This post contains spoilers from Tuesday’s season premiere ofThe Bachelorette.
Time to hit the books:Michelle Young’s season ofThe Bachelorettehas officially begun.
Michelle, who wasthe runner-uponMatt James' season ofThe Bachelor, mether group of 30 menon Tuesday night’s episode and found herself immediately confronted with some tough decisions.
“I’m looking for somebody who is genuine and passionate, completely authentic,” Michelle, 28, said ahead of meeting her suitors.
While going through Ryan’s room, Tayshia and Kaitlyn found his notes about how to score more screen time, how to get a good edit, who to emulate from the franchise and his overall strategy for the show. But first, Michelle had to meet him.
Michelle Young.ABC/Craig Sjodin
ARRIVALS
The limousine arrivals kicked off with sales executive Nayte, 27, stepping out first at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa in Indian Wells, Calif. “Before we start this journey I just want to say, it’s better Nayte than never,” he told Michelle. The Bachelorette deemed the entrance “a good start.”
Clayton, 28, presented Michelle with a yardstick “in case I do happen to get out of line.” The medical sales representative offered Michelle one free swing, so she gave him a gentle spank. “I’m going to be nice. It’s your first day of school,” Michelle quipped.
ABC/Craig Sjodin
Biotech CEO Jamie, 32, arrived next. “Jamie’s got some swag to him and he has this positive energy,” Michelle told the cameras. “He’s one that definitely caught my eye.”
IT analyst Olu, 27, kept the night going and 28-year-old Chris S. arrived in a school bus and uniform. “I’ve never been so excited to come back to school, but you might have to take an exam of mine,” the commodities broker said to Michelle. “I might give you a D … diamond.”
Michelle responded, “You’re definitely going to be in detention.”
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Garett, 33, tech CEO walked over using a cane to assist with his broken foot; advertising creative director Casey, 36, played slapsies with Michelle, and brand manager Brandon K., 29, brought some giant Mardi Gras beads for the woman of the hour and asked her to show him her … heart.
Yoga guru LT, 28, trotted in wearing a tuxedo-printed banana hammock. “I’m trying to maintain eye contact,” Michelle joked.
Next, a cart got wheeled out with a bowl of strawberries and a covered silver serving dish. When Michelle uncovered it, she found the head of Rick, 32. The medical sales rep introduced himself as the night’s special. “I want you to enjoy your appetizers tonight, but when you’re ready for your main course, come find me,” he said.
Michelle decided, “Nobody ever looked better than you in a head of lettuce.”
Notetaker Ryan rolled up in an ice cream truck asking, “Did someone named Michelle order a double scoop of love?” “I sure did,” Michelle responded, later adding, “You did your homework.”
Sales representative Rodney, 29, entered in an apple costume. “You’re obviously my favorite teacher,” he told Michelle. “I’m just trying to be the apple of your eye.”
Pizzapreneur Peter walked in spinning some pizza dough. “I change lives one slice at a time,” the 29-year-old said.
Financial crimes analyst Spencer, 25, came in double dribbling basketballs; NFL player Bryan 31, danced with Michelle; and personal trainer JoMarri, 26, tore off his sleeves to show off just how good he is at his job. Wellness coach Edward, 27, tried to help Michelle relax on the nerve-wracking night and biomedical PhD student Leroy, 27, snapped a selfie with the Bachelorette.
Another personal trainer, 29-year-old Martin, did a backflip for Michelle because “I feel like I’m already flippin' crazy about you.” Michelle did a double-take, though, when she met the final arrival of the night, 28-year-old Joe. “You look really familiar,” Michelle said to the real estate developer. Upon learning that he, too, hailed from Minnesota, she made the connection. “Have I met you before? Have I slid into your DMs? Is your last name Coleman?” Michelle asked.
Joe confirmed, “That’s me.”
Michelle explained to Kaitlyn and Tayshia how she knew Joe. “We messaged back and forth about basketball briefly, and then he ghosted me,” she told the co-hosts. Still, Michelle said she remained “kind of interested” in Joe.
COCKTAIL PARTY AND ROSE CEREMONY
“Tonight truly marks the start of an important journey — a journey to hopefully help me find love,” Michelle said to the men at the start of the cocktail party. “My two parents have been married for 33 years and they’re still madly in love, and it’s something that I’m searching for and hoping might be in this room.”
Michelle challenged her suitors to “stay open stay vulnerable and show me your authentic self, because that is what you will always be getting from me.”
After the toast, Jamie pulled Michelle first. “Honestly, this is just our show,” he told Michelle. “They can watch.”
Peter laid out some homemade cannolis and red wine for his time with Michelle. “What is this?” cannoli first-timer Michelle asked. Peter explained, “It’s deliciousness.”
Then Michelle spoke to Joe about the pre-Bacheloretteghosting situation. “I was surprised to get a few responses back and then, you know, someone forgot to hit send,” Michelle said.
Joe offered up his side of the story. “In that situation and that time, I had a lot going on,” he said. “I had a property in George Floyd Square, like three blocks away, and I had a lot of shootings, a lot of murders, a lot of things going on where at the time, it just caused a lot of anxiety. I didn’t feel like I was in a place to open up to somebody and I didn’t know how to express those feelings with you.”
Michelle said she would’ve understood if he talked to her. “You didn’t have to be ready for a relationship, you just had to communicate that you’re not in a good place right now. That’s it,” she continued. “Because for me, respect is a huge thing and my hesitance here tonight is that how do I know you’re not going to shut down again?”
Joe said he’d been working through those emotions in therapy. “I truly came for you,” he promised.
Michelle spoke next to Rick, who’d come out from under the serving cart. “I came here wanting what you said,” he told Michelle. “I want to find a wife. I want to be engaged. I want to have kids. I want to have a family. Those are important things to me.”
Michelle felt “excited” about Rick being on the show. “He was charming, charismatic, and there’s a little bit of chemistry,” she said in an on-camera interview. “I feel like I’m connecting with all these guys.”
Ryan then pulled her onto the ice cream truck he arrived in for a sweet treat. “This man already gets brownie points,” Michelle told the cameras. “I feel like ice cream is kind of like the way to my heart.”
Ryan talked to Michelle about being a coach for the Special Olympics and Michelle confessed in an on-camera interview, “I really did feel a connection with him right off the bat.”
But Tayshia and Kaitlyn felt they needed to warn Michelle about what they discovered earlier in Ryan’s room. “We found a document that one of the guys had, and it had a lot of things about how to act around you, about how not be a ‘villain,'” Tayshia relayed. Kaitlyn named Ryan as the man in question, so Michelle grabbed him immediately to try to understand his intentions.
Ryan claimed to be green when it came toThe Bachelorette. “To be perfectly honest, I’m very new toThe Bachelorand I haven’t seen much of it,” he insisted. “So I had no idea what to expect and I wanted to get to know, who is Michelle?”
That response didn’t satisfy Michelle. “But the notes weren’t about me. The notes were about how you should act,” she said.
Ryan claimed his friend’s wife actually wrote the notes, so Michelle asked to see them in order to have an “open, honest” conversation about the issue. As Michelle perused the papers in Ryan’s room, he told the cameras, “I’m here for the right reasons.”
But Michelle felt differently. “I am not okay with stating a relationship on red flags,” she told him.
“Just give me one chance to make it up to you,” Ryan begged.
Michelle had her mind made up. “You need to respect that I am going to choose to listen to my red flags and so, unfortunately, I will be walking you out,” she said.
Clayton proceeded to chat with Michelle about his mom working as a special education teacher. “Teachers are some of the most passionate, caring, driven people that I’ve met, and made such a positive impact on my life,” he said.
Brandon J. described himself to Michelle as “fun, truthful and caring.” “When someone that I truly, like, deeply have a connection for, I just can’t wait to show you all of me,” he said.
But Michelle ultimately decided that Nayte’s openness deserved the first impression rose.
Nayte said he “most definitely” would, and he and Michelle shared their first kiss.
Michelle excused herself before presenting the final rose to figure out if she wanted to keep Joe after he ghosted her prior to coming on the show. “Why are you popping back up now? Why did you wait? Is it because I’m the Bachelorette?” she wondered in an on-camera interview.
In the end, however, she decided to extend that last rose to Joe.
“Cheers to really beginning the journey!” she toasted with the remaining men.
The Bacheloretteairs Tuesdays (8 p.m. ET) on ABC.
source: people.com
