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The Bachelorette Season 18 finale was guaranteed to give ABC its first couple of color, with Michelle Young picking between Brandon Jones and Nayte Olukoya. And the last episode of the season was one of the tightest for years, with Michelle saying she was in love with both men.
Brandon seemed to have the early lead after he got on so well with both of Michelle's parents. But then Nayte and Michelle felt a real connection on their final date.
As it got closer to Michelle's final decision, both men picked out a ring. But ultimately there would only be one proposal.
The winning suitor then appeared on the "After the Final Rose" special, where The Bachelorette fans got to find out how the couple has been getting on in the months since they filmed the season.
Who Did Michelle Pick on The Bachelorette?
Throughout the episode, Brandon had the lead on Nayte. After all, it was not just that Michelle's parents preferred Brandon – they seemed to actively dislike Nayte, which made him more nervous and start tripping up on his words. He even mistakenly told Michelle's mother LaVonne that he didn't take love seriously.
In contrast, Brandon seemed to make all the right moves. He had met Michelle's parents multiple times, and had charmed them every time. He gave her the sweatshirt he wore on the first day they met, and after her date with Nayte he left a letter for her telling her to follow her heart.
That letter may have been a miscalculation, because she did follow her heart – straight to the other guy. When it came down to choosing, she said her heart was with Nayte. This lead to the heartbreaking scene of Brandon walking away, saying he felt he had given everything he had to this process and was now broken – though ABC will surely be adding him to the Bachelor in Paradise line-up in an attempt to fix that.
In his engagement speech, Nayte said that he wanted to run away with her – something he might need to do seeing as the pair live in different countries (Nayte lives in Winnipeg) amid the global pandemic.
Are Michelle and Nayte Still Together?
As of the After the Final Rose special, which was filmed a few weeks before The Bachelorette Season 18 finale aired, they definitely were.
On that show, ABC invested in the future of the couple – literally, by gifting them a down payment on their first house together. This comes after a rocky year for Bachelorette couples, with Katie Thurston and Blake Moynes ending it after a few months and Tayshia Cole and Zac Clark also breaking up.
A few hours after the After the Final Rose special aired, Michelle paid tribute to Nayte on her Instagram with a poem that begins: "Dear SoulNayte, Stepping into the role as The Bachelorette I was optimistic with what I would find. I hoped for a best friend, a life long partner, but I truly landed one of a kind."
Nayte (or, as his Instagram reveals his first name to be, Babatunde) also paid tribute to his fiancée on his social media with a long message that begins: "Michelle, ever since September 9th, 2021, when I got on one knee to ask you to spend the rest of our lives together, it has been an absolute dream come true. Who would have ever thought that a reality tv show could actually work out as perfectly as it did for us. Regardless of the edit, we know our true story."
The Bachelorette Season 18 is now airing in full on Hulu. The Bachelor Season 26 starts Monday, January 3 on ABC.
