Was The Bachelorette Really From Edina?
As everyone knows, the bachelorette this year was from Minnesota. And she has proved time and time again that she is a true, dedicated, and passionate Minnesotan (which we love). I mean, she likes lakes. She likes the Vikings. She’s sporty (even though she didn’t play hockey). She’s Minnesota nice and, by all accounts, super cool. We have no complaints.
But there’s one big question that haunted me this entire season of The Bachelorette, even more so than wondering who would eventually win Michelle’s heart…
IS THE BACHELORETTE, MICHELLE YOUNG, REALLY FROM EDINA?!
There is such a wide range of conflicting information on the Internet that steers people in all different directions while trying to get to the bottom of this looming question. So, like most Minnesotans, I’ve relegated myself to patiently waiting for the truth to come out since we first laid eyes on Michelle, when she made her debut on Matt James’ season of The Bachelor.
When Michelle stepped out of the limo in her fancy velvet dress, a small caption appeared on the screen with just a few pieces of critical information: Michelle Young, 27, teacher, EDINA, Minnesota. While her dress did look like it could’ve come straight from the racks of the Galleria, every new thing I learned about Michelle as time went on made me doubt more and more that she was a Hornet at heart.
The first clue that something was fishy was when Michelle, a former Miss Basketball finalist in the state of hockey, brought Joe Coleman, a fellow Minnesotan, former Gopher, and 2011 Mr. Basketball, to her High School for a date. I was shocked to see that, despite Edina being advertised as her homebase, Michelle was in fact a Woodbury Royal. Even Joe, a well-off real estate developer, knew enough to stay away from the E-word. And while it hurt to see Michelle eliminate her only fellow Minnesotan in her group of many suitors (which was NOT very Minnesota nice), she did end up picking a Canadian, which is the next best option.
This had me thinking, Michelle hadn’t given off any of the usual signals that signify someone is from the land of diamond level Life Time health clubs in shopping malls, Rolexes, and visiting the Tesla charging station in your Lululemons. If Michelle didn’t attend the poshest public school in the Twin Cities, why was the “fact” that she’s from Edina one of the few pieces of information we received about our new bachelorette right off the bat? Why say Edina and not Woodbury, St. Louis Park, Burnsville, Brooklyn Park, or the obvious choices of St. Paul and Minneapolis? These questions remain unanswered. All we know is that for some reason, the producers of The Bachelorette made the decision to send our train of thought straight down 50th and France.
Could it be that the Eastside suburb of Woodbury wasn’t boujee enough to earn her screen time? Did it not align with the “luxurious” Bachelor brand? Did the city of Edina pay for the publicity? Didn’t Michelle know that having money-city in her bio might give her fellow Minnesotans a bad first impression?
Even with the season complete, these unanswered questions and conflicting answers continue to haunt me. A quick scan on the Internet and you’ll find enough conflicting information about where Michelle is from to pull you every which way:
But dig deeper, and there are also a few hints out there to make us believe there is a chance that Michelle is indeed from “the small town on the West side with a dream—Edina.”
1) SHE’S A CAKE EATER.
From the looks of this photo, not only does Michelle clearly like cake, but she also likes it to be as fancy as possible, ideally matching her outfit so she can show it off. Cake Eater. Check.
2) SHE HAS A HORNET GREEN DRESS.
And then out comes the kelly green dress. With enough sparkles to catch the limelight, and it’s the exact same shade of Hornet green as the emerald city of prosecco and Peloton.
3) SHE PICKED A GUY WHO LIKES EDIBLES (SORTA).
Although he gets points for being Canadian, the guy Michelle eventually picked—Nayte—lists “Edible Arrangements” as one of his interests. I mean, this just screams Edina.
4) SHE’S AN ATTENTION SEEKER.
Every Minnesotan knows the roots of the name Edina: Every Day I Need Attention. And let’s be honest, Michelle clearly loves attention. She has to. Why else would she put herself in the public eye and welcome 40 doting men to fight over her heart?
But at the end of the day, even with all of this research and information, I’m still not convinced Michelle is Edina enough. She’s far too down to earth, giving, and laid back. Oh…and she makes a teacher’s salary. That won’t get you much at the Galleria!
