Michelle Youngknew how she wanted to approach her time as the next lead ofThe Bachelorette.
Coming from her job as an elementary school teacher, Young, who was therunner-uponMatt James' season ofThe Bachelor, said she’s accustomed to being in a position where “everybody’s watching.” But “this situation,” she said, is “so different.”
“It’s so abnormal because you are showcasing a relationship and multiple relationships on national television,” the Minnesota native continued. “But what I can say is that there is a world where you can handle yourself, where you can be a teacher, but then you can also have a life and you can live your life. And, you know, teaching’s one part of me and it’s a very big passionate part of me, but what makes me a good teacher was staying balanced on the other side of that.”
JC Olivera/ABC
One of thepromos for Young’s seasonteased that she actually already knew one of the 30 men vying for her heart from back home. “It was something that really surprised me,” she admitted. “I was not expecting [that]. And everyone’s going to have to wait and see how that whole thing plays out.”
Addressing rumors that her suitor Clayton Echard is the new Bachelor, Young simply teased: “There were so many men who are good catches on my season. And so yes, Clayton is definitely one of those.”
ABC/Sami Drasin
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free weekly newsletterto get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.
Young had support throughout her journey from franchise vetsTayshia AdamsandKaitlyn Bristowe, who co-hosted her season. “They will always have my back,” Young said. “You know, women, we can be FBI agents if we need to, and we’re going to get down to the bottom of it.”
Bristowe, 36, said she “was genuinely there to support a friend, lift her up when she was down, and tell her her feelings are totally valid.”
“The whole reason Tayshia and I are there for Michelle is to kind of have extra eyes and look out for her heart,” Bristowe added. “Of course there’s going to be dramatic guys, but if somebody is coming in with bad intentions, we’re there to let her know.”
Bristowe and Adams, 31, uncovered thatone of Young’s suitors came with a playbookon how to succeed on the show. “I don’t think Kaitlyn and I have ever witnessed anything like that before, and it kind of had a few red flags in it,” Adams said. “So that’s really our jobs, to raise awareness when needed.”
“Wedding to me is something private and I share way too much of on social media anyways,” theOff the Vinepodcast host said. “I mean, I’ll probably have my Instagram Stories out at the wedding, but not televised, no.”
Adams said she and fiancéZac Clarkcontinue to focus on “making memories” together.
“We’ve had the best time,” theClick Bait with Bachelor Nationpodcast co-host said. “We’re shooting for the stars here.”
The Bacheloretteseason 18 premieres Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
source: people.com
