For so very long, there was only one thing we know for certain about Michelle Young's brand new Bachelorette season:
It features the next Bachelor.
In what we believe is a first for the franchise -- which is also airing its second Bachelorette season of the calendar year -- news of who producers selected to look for love on The Bachelor in 2022 leaked out ahead of this premieire date.
It will be Clayton Echard.
This means viewers will get a chance to see the next Bachelor in action months before he stars on a show of his own.
And it also means Echard advances pretty darn far on Young's season, making a strong impression on Michelle herself, along with fans and executives.
But who advances the farthest?
Who actually wins Michelle's heart?
According to The Man Who Knows Absolutely Everything and is Never Wrong About This Kind of Stuff, the answer is...
... Nayte Olukoya.
Moreover, Reality Steve blogged earlier this month at Young is engaged to Nayte Olukoya!
"Had heard rumblings since the season ended but got the confirmation I needed the end of last week," Steve wrote along with this monumental spoiler on October 5.
Steve shared photos on Twitter this summer of Michelle and Nayte on a pontoon boat out on Lake Minnetonka.
Young, of course, iis a 28-year old teacher from the lovely town of Edina in The Great Lakes State and we first met her as a suitor on Matt James' season of The Bachelor.
Nayte, for his part, was born July 8, 1994. He works as a Senior Account Executive at Indeed.com.
He's a native of Canada... lives in Austin, Texas... is a former bartender... and graduated Eastern Washington University with a Bachelor's degree in Business Management and minor in Africana Studies.
The Bachelorette began filming in August and it's been reported that part of the season was filmed at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa, while the other part was filmed at the Marquette Hotel in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Unlike Katie Thurston's previous season of the series, which was relegated to one set due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Michelle and her men will travel around a bit more.
Following the full departure of Chris Harrison this past spring, Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams will once again serve as co-hosts for Young.
"One thing that I promised myself walking into [it] is that I'm going to stay true to who I am and I'm going to listen to my gut," Young told People Magazine over the weekend.
"I stayed true to who I was.
"And when I handed out date roses it's because that's how I was feeling in that moment.
"And I can't change that."
One of the trailers for Young's impending run teased 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 added to People.
"I was not expecting [that]. And everyone's going to have to wait and see how that whole thing plays out."
You can check out an extended promo here:
As for whether or not she chooses Nayte Olukoya, Michelle had no comment, of course.
As for Clayton Echard as the new Bachelor, Young simply said:
"There were so many men who are good catches on my season. And so yes, Clayton is definitely one of those."
The Bachelorette season 18 premieres Tuesday, October 18 at 8/7c on ABC.