Melissa Rycroft: 10 Things You Didn’t Know

Melissa Rycroft is a television reality star, television host, former cheerleader, and an author. She is also the girl that many people considered to be unlucky in love. You may know her from The Bachelor, you may know her from Dancing With the Stars, and you may only know her from her book. Finally, you may have never heard her name once in your entire life. If you want to learn more about Melissa, read on.

She Suffered From a Broken Heart

Melissa started dating a boy when she was in high school who she thought was the love of her life. The pair continued dating into college. After being together for 7 years, he broke up with Melissa when they were still in college. She says that she was devastated when he ended things. What made matters worse was that he married another girl two weeks after he ended his relationship with Melissa. She says that she was inconsolable.

She Has a College Degree

After graduating from high school, Melissa attended the University of North Texas. After four years in college, she graduated with a degree in marketing.

She Was a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader

Not long after Melissa graduated from high school, she tried out to be a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader. She landed a spot on the team and it was also when she first got into reality television. While she was trying out, Country Music Channel was filming a reality television show about the tryouts called Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders: Making The Team.

She is a Wife and a Mother

Melissa is married to a salesman named Tye Strickland. The pair dated when Melissa was younger, however, she says that he was always breaking up with her, he dated other women, and he took her for granted. After he appearance on The Bachelor didn’t work out, she got back with Tye. By then he had grown up and he was a much better boyfriend than he was the first time. The two got married and they have a daughter named Ava Grace, a son named Beckett Thomas, and another son named Cayson Jack. She says that she believes that things worked out the way that they were supposed to.

She Won the Bachelor

Melissa was one of the contestants on season 13 of The Bachelor. She was fighting with 25 other women for the heart of Jason Mesnick. In the end, he ended up picking Melissa and the two were engaged. Shortly after the two became engaged, Jason broke it off. He told her that he still had feelings for the runner-up, Molly Malaney.

She Was on Dancing With the Stars

Just a week after the finale of The Bachelor, Melissa was asked to be on Dancing With the Stars. Contestant Nancy O’Dell was injured during her dance practice and she was unable to compete so they asked Melissa to fill in. She was teamed up with Tony Dovolani, and the pair only had two days to practice since Melissa was brought on so late. Even with just two days to practice, Melissa and Tony managed to tie for second. Overall, they finished third in the competition. Later, she was asked to compete on Dancing With the Stars: All-Stars and she was paired with Tony again. This time they came in first place.

She Landed On Most Beautiful Lists

Due to her charm and beauty, Melissa was on Maxim Magazine’s Hot 100 List. The same year, she was in People Magazine’s 100 Most Beautiful People List.

She Co-Hosted Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin Eve

In 2009, Melissa was a newlywed and she was asked to co-host New Year’s Rockin Eve with Ryan Seacrest. She stated that it was a huge opportunity for her, however, it wasn’t how she expected to ring in her first New Year as a married woman.

She Worked on Good Morning America

In 2009, at the height of her career, Melissa landed a job as a special contributor. She says that this was a huge step in her professional television career.

She is a Co-Host on Redneck Island

Starting in season 5, Melissa started working as the co-host of Redneck Island alongside Steve Austin. The show has contestants competing for immunity and food. Her first season on the show premiered on January 28, 2016.

Melissa is a woman who has been through some horrible things in her personal life, however, she never let that bring her down. He managed to create a pretty good career for herself and she has a beautiful family.

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