A new villain emerged on The Bachelorette in the form of Jamie Skaar, but Michelle Young explained why she didn't reveal him as her source about the other men's so-called issues with her relationship with Joe Coleman. After a few of the men speculated that Michelle and Joe knew each other before the show, Jamie told her that the whole house was questioning her character because they thought she was lying to them. Michelle confronted the men, most of whom were confused because Jamie was exaggerating and lying about the situation. After explaining that she had only exchanged DMs with Joe a few years ago, which stopped when he ghosted her, she opened the conversation for the guys to ask questions or open a dialogue. When they sat silently, she canceled the cocktail party to collect herself because she felt like putting her walls back up. When the men wondered what was going on, Jamie acted like he had no idea either. Michelle never revealed that it was Jamie who had started all of the drama.
Before the cocktail party, Jamie received the first one-on-one date with Michelle. They built trust in their relationship on an exciting rock-climbing adventure. Later, during dinner, Jamie opened up to Michelle about his past, sharing details about his mother's difficult journey with her mental health, which ultimately ended in her suicide. Michelle's gentle way of listening helped Jamie to share the intimate details of his life with her. She gave him a rose, and they shared a kiss. They left the date feeling closer to each other, and it seemed like they had formed a strong connection.
This closeness is why Michelle didn't betray Jamie's trust or doubt his lies. On the Bachelor Happy Hour Podcast, hosted by Becca Kufrin and Tayshia Adams, Michelle explained why she didn't reveal Jamie's identity to the other guys. She implied that she felt protective of Jamie because of their connection. She said, "It's so hard when you're in the seat where someone is bringing something, and confiding in you, and telling you a piece of information . . . at the moment, when it was brought to my attention, it came off very tasteful. And I guess I wanted to keep that confidentiality on my part." She continued with this reasoning stating, "The first person who tells you something, it's we have this discussion and I'm like BOOM! Tell me what you said, tell everybody what you said!" Becca understood and summed it all up by saying, "You didn't want to feed him to the wolves."
Since she had already built a connection with Jamie, she figured that she could trust him. She said that on their one-on-one date, they had "vulnerable, intense conversations. And he was so honest and open about everything that he's been through." Tayshia called Jamie's actions an "abuse of power on his end." She felt that he had made his way into Michelle's heart during the one-on-one, which Michelle then honored by keeping his identity secret, ultimately hurting herself. Tayshia said that Jamie created a storyline, and it frustrated her to watch. Becca asked Michelle how she felt when she watched the show and saw that Jamie took no accountability for his actions. Michelle explained, "It was a confusing moment, and watching it back I can see why I was confused because there were like truly two different storylines that were going on."
Michelle's decision to honor Jamie and keep his identity as her source confidential shows what an honest and trustworthy person she is. Whether or not Jamie reciprocates that trust and finally admits his transgressions remains to be seen, but he won't be able to hide what he did now that the show has aired. Perhaps his intentions were pure, and it was all a misunderstanding. Whatever the motive, Michelle deserves the truth.
The Bachelorette airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Source: Bachelor Happy Hour Podcast