The Bachelorette: Catch Michelle Giving Her First Impression

After sending a guy home during the first cocktail party of season 18 of ‘The Bachelorette,’ Michelle Young’s night took a turn for the best when she chatted with one special man.

Nayte Olukoya was the lucky guy who got Michelle Young’s first impression rose on the Oct. 19 premiere of The Bachelorette. In his opening package, Nayte gushed over how excited he was to meet the Bachelorette. “Michelle is gorgeous, okay? Michelle is stunning,” he said. “She’s a teacher. My mom’s a teacher. I have crazy respect for teachers, and knowing that she’s a teacher has me believing that she’s a person who’s going to want conversations that are not superficial. That’s what I’m looking for.”

To kick off the show, Michelle met 30 guys before the first cocktail party, and she formed a connection with Nayte right off the bat. He was the first one out of the limo to meet Michelle. “I won’t take too much of your time,” he told her, to which she replied, “Take as much time as you need!” Nayte’s opening line continued, “I just want to say I’m so happy to be here with you right now and I’m looking forward to seeing if you and I have what each other is looking for. Before we start that journey, I just want to say — it’s better Nayte than ever!”

Michelle cracked up at Nayte’s joke and let him know that she “loved” it. After he went inside the resort, Michelle told the cameras, “That was a good start. Nayte! I like Nayte.” She was giddy as she looked back on her brief but fun conversation with the 6’8″ contestant.

The Bachelorette

After a few more good conversations, Nayte still stuck out in Michelle’s mind, and she presented him with the first impression rose. “I wanted to start by telling you how, when we were talking earlier tonight, you kind of expressed that it was difficult for you to be vulnerable and that it might be something that you ease into,” Michelle said. “But I truly saw you push yourself and even as you opened up, you were completely Nayte. Nothing but Nayte!”

Of course, Nayte accepted the rose, and they sealed the deal by making out. Nayte was her first kiss of the season, too. “Nate struggles with being vulnerable, but a wall came down, and for me, that’s all I needed to see,” Michelle concluded. “I feel what I came here to feel — sparks, butterflies, and everything that you wanna feel when you kiss someone!”