It looks like Nayte Olukoya just scored some major points with Michelle Young.
The teacher and former Division I basketball player gave him her first impression rose during the season 18 premiere of The Bachelorette on Oct. 19.
Nayte was actually the first contestant to step out of the limo and meet Michelle. “I just want to say I’m, like, so happy to be here with you right now,” he told her, “and I’m looking forward to seeing if you and I have what each other’s looking for.”
They shared a hug, and he made her giggle with his pickup line. “Before we start this journey,” he continued, “I just want to say, ‘It’s better Nayte than never.'”
It soon became clear that Nayte was smitten. “Michelle is amazing,” he said. “People say they have butterflies. I had, like, pigeons in my stomach.”
While the night got off to a great start, Michelle soon learned that not all of the men seemed to be here for the right reasons. For instance, she sent suitor Ryan Fox home after learning he brought notes with him on her and The Bachelor franchise, including, as she put it, a “play-by-play book of how to get screen time and how not to be a villain.”