Nayte Olukoya got candid about why he ended his engagement with “The Bachelorette” alum Michelle Young. The duo previously announced their split in June, months after they announced their engagement.
While informing the public, Young claimed that the decision to end things blindsided her; however, in a recent interview, Olukoya contradicted her statement. The reality star claimed that they had several issues before the split and had talked about breaking up two times prior.
The 27-year-old further revealed that the couple started having issues as early as January 1, just over a week after “The Bachelorette” season finale ended. According to Olukoya, he ended things over the phone during the 29-year-old’s birthday weekend.
Read on to learn more.
Nayte Olukoya And Michelle Young Fought Two Weeks After Season Finale
Olukoya and Young, the end-game couple in season 18 of “The Bachelorette,” called it quits earlier this year. According to reports, the engagement was ended over the phone by the 27-year-old. He joined Nick Viall in “The Vialls Files” podcast on Thursday and discussed what led to it.
Olukoya revealed that he started having problems in his relationship with Young on January 1 when the couple had their first big fight and a similarly big disagreement the next day. The date was barely two weeks after “The Bachelorette” came to an end on December 21.
The reality star recalled, “We just stopped clicking… Communication broke down. January 2 — I remember it like it was yesterday. It was like, ‘What’s going on right now?’ I fell in love with this woman, and then, like, I’m not saying that she changed into, like, this terrible person, but it just wasn’t the same really quick.”
‘It Was Just A Red Flag’
As per Us Weekly, the reality star was asked if he thought the duo could get back together sometime in the future but didn’t give an encouraging answer. According to him, the breakup took “nearly a week to finalize.” It mainly consisted of several “late-night conversations, texting phone calls, FaceTimes, things like that.”
Olukoya went on to list the number of insecurities the couple had while dating. He mentioned a time when he saw Young talking to a “very famous country singer”; however she deleted the entire conversation not long after.
When he quizzed her about it, the “Bachelor Happy Hour” cohost said she was meant to meet up with the celebrity with her friends for a pick-up basketball game and also get drinks with him. Olukoya claimed the story wasn’t backed up by one of her friends.
“She apologized for making me feel like I couldn’t trust her… Ever since that day, I have had a little bit of trust issues,” the reality star said. “It was just a red flag. She had apologized, and she made sure that I knew that it was nothing.”
Nayte Olukoya Broke The Engagement Over The Phone
The reality star went on to explain that he didn’t move to Minnesota as he planned in March because he wanted to figure out if they were truly compatible. The arguments in January reportedly played a role in his decision to hold off the move.
Olukoya revealed that he eventually decided to put an end to the engagement on Young’s birthday weekend over the phone. The weekend saw the couple involved in several misunderstandings, and Young’s friends were reportedly not having the best time either.
“I broke up with her over the phone,” the 27-year-old recalled. “You don’t want to break up with someone, especially your fiancée, over the phone. It was her birthday weekend. We’re all here in L.A. because her and I got invited to this Wango Tango event.”
He explained that things between the couple were “kind of rocky” at the start of the weekend and gradually worsened. “Her and I got into an argument right before doing all those press interviews and whatnot,” the reality star said.
Nayte Olukoya Said The Breakup Had Some Build Up
Since their breakup was announced in June, Young has not said much about it. However, she joined “The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast” and revealed (via People) that she did not foresee the relationship ending; however, she would “leave it there.”
Despite this, Olukoya claimed the breakup had some buildup from their previous quarrels. He said that he and Young had visited the issue of splitting up two times prior, and with how everything played out in Los Angeles, the split wasn’t too far off.
Olukoya said, “If Michelle felt blindsided, I can’t take that away from her, but I know the reality of it is, this wasn’t our first time talking about a breakup. The day I left L.A., the conversation was kind of heading already towards a breakup. It wasn’t our first time having breakup conversations. It was probably our third time having a breakup conversation.”