All great love stories begin with the question, "Have I slid into your DMs?" At least, for Michelle and Joe's relationship on The Bachelorette, that's where it all began. Despite Michelle (and Joe) both denying that they actually knew each other before coming on the show, some of the men in the house are skeptical... thanks to Jamie, who started the rumor for reasons still unknown.
So we decided to breakdown the timeline of Michelle and Joe's supposed love story, from where it all began (Minnesota) to where it may all end (the Bachelorette mansion).
- Both Joe and Michelle were raised in the suburbs of Minneapolis and their high schools are a 35 minute drive away from each other.
- In 2011, Joe was named Mr. Basketball while Michelle was the Miss Basketball Runner Up. Both went on to play college ball, Joe at the University of Minnesota and then St. Mary's College of California, and Michelle at Bradley University.
- In 2015, Joe came back to the twin cities to finish his degree at The University of Minneapolis and got a job in the city thereafter.
- In 2016, Michelle taught at Normandale Hills Elementary in Bloomington, Minn., before teaching at Echo Park Elementary in Burnsville, Minn., where she teaches still today.
- In Late Winter/ Early Spring of 2020, Michelle reportedly slides into Joe's DMs and the pair exchange a couple of messages. (This timeline is a guesstimate based on when Joe stopped responding).
- In May 2020, Joe ghosts Michelle before the pair ever met up. Joe attributes his lack of response to him dealing with some mental health issues surrounding George Floyd's death, which occurred May 25, 2020.
- In Oct.2020, Matt James's season starts filming. This also means that Michelle was in the interview process even before that.
- On Jan. 4, 2021, Matt James's season premiered.
- On March 15, 2021, Matt James's season ends and Michelle (along with Katie) is announced as the next Bachelorette.
- In July 2021, Michelle's season starts filming.
- At the end of July 2021, Michelle's men are announced, including Joe.
- On Tuesday Oct. 19, 2021, Michelle meets Joe for the very first time.
While these two have lived very similar lives (in very close proximity) there really is no evidence that they knew each other before. Unless Mr. Basketball and Miss Basketball Runner Up have some type of an arrangement we do not know about, it could be that they were two ships passing in the night. But hey, if this turns from a ghost story to a love story, then better late than never!
Images: ABC