 episode of the ABC series. The former football player kicked off his journey with more than 30 women during the January 4 premiere. After a handful of rose ceremonies — and one self-elimination — Matt met five additional contestants: Michelle, Brittany Galvin, Catalina Morales, Kim Li and Ryan Claytor. “It’s just such a great group of women, like, women that you would never think would be single,” Matt gushed exclusively to Us Weekly about his cast ahead of the premiere. “That’s why I was so skeptical coming in, because it’s, like, you don’t think the type of women exists that I was interacting with and that were part of this experience. So it made my life and decision-making that much more difficult because you’re having to send home an incredible amount at times because there’s so many of them.” Matt previously gave Bachelorette alums Mike Johnson and Bryan Abasolo more insight into his dating history. [jwplayer VmWIp1Jn-zhNYySv2] "People for some reason think I don't like Black women. The last women I've dated have all been Black women. I don't understand why that's so hard for people to understand. People should want you to be happy, regardless of if they're white, they're Black, they're Asian, whatever,” Matt, who is biracial, explained on the “Talking It Out with Mike & Bryan” podcast on January 18. "I've dated all across the board. Spanish women, white women, Asian women, Black women. Everything that I've ever dated and what I'm into isn't race-specific, and when you're looking for things that aren't race-specific, you have to have a broad cast of characters to fill all those things, and thank goodness they had it, because it allowed me to enjoy the process the way that I did." Michelle ended up as one of Matt’s finalists, but he sent her home during the March finale and gave his final rose to Rachael Kirkconnell. ABC announced that same month that Katie Thurston would be the season 17 Bachelorette, but Michelle would get a chance to hand out the roses for season 18. Scroll through for five things to know about Michelle:

Credit: Courtesy Michelle Young/Instagram; ABC/Craig Sjodin

Who Is Michelle Young? From Matt James’ ‘Bachelor’ Contestant to Bachelorette Season 18

Sporty spice alert! Michelle Young is looking for love as the Bachelorette after joining the competition for Matt James’ heart during January 25 episode of the ABC series. The former football player kicked off his journey with more than 30 women during the January 4 premiere. After a handful of rose ceremonies — and one self-elimination — Matt met five additional contestants: Michelle, Brittany Galvin, Catalina Morales, Kim Li and Ryan Claytor. “It’s just such a great group of women, like, women that you would never think would be single,” Matt gushed exclusively to Us Weekly about his cast ahead of the premiere. “That’s why I was so skeptical coming in, because it’s, like, you don’t think the type of women exists that I was interacting with and that were part of this experience. So it made my life and decision-making that much more difficult because you’re having to send home an incredible amount at times because there’s so many of them.” Matt previously gave Bachelorette alums Mike Johnson and Bryan Abasolo more insight into his dating history. [jwplayer VmWIp1Jn-zhNYySv2] "People for some reason think I don't like Black women. The last women I've dated have all been Black women. I don't understand why that's so hard for people to understand. People should want you to be happy, regardless of if they're white, they're Black, they're Asian, whatever,” Matt, who is biracial, explained on the “Talking It Out with Mike & Bryan” podcast on January 18. "I've dated all across the board. Spanish women, white women, Asian women, Black women. Everything that I've ever dated and what I'm into isn't race-specific, and when you're looking for things that aren't race-specific, you have to have a broad cast of characters to fill all those things, and thank goodness they had it, because it allowed me to enjoy the process the way that I did." Michelle ended up as one of Matt’s finalists, but he sent her home during the March finale and gave his final rose to Rachael Kirkconnell. ABC announced that same month that Katie Thurston would be the season 17 Bachelorette, but Michelle would get a chance to hand out the roses for season 18. Scroll through for five things to know about Michelle:

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

1. She’s a Former Division I Basketball Player

Michelle played basketball at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois from 2011 to 2015.

Credit: Courtesy Michelle Young/Instagram

2. She’s an Elementary School Teacher

Michelle most recently worked as a fifth-grade teacher in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Credit: Courtesy Michelle Young/Instagram

3. She Just Joined Instagram in 2020

While some Bachelor contestants are accused of going on the show to gain social media followers, Michelle wasn’t even on Instagram until April 2020 — and she’s only posted a handful of times.

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

4. She’s Younger Than Matt

While Michelle certainly wasn't the youngest of Matt’s contestants, she is two years younger than the 29-year-old lead. After turning 28 in June, Michelle's youngest Bachelorette contestant is 25 and oldest is 38.

Credit: YouTube

5. What She’s Looking for in a Man

“Her dream man is confident but not cocky and will look at her as his equal in all things,” her ABC bio reads. “Michelle has big dreams for the future and says she wants a man by her side that is supportive and driven to make the world a better place. She is looking for the superman to her superwoman and says that, together, she hopes that she and Matt can fall in love and change the world.”