The Bachelorette 's Michelle Young and Nayte Olukoya End Their Engagement 6 Months After Finale Airs

BreAnna Bell
·3 min read
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THE BACHELORETTE - "After the Final Rose" - The roses have all been handed out, "The Bachelorette" herself, Michelle Young, returns.
THE BACHELORETTE - "After the Final Rose" - The roses have all been handed out, "The Bachelorette" herself, Michelle Young, returns.

ABC/Christopher Willard

Michelle Young and Nayte Olukoya have officially ended their engagement.

Both of the Bachelorette alums announced their breakup on their respective Instagram Stories on Friday, each penning a lengthy statement on the social media platform. The announcement comes just six months after the couple got engaged on her season of the beloved reality series.

"I'm struggling to say that Nayte and I will be going our separate ways, but I stand with him in knowing the heaviness that is present in both of our hearts as this relationship has been very real for us," Young, 28, wrote on her Story, noting that having her relationship in the public eye "has not been easy."

RELATED: Michelle Young and Nayte Olukoya Make History as The Bachelorette's First Couple of Color

Bachelorette Couple Michelle Young and Nayte Olukoya Call it Quits
Bachelorette Couple Michelle Young and Nayte Olukoya Call it Quits

Michelle Young/instagram

She went on to address Olukoya personally, telling her former fiancé that he "quickly became her best friend" and "the love I have for you is incredibly strong."

"I will never stop wanting to see you succeed," she added.

"I will always acknowledge and appreciate the adventures, support, and growth both Nayte and this experience have brought me," Young continued in her statement. "At the same time, I'm deeply hurting and will need time and space to work through this heartbreak."

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Olukoya, 27, addressed his breakup from Young in a statement posted at the same time, writing, "When we both started this journey, we were looking for our Soulmates. Our forever. Our best friends."

"However, as we grow and learn, we also realize that sometimes somebody that you hold dear to your heart isn't somebody that you're meant to spend the rest of your life with," he continued.

RELATED: Michelle Young Says She 'Hit the Jackpot' with Fiancé Nayte Olukoya: 'Feels Pretty Good'

Bachelorette Couple Michelle Young and Nayte Olukoya Call it Quits
Bachelorette Couple Michelle Young and Nayte Olukoya Call it Quits

Nayte Olukoy/instagram

"Hearts are heavy, emotions are high, and we are dealing with this the best way we can... We genuinely fell in love, and we genuinely became each other's best friends. Michelle and I will always cheer each other on, but moving forward, we will be cheering from a distance," he added of their relationship, before reminding his 300k followers that he and Young are both "human beings going through a breakup," asking for privacy during this time.

RELATED VIDEO: Nayte Olukoya Opens Up About Why He Was Finally Confident Enough to Get Down on One Knee in 'The Bachelorette' Finale

News of the couple going their separate ways comes a little over a month after Young shut down rumors of a split. After video of the former teacher not wearing her engagement ring circulated, fans began to speculate that the engagement was off.

"There is a video circulating of me on a rooftop this weekend and I'm not wearing my engagement ring," she said. "And what I will have to say is to the person who is paying close enough attention to catch that moment, you also had to be paying close enough attention to see one of my friends briefly remove my engagement ring to try it on and then place it back on my finger," she said on Instagram at the time.

Young added, "Just a friendly reminder that Nayte and I, we are human beings — not a zoo exhibit."