March 17, 2021 • bachelor insider
Michelle Young Wants to 'Make an Impact' as the Season 18 Bachelorette
Michelle Young made a Wednesday appearance on “Good Morning America” and opened up to correspondent Kaylee Hartung about the thrilling news that she has been named the star of “The Bachelorette” Season 18.
Michelle and fellow “Bachelor” Season 25 standout Katie Thurston were announced as the next Bachelorettes at the end of Monday night’s shocking “After the Final Rose” special, hosted by Emmanuel Acho. While Katie’s Season 17 will debut this summer, Michelle’s cycle will air this fall.
“My first response was, ‘Wait a second, we’re dating the same men and there’s two of us?’ And I was like, ‘I have a lot of questions,’” Michelle said with a laugh, noting that she was relieved to discover she and Katie were given individual cycles.
Elsewhere, Michelle explained how she hopes to be a conduit for progress within Bachelor Nation as the third woman of color to lead “The Bachelorette” — following Season 13’s Rachel Lindsay and Season 16’s Tayshia Adams.
“They know that I’m going to push forward to make an impact in a positive way, and I think they’re kind of jumping on my train to do that with me,” Michelle said of the support she feels from the franchise at large.
The gorgeous schoolteacher from Minnesota also shared her thoughts on the controversy surrounding Matt James’ final rose recipient, Rachael Kirkconnell, whose past racist social media activity came to light shortly after Season 25 premiered.
“I was hurt by what I was seeing,” Michelle recounted. “And I think I was hurt more that I hadn’t heard from her while all this was coming out. This is a very public learning experience, but she did give me a very sincere apology.”
As viewers are aware, unearthed photos show Rachael dressed in antebellum attire at an “Old South”-themed college party in 2018 prior to coming on the show. (She has since apologized for her problematic behavior via social media and during the “AFR” taping.)
Michelle also touched on host Chris Harrison’s ongoing hiatus from the franchise following his “Extra” interview with Rachel Lindsay, during which he defended Rachael Kirkconnell.
“It can’t just be a statement and an apology,” Michelle said of Chris’ multiple apologies and his commitment to being anti-racist. “It has to be continuous actions.”
Looking forward to the future, Michelle revealed the advice she gave Katie as her season of “The Bachelorette” is currently underway in New Mexico.
“I told her to iron out all the kinks before I get there,” she said. “All jokes aside, I just told her to continue to be herself. [There is] nothing better than walking away from this experience knowing that the person that you choose hopefully loves you for exactly who you are.”
Check out Michelle’s entire “GMA” appearance here.