Photo courtesy of ABC
Michelle Young in the Bachelorette premiere
What is it about Minnesota and our Bachelorettes?
Just a few years after Becca Kufrin, from Prior Lake, wooed America as the 14th Bachelorette, Woodbury High graduate Michelle Young will star in the ABC quasi-reality show this fall. In the premiere on Tuesday, October 19, 28-year-old Michelle will meet some 30 eligible (uh, we hope) men who will compete to win her heart—or at least a few Instagram sponsorships. Here are a few things to know about our newest local celebrity.
Michelle requested that her season film during the summer, so she wouldn’t miss school.
Michelle, an elementary school teacher in Burnsville, told the network didn’t want filming to interfere with her kids’ learning process, so they filmed during July and August of this year.
Some of the season was taped in Minnesota.
While we don’t know exactly how much of the series will take place in the Twin Cities, we do know that, according to Marie Claire, part of the season was filmed at the Marquette Hotel downtown and that the cast likely stayed there for a time. (The first part of the season will take place at a resort in Palm Springs.) Other places the crew has been spotted, according to Cosmopolitan and the all-knowing Reality Steve: the Stone Arch Bridge, Lord Fletcher’s, Target Field (on a date with—spoilers—a certain someone discussed below), the Mill City Museum, and locations around Lake Minnetonka. Nothing like summer in Minnesota for falling in love, eh?
One contestant is also from Minneapolis.
Will the Minnesota connection be enough for Michelle to keep Joe Coleman around? He’s also a former University of Minnesota basketball player (Michelle also played D1 ball at Bradley University in Illinois), 28 (same age as her), a real estate developer, and “loves snacks,” according to his ABC bio—so he may be one to watch.
Michelle is the show’s third-ever Black Bachelorette.
She follows The Bachelorette season 13 star Rachel Lindsay, a former attorney from Dallas who recently spoke about her experience with the franchise, including many incidents of racism and immense pressure, for New York magazine; and season 16 Bachelorette Tayshia Adams, who replaced Clare Crawley.
Like last season (the one starring Katie Thurston), former Bachelorettes Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe will host.
Watch The Bachelorette Tuesdays at 7 p.m. CST on KSTP (ABC).
