UPDATE: Josh Young makes the cut, receives rose on 20th season premiere of "The Bachelorett"
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Love in the Valley no longer.
On Monday night, Freedom High alum Josh Young will appear on Season 20 of "The Bachelorette."
- Bethlehem native Josh Young, 28, will appear in Season 20 of "The Bachelorette" airing 9 p.m. Monday on ABC
- He graduated from Freedom High School in 2013 and from Franklin & Marshall College in 2018
- Since graduation, he has worked in investment banking, the nonprofit sector, and helped run a successful political campaign
'No one prepared me'
Young, who was chosen as one of 29 contestants on the ABC network reality show, will try to win the heart of Charity Lawson, from Season 20 of "The Bachelor."
Does Josh check all of Charity's boxes? ☑️ Watch #TheBachelorette starting Monday, June 26 on ABC to find out! Stream on Hulu pic.twitter.com/DbIQG49DMz
— The Bachelorette (@BacheloretteABC) June 16, 2023
In a promo seen on Twitter, Young, 28, and Lawson, 27, meet for the first time in a TV studio where he romantically takes her hands and puts them on his heart.
"No one prepared me for how pretty you'd be in person," he tells the 27-year-old Georgia native.
The promo continues as Young walks with his three brothers alongside the blast furnaces on Bethlehem's SteelStacks campus following a scene with his mother, Carla Young.
"I'm the oldest of three boys, raised by a single mom, and that's why I am who I am today," he says in the spot.
"Charity definitely checks all my boxes. Coming home with the love of my life, that's in the cards for me."'Bachelorette' star and Bethlehem native Josh Young
Family ties
Young, a star athlete in high school and college, appears on social media to serve as a father figure to his younger brothers, Jake and Joe.
The two are also known in the community as athletes who made names for themselves at Freedom.
When he was 6, Young's father died in car accident while on the way to visit Young's grandmother.
“The thing I’m most proud of is my little brothers," Young told his college newspaper in 2017. "I want to be a role model for them and show them the right way. That’s always how I’ve tried to live my life. My mom taught me that.”
Young graduated from Freedom High in 2013 and was known for his talents on the football field, track and field and wrestling teams.
He attended Franklin & Marshall College and graduated with honors in 2018 while playing on the football and wrestling teams.
Since then, he has worked in investment banking, the nonprofit sector, and helped run a successful political campaign, according to his LinkedIn profile.
First impressions
So will he score in love?
"Charity definitely checks all my boxes," he says. "Coming home with the love of my life, that's in the cards for me."
The "Bachelorette" airs 9 p.m. on Mondays.
Follow along as Arts & Culture reporter Micaela Hood recaps Young's adventures after each show.
