'Bachelorette' Michelle axes man on 1st night with files on how to win, get airtime
Bachelorette Premiere
NEW YORK -- Michelle Young is a fifth-grade teacher and this season's "Bachelorette." "How many boyfriends will you have Miss Young?" her pupil asked. Too many! Well, hopefully, she can narrow it down to one in the end. You may remember her from Matt James' season of "The Bachelor" where she left brokenhearted and was the second to last woman standing. Now, she's getting her own shot at love.
The 28-year-old beauty from Minnesota will choose among 30 men! She grew up with a white mother and a Black father, and they've been married for a long time. Michelle is striving to find someone to have the kind of relationship that they have. Michelle's mom said her dad always puts her first and she wants that for her daughter. They are extremely supportive.
She drove a red convertible up to the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa in Indian Wells, California. She met up with co-hosts Tayshia and Kaitlyn who aim to help her find her great love. "School's out for summer, bring on the men!" Michelle said.
Meet Some of the Men
Chris is a 28-year-old commodities broker from New Orleans originally but he now lives in West Hollywood, California. He calls himself a southern gentleman and even got his eyebrows waxed before appearing on the show. Chris says he's a mama's boy who played basketball and loves to help people. He seems genuine!
Joe is a 28-year-old real estate developer from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He works on building and renovating properties. He's also bi-racial like Michelle and he says they graduated the same year and both played basketball.
Clayton is also 28 and works as a medical sales representative from Columbia, Missouri. He says he's super close with his family, especially his two younger brothers. He played football in college at the D1 level so he thinks he can relate to Michelle through their love of sports.
Brandon Jones is a 26-year-old traveling nurse recruiter from Portland, Oregon. He calls himself a "fun guy" who is into sports but also is ready to start a family. He helped raised his brother while his parents were busy working.
Nayte is a 27-year-old sales executive from Austin, Texas. He's a Canadian though! Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He said that he loves road trips. He respects teachers because his mother is also a teacher. He's a tall drink of water at 6'8"!
Chris G. is a 28-year-old motivational speaker from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He helps kids through a non-profit to help them plan their futures. Tayshia and Kaitlyn paid him a visit, among others, to help them before they meet Michelle.
As the co-hosts went around meeting the men, they kicked the guys out of their rooms to peek through their toiletries and see if they keep their rooms tidy.
Continuing on...Ryan is a 30-year-old environmental consultant from San Jose, California. He still lives and works on the same ranch he was born on. He loves to work with his hands in the field and he said, "I can plow a field ladies." Oh no...while investigating his hotel room, Kaitlyn and Tayshia find file folders that contain page after page of notes on the show. It talks about who to emulate from the show and how to get more screen time. Yikes. This screams huge red flag. Kaitlyn and Tayshia had no clue what they should do with that information when they found it. Apparently, nothing right away until the cameras were rolling...
Limo Arrivals!
Cue the limos! It's time for Michelle to meet her 30 men. Let's break down the introductions.
Nayte who we just met was the first man out. He told Michelle that she looked amazing. He has a long formal name but tells her to call her Nayte and added, "It's better Nayte than never!" Michelle busted out laughing! She liked his humor. "That was a good start," she said.
Romeo is a 32-year-old mathematician from New York City who came out of the limo speaking French. He said, "My name is Romeo and I hope you'll be my Juliet." He assured her their relationship wouldn't end in tragedy.
Jack is 30 years old and a former Army officer from Philadelphia. He told her his name is Jack Russell like the dog and he's loyal and "ready to play tug of war for her heart."
Clayton who we met earlier was up next and hiding something behind his back. He talked about her being a teacher and said that he used to get in trouble as a student, so he gave her a ruler to smack him with if he gets out of line. He gave her one free swing at his booty. She gave him a little love tap and as he walked away said, "Clayton is cute!"
Jamie is 32 and a biotech CEO from San Diego, California. Michelle complimented his tan suit and he told Michelle, "Yo, that was just fabric before you brought it to life," about her dress. Michelle thought he had positive energy and swag.
Chris G., our motivational speaker, called Michelle a "rose in a field full of daisies."
Mollique is a 36-year-old academic administrator from San Diego. He said that he hopes that he's her person.
Alec is 29 years old and an engineer from North Charleston, South Carolina. He told Michelle she, "seems like an amazing girl and the total package."
Will is a 28-year-old academic interventionist from Grand Rapids, Michigan. He came out speaking Spanish and telling her she's beautiful and that he can't wait to spend more time with her.
Pardeep is a 30-year-old neuroscientist from Brooklyn, New York with a sense of humor. He said his dopamine was on fire after seeing her.
Olu is 27 years old and works as an IT analyst in Newark, New Jersey. He said that it felt like NBA draft night. "I'm hoping I could be your number one pick," he said.
Then a school bus drove up! Chris S., who we met earlier, came out in a school boy's outfit. Michelle told him that he shouldn't stick his head out the bus window, ha ha. "I've never been so excited to come back to school, but you might have to take an exam of mine!" he said. They had a fun back and forth and Michelle called him, "pleasantly smooth."
Garrett is a 33-year-old tech CEO from Salt Lake City who broke his foot right before he arrives. So he's walking around with a cane.
Casey is a 36-year-old advertising creative director from Miami Beach, Florida. He played that hand-slapping game with her.
Brandon K. a 29-year-old brand manager from Austin, pulled out a big gaudy necklace and he said you have to show me your...heart. Michelle found it awkward.
LT is a 38-year-old yoga guru from Bellevue, Washington. He exited the limo wearing a tux on top, and a little Spedo-like tux on his bottom. "Best tux I've seen all night," Michelle joked. Then he asked her if she felt relaxed.
Then, a staff member wheeled out a table, dinner cart really, with a cover on it. Michelle didn't know if she was supposed to open it, but she did, and Rick was inside! He's a 32-year-old medical sales representative from Los Angeles. He told her that she was stunning. He said he wanted to tell her about "the special tonight." "I want you to enjoy your appetizers tonight, but when you're ready for your main course, come and find me." Then the staff member wheeled him into the room with the guys. "Send it back!" the other men said.
A happy ice truck playing music pulled up and our farmer Ryan yelled out, "Did someone named Michelle order a double scoop of love?" "I sure did!" Michelle replied. He hopped out of the truck and said a lot of ice cream puns. "You did your homework," Michelle marveled. You have no idea, Michelle. Remember, this is the guy with the file folders of plans on how to win or get the best edit and screen time.
Rodney is 29-years-old and a sales representative from Rancho Cucamonga, California. He exited the limo dressed like an apple! Even though he was dressed as a red apple he called himself a granny smith (those are green). "You're obviously my favorite teacher, but I'm just trying to be the apple of your eye."
Peter is a 26-year-old pizzapreneur from Port St. Joe, Florida. He screamed in Italian and threw a lump of pizza dough in the air that landed on the ground. She asked him if he's actually good at making pizza and he teased that she'll have to wait and see.
Daniel is a 26-year-old firefighter from Austin who pushed his way up on a child's firetruck toy with a toy fire hat blaring. He called Michelle a smoke show.
Then a real, huge fire truck with a real horn blowing pulled up. Poor Daniel! Even Michelle felt bad for him. But then, PJ, a 30-year-old firefighter from Houston, came out of the front of the truck with swag. Michelle told PJ that Daniel's truck couldn't compare to PJ's.
Brandon Jones from earlier came rolling in on a bed! He wanted to show her what it would be like waking up to him every morning. Michelle found it hot and steamy!
Spencer a 25-year-old financial crimes analyst from Cleveland came in bouncing two basketballs.
Bryan, 31, is an NFL player from Chicago. He dipped Michelle with a little dance move.
JoMarri is a 26-year-old personal trainer from Fresno and he broke his suit apart in front of her to show off his arms.
Edward came with a metal bowl where he made relaxing tones. He's a 27-year-old wellness coach from Los Angeles.
Leroy took a Polaroid picture with Michelle. He's a 27-year-old biomedical Ph.D. student in Dallas.
Martin is 29-years-old and also a personal trainer from Miami. He did a flip and told Michelle he's "already flipping crazy for you."
Remember Joe from before? He came out next and Michelle thought he looked really familiar. Michelle learned that they are from the same area. "Have I met you before?" Michelle said. "Have I slid into your DMs...is your last name Coleman?" "Yeah, that's me," Joe said as he walked away. Tayshia and Kaitlyn came out to find out what that exchange was all about. "We messaged briefly about basketball and then he ghosted me," Michelle revealed. She said she's interested still, but needs to learn more.
Cocktail Party Begins
That was it, finally, it was time for Michelle to start her journey with all 30 men! She made her grand entrance as the men cheered for her. She said she was so excited, and then looked down at the dinner service cart and said, "Rick," as he was still in there, and started laughing. She talked about her parents to the men and their love story and how she's searching for the same.
Jamie stole Michelle away first and he told her that she "smiles with her spirit." Michelle found that there were no awkward moments with him. "It's our show, they're just here to watch," Jamie joked.
The pizzapreneur Peter set up a cannoli station with red wine. He said that he made them just for her. Michelle revealed that she never had one before. She loved it and they enjoyed a great snack together.
Joe was really nervous and Michelle asked him to go chat. She told him that she was surprised to see him there. She asked him why he wasn't messaging her back. He said the shootings and murders near where he lived and worked, George Floyd Square, he said he wasn't in a place to start a relationship. He said he should have handled it better. Michelle said that she's very understanding and a woman of color who was going through it all too, so she said all he had to do was say the word that he needed understanding and he would have gotten it. She didn't feel very respected in that circumstance. How do I know you aren't going to shut down again?" He said that he was working on it since they last spoke and he even went to therapy. "I truly came for you," he said. "I have a lot to think about," she said.
Meantime, poor Rick got wheeled in towards Michelle. She found it so odd! "It's been difficult without you," Rick said. Michelle went over to feed him. Finally, he came out from under the table and gave her a hug. "I just wanted to make you laugh and make you smile," he said. He talked about how he knows it can be stuffy and serious and he wants to keep it fun for her. "I can feed you some food or something to pay you back," Rick said. He rattled off that he wants to get married and have kids someday, she found him charming!
Michelle spoke to the apple of her eye Rodney and called himself out for saying that he's a red granny smith apple. He cracked up at his mistake. "You really know a lot about your apples," he said.
Ryan had a plan to steal her away but it was taking him a while to pull it off. He eventually was able to take her to his ice cream truck to where he had ices waiting for them. Ryan talked to her about how he coaches for the Special Olympics. Michelle said they definitely had a spark.
Ryan's Files Revealed
Then, Tayshia and Kaitlyn decided that was the time to reveal what they found out about Ryan. I mean, they could have told her way earlier but what's the fun in that. Kind of unfair to let her gain feelings and then disturb her on her night one. Michelle said, "Ice cream Ryan," laughing and looked down. Michelle came back down the stairs and asked Ryan to talk. She was nearly in tears when she told him what Tayshia and Kaitlyn found. He told her that he's really new to "The Bachelor" and didn't know what to expect from it. He said that his friend's wife wrote that stuff. They then went to his hotel room to go over the notes and have an open and honest conversation. The other men were floored as to what could be going on. This was so awkward! "This is my dream girls and dating list," he said. "I'm telling you that the person you spoke to out there is 100% genuine." Michelle was disturbed and then Ryan offered to leave the room. "There's nothing there to find, it's just my notes," he said. After going through it all, Michelle told Ryan that she's not okay with starting a relationship with red flags. "I'm going to choose to listen to my red flags," she said. He asked for a second chance, but Michelle said no and that she was going to walk him out. Probably the right move. Maybe he'll get a chance in Paradise...so much for that good edit he was after.
Michelle came back into the room full of men and explained that there were red flags with him so she sent him home. "I am not for a play-by-play book of how to get screen time and how not to be a villain," she said. They then continued the cocktail party. Nayte grabbed her next and he was just what she needed to reset. He apologized for interrupting her for commenting on her eyes and Michelle said he just seemed a bit nervous but not that bad. Nayte revealed that his family isn't like hers, but he had "the best childhood ever." His parents are divorced and his mom divorced his step-dad recently who is like his best friend. "I've never seen my parents kiss," he revealed. "I want my kids to be able to see those things." Michelle told him, "You are growing when you are uncomfortable." "I'm enjoying this experience so far," he said. He gushed and said he's ready to tell her everything about himself.
First Impression Rose
Enter the first impression rose...who will get it? That rose definitely raised the tension in the room. Brandon James took his chance at some time with her. Michelle told him that he's really smooth. He described himself as fun, truthful and caring when pressed to describe himself. He added that he's goofy but competitive. They seemed to make a nice connection.
Michelle picked up the first impression rose and asked Nayte to go talk. The other guys were so bummed! But, Michelle told Nayte that she was impressed by him being himself and offered him the rose. He accepted it and then laid a kiss on her! First kiss, first rose! At least that we could see! She said that she had butterflies.
Rose Ceremony
1) Nayte (first impression rose)
2) Jamie
3) Leroy
4) Martin
5) Spencer
6) Rick
7) Clayton
8) Peter
9) PJ
10) Blake
11) Romeo
12) Daniel
13) Brandon Jones
14) Will
15) Chris S.
16) Rodney
17) Alec
18) Pardeep
19) Christopher G.
20) Casey
21) Olu
22) LT
She then put down her last rose and said, "Please excuse me." She took a minute to walk around and take a breather and then walked back in.
23) Joe
Despite the red flags, she gave Joe her last rose. Personally, I think she should have cut him loose. He could have had her as his girlfriend without going through all this and threw that chance away! Of course, he's there because you're "The Bachelorette." I hope he proves me wrong.
Preview of This Season
Coming up this season on "The Bachelorette" there is a medieval battle, time on a farm, some fun on boats, and of course time in a race car, planes, and I'm guessing some hot tubs. "These guys are the best guys I've met in my whole life," she said. The guys bring the drama when they find out Joe knows her from his past and also for some reason they think Nayte is a player. Is he? Someone calls Will a rat, and there are guys crying. It wouldn't be "The Bachelorette" without some tears! Here's hoping all of those tears will lead to love for our leading lady Michelle.
Michelle Talks about Night 1 as 'The Bachelorette'
ALSO READ: Meet the 30 men vying for Michelle Young's heart on 'The Bachelorette'
