Last night’s episode of The Bachelorette was packed with drama.
Usually, the drama happens amongst the men. However, last night, rumors circulated that Michelle Young, The Bachelorette herself, was in a relationship with one of the contestants on the show before filming started.
Well, by circulated, we mean known by one man. Jamie Skaar had a revelation during the cocktail party that his friend told him prior to filming that Michelle was spotted with a “light-skinned baller.”
During the basketball group date, it became clear that Joe Coleman was “Mr. Minnesota Basketball 2012” and proved it with his skills on the court.
Since Michelle is also from Minnesota and immersed in the basketball world, Jamie naturally assumed Joe was the man she was spotted with.
Jamie expressed his suspicions to a couple of fellow contestants then immediately confronted Michelle about the “rumors going around.”
When he told Michelle, he told her the whole house was talking about these rumors. Michelle appeared shocked at the news. She thanked Jamie for telling her but told him she needed a minute.
Michelle Young actually did know Joe before The Bachelorette
Little did Jamie know, Michelle actually did know Joe before filming— but not in the way that he thought.
During the Bachelorette premiere, Michelle revealed that she had slid into Joe’s DMs back in 2020 before she filmed for Matt James’s season of The Bachelor.
However, he had ghosted her. That awkward moment came to light on premiere night when he went on national TV to pursue her. Regardless, it seems that Michelle has gotten past that and is giving him a fair shot.
Michelle denies that she dated Joe Coleman before The Bachelorette
Michelle addressed the men in a very teacher-like manner, explaining the situation and then asking the men if they had any questions.
“I was made aware that there was a lot of conversation in the house about whether or not Joe and I knew each other before,” Michelle clarified to her men. “What I want you guys to know is that, that first night when all of y’all walked in was the first night that I was meeting every single one of you for the first time.”
She even admitted her DM exchange with Joe.
“Joe and I exchanged a few messages quite a few years back,” she stated. “We kind of joke about it now, but Joe ghosted me after two messages and that was that.”
When none of the men had come forward with any questions, Michelle left and canceled the cocktail party.
After Michelle left, the majority of the men stated that they had no idea what Michelle was talking about and that they hadn’t heard the rumors Michelle said were spreading.
They then deduced that the rumors likely started and ended with one man and tried to figure out who it was.
Jamie stayed silent but if he isn’t exposed later on in the season, he certainly was last night when the episode aired.
The Bachelorette airs on Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC.