The Bachelorette alum Nayte Olukoya is reportedly not dating The Bachelor alum Deandra Kanu despite recent rumors.
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Rumors recently swirled that Nayte had quickly moved on from Season 18 The Bachelorette star Michelle Young and begun dating Deandra, who competed on Peter Weber's The Bachelor season in 2020.
Deandra and Nayte raised eyebrows when she attended his birthday party with other Bachelor Nation members earlier this month and appeared to be wearing his necklace in photos uploaded on social media.
Michelle reportedly unfollowed -- or blocked, according to speculation -- Nayte on Instagram the same weekend as his party.
"Him giving her his necklace to wear was just a friendly gesture," the source insisted to Us.
"Nayte is single and happy that way -- he's not looking to jump into another relationship right away. He's not dating and he's not on the prowl. He's happy being single."
While photos of Michelle remain on Nayte's Instagram page from their time on The Bachelorette together, Michelle wiped her account clean of Nayte, erasing any trace or memory of him.
Nayte and Michelle announced their split on June 17 via separate statements on their Instagram accounts.
A couple of weeks later, Nayte reportedly moved from Houston, TX, to Los Angeles, CA, to pursue a career as a model.
"It's something that's been in the back of his mind for some time," the Us source said, adding that he also planned to continue working in tech sales for steady income.
Nayte is currently sharing a place with fellow The Bachelorette 18 suitor Rodney Mathews, and the insider said he's "enjoying his summer" with plans to travel more.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWNayte proposed marriage to Michelle on The Bachelorette's Season 18 finale, which aired in December 2021, and the couple appeared blissfully happy. The couple was even gifted a $200,000 check for a down payment on their first house.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
However, Michelle seemingly wanted to stay in her hometown of Minnesota, where her family currently lives and where she also held down a job as a fifth-grade teacher.
Nayte therefore said after the show wrapped that he intended to move to Minneapolis for Michelle in the next two or three months -- which would've been in early 2022 -- and the couple claimed they had already begun house-hunting.
But Nayte clearly never made the move, and he and Michelle continued dating long-distance until they announced their breakup.
Nayte claimed in June via social media that he and Michelle had decided not to move to the same city in order not to rush anything.
"Plans changed as we decided there was no need to rush anything and get to know each other on a deeper level before taking the leap of living together," Nayte wrote via Instagram.
"There's no rush in life. There's no rule book or timeline on how to go about your relationship. We believed that since the love was there, everything would fall into place naturally and in its own time."
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During a May episode of the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast, which is co-hosted by Michelle and Season 14 The Bachelorette alum Becca Kufrin, Michelle explained how she and Nayte had been talking about settling down together.
Michelle suggested that she was ready to cool her jets after traveling to New York, Los Angeles, Mexico, Canada and more.
"I feel like [us moving in together] is the burning question. Every time I do a Q&A online, everyone is like, 'Why haven't you moved in yet? When are you moving in together?'" Michelle said.
"And really, it's just that we're trying to figure out where we want to be and what location we want to be at. It's just a constant, ongoing conversation and kind of depends [on] what next year is going to look like for me."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
Michelle announced in late May that she planned to step out of the classroom in 2023 in order to take a breather from teaching and exit "survival mode."
Michelle subsequently insisted to Ashley Iaconetti on the "Ben & Ashley I: Almost Famous Podcast" that her decision would've been the same regardless of the status of her relationship with Nayte and new career goals to be an influencer.
Michelle, however, noted how a break from teaching would have "naturally" resulted in spending more time with Nayte, suggesting the career change may have been a last-ditch effort to save her romance before he pulled the plug in June.
Neither Michelle or Nayte have explained why exactly they broke up, but Nayte denied ever cheating on Michelle in a June 25 Instagram Stories posting.
"No, I didn't cheat," Nayte reportedly wrote.
"Not every breakup needs to have someone to blame. Yes, many of you seem to paint me as a red flag [or] f-ck boy... But I'm actually a decent guy, and I only want to continue getting better. As we should all want for ourselves."
But Michelle hinted on the July 5 episode of the "Almost Famous Podcast" that Nayte was the one who decided to end their engagement.
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The Bachelorette alum Kaitlyn Bristowe, who hosted Michelle's season alongside Tayshia Adams, confirmed on a recent episode of her "Off the Vine" podcast that she has spoken to Michelle and Michelle was "definitely blindsided" by the "abrupt" breakup.
"She was confused because I think it was, like, after her birthday, and she was like, 'Wait, what?'" Kaitlyn explained. "I don't know what happened."
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Kaitlyn questioned Nayte's motivation, wondering if he just liked the attention from fans while dating Michelle or if he found someone else.
While Michelle has given the impression she's pretty brokenhearted over the last month, a source told Us that she looked happy and radiant while attending Miami Swim Week in Florida.
Michelle "was in the best of spirits, sporting her megawatt smile," according to the source.
When Nayte first announced his split from Michelle in June, he wrote on Instagram Stories, "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."
"Michelle and I are going to move forward separately. Hearts are heavy, emotions are high, and we are dealing with this the best way we can," he continued.
Nayte said his "heartbreak is real" and the couple agreed to keep the details of their split private. He also defended the genuineness of their relationship, which ended only six months after the finale of their The Bachelorette season aired last year.
In Michelle's statement, she thanked Bachelor Nation for their support and noted how having a relationship in the public eye was not easy.
"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 our hearts as this relationship has been very real for us," she wrote in June.
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"I will always acknowledge and appreciate the adventures, support, and growth both Nayte and this experience have brought me. At the same time, I'm deeply hurting and will need time and space to work through this heartbreak."
Michelle and Nayte's split announcement came only a few weeks after Michelle took to Instagram on May 30 to deny rumors that The Bachelorette couple had split up and ended their engagement.
Michelle was spotted without her engagement ring on, but Michelle said her friend had tried on her ring momentarily and she's not a "zoo exhibit" for people to watch and record on their phones.
In April, Michelle had said she and Nayte were in the beginning stages of wedding planning.
"Nayte and I, we know so many different people and we have such big families and that's a huge part of [our planning process]," Michelle explained at the time.
"And so coming out of a pandemic... one thing that we both can't imagine is having a small wedding, and so we want to make sure that we're completely clear of that so that's not even a stressor for us, and then, [we want to have] warm weather [on our big day]."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
