'The Bachelorette' Alumna Michelle Young Is No Longer Teaching

Michelle Young may have held one of the most coveted titles in reality TV last year as the lead on "The Bachelorette," but the 28-year-old also held another title near and dear to her heart.

Young was a teacher, and her beloved profession was frequently featured on the show. Her students were frequently featured interacting with their teacher and all of her potential suitors in the series.

Sadly, Young announced her decision to part ways with her beloved profession and detailed the emotional process of coming to terms with the decision on today's episode of "Bachelor Happy Hour," the official podcast of the franchise she co-hosts with her recently engaged pal, Becca Kufrin.

The reasoning that fueled Young's somber decision was the realization she needed to take time for herself to slow down after managing to balance both her whirlwind 'Bachelorette' schedule while carrying out her commitment to teaching and her students last year.

Deciding she needed space from the classroom was not a quick or easy decision for Young to make, nor did she make it alone.

She took listeners through her thought process, per People, sharing it began with a conversation with a co-worker, who asked Young a question that caused her to pause and reflect.

"I was sitting down with my coworker and we were just kinda talking about this school year and how long we've been in survival mode," she began. "[And] my coworker just kind of asked me, 'Well, Michelle, how long have you been in survival mode. And as she asked that, it kinda caught me off guard to actually stop and think how long I have been in this position," she continued.

After taking time to reflect, Young concluded she had been operating in 'survival mode' since 2020, the year the world will always remember as the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

"I have been in this survival mode for two years," she went on to say.

For Young, living in 'survival mode' entailed she had been "flying by the seat of [her] pants, but really, not necessarily living or just surviving with the pandemic, with going through these crazy but awesome changes as the show, with getting a fiancé..."

Her decision to step away from teaching was further fueled by the countless obstacles teachers are faced with these days.

"There is just so much going on," she added. "[And] as I kinda sat and thought about that and thought about the position that I'm in, it really highlighted the fact that there's just so much going on with our education system."

Young had been actively balancing her career while looking for love in all of the 'Bachelor' related places!

Last November, while still promoting her season of "The Bachelorette," she revealed what her lesson plan for finding love and balancing her career looked like at the time.

She told Jimmy Kimmel during an appearance on his show she "needed a man in [her] life who can help [her] grade papers and lesson plan" before completely making matters of the heart official! (via People).

Despite making the heartwrenching decision to say goodbye to teaching, Young knows her absence from the classroom won't be a permanent one.

"This doesn't mean I'm never going to step back into the classroom," she also said in her 'BHH' interview, "It's me stepping away for a year to truly capitalize and push forward and put all of my energy and efforts into my passion in a different way, and really truly try to push for that change, because staying in the classroom and seeing and feeling that weight just shows me that something has to be done."

More details on Michelle Young's big career-shifting news can be heard in the latest episode of "Bachelor Happy Hour" out today.