Melissa Katherine Rycroft (born March 11, 1983)[2] is a sales representative from Dallas, Texas, and former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. She was a drill team officer at Newman Smith High School in Carrollton, Texas where she graduated in 2001. She participated as a contestant on the thirteenth season of ABC's The Bachelor,[3] and CMT reality TV series Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team. She was a contestant on the eighth season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars.[4] Rycroft was named to People magazine's list of World's Most Beautiful People 2009[5] and was also named as #99 on Maxim's list of "Hot 100 of 2009".[6]
Contents
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* 1 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team
* 2 The Bachelor
* 3 Dancing with the Stars
o 3.1 Dancing with the Stars performances
* 4 Good Morning America
* 5 Personal Life
* 6 References
* 7 External links

[edit] Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team

Rycroft was a contestant during the first season of the CMT reality TV series Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team. As the first season concluded, Rycroft was selected as one of the thirty-six Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (DCC) for the 2006 NFL season.[7] Rycroft remained on the DCC squad through the 2007 NFL season.

[edit] The Bachelor

Rycroft appeared on the thirteenth season of The Bachelor as one of the twenty-five bachelorettes vying for the heart of The Bachelor, Jason Mesnick. In the season finale, Mesnick chose Rycroft over runner-up, Molly Malaney, and proposed to her. Rycroft said yes. But following the episode, ABC aired the After the Final Rose (Part One) episode, which was taped six weeks after the season finale episode, and it was then that Mesnick revealed that he was breaking up with Rycroft, stating that he was still in love with Molly Malaney.

[edit] Dancing with the Stars

Rycroft replaced Access Hollywood's Nancy O'Dell on the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars after O'Dell withdrew from the competition due to an injury sustained during pre-season practice. Rycroft was partnered with professional dancer Tony Dovolani,[8] and competed on the season premiere episode having only practiced for two days, the shortest amount of practice time for any contestant in the show's history. Despite this, she tied for second place for week one's performances. On May 19, 2009, Rycroft finished third on the Dancing with the Stars finale.

[edit] Dancing with the Stars performances

With professional partner Tony Dovolani:
Week # Dance/Song Judges' score Result
Inaba Goodman Tonioli
1 Waltz/Moon River 8 7 8 N/A
2 Salsa/The Cup of Life 9 8 9 Safe
3 Foxtrot/Recipe for Love 9 9 9 Safe
4 Lindy Hop/Brown Derby Jump 10 9 10 Safe
5 Paso Doble/Poker Face 8 8 9 Safe
6 Rumba/If I Were a Boy 9 9 9 Safe
7 Argentine Tango/Mi Confesión 10 9 10 Safe
8* Jive/We Got the Beat (rehearsal)
Mambo/Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) 7
8 7
8 7
9 Last to be
called safe
9
Quarter Finals Viennese Waltz/Angel
Samba/Jaleo 9
10 9
10 9
10 Safe
10
Semifinals Quickstep/I Got Rhythm
Cha-cha-cha/Save the Last Dance for Me 9
9 10
9 9
9 Last to be
called safe
11
Finals Paso Doble/So What
Freestyle/Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)
Samba/Jaleo 10
9
10 9
9
10 10
9
10 Third Place


*Rycroft suffered a hairline fracture in her ribs before the live show of week 8 and, therefore, could not perform her Jive live. Instead, the judges' scores were based on her pre-recorded rehearsal video. Also in that same week, she did not participate in the group dance (Mambo), so professional dancer Lacey Schwimmer filled her spot with partner Dovolani. Despite having the lowest overall score for the week, viewer votes saved Rycroft from being eliminated.

[edit] Good Morning America

In June 2009, it was reported that Rycroft would be joining morning television news and talk show Good Morning America as a special contributor throughout the summer.[9]

[edit] Personal Life

Melissa was previously engaged to Jason Mesnick whom she met on The Bachelor. They ended their relationship after Jason admitted to having feelings for runner-up, Molly. She began dating Tye Strickland, whom she had dated on and off for 2 years. She announced via twitter that she and Tye were engaged.[10] <a href="http://view.picapp.com/default.aspx?term=melissa&iid=5590229" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn.picapp.com/ftp/Images/b/a/9/7/Melissa_Rycroft_hosts_797b.JPG?adImageId=2011593&i mageId=5590229" width="380" height="498" border="0" alt="Melissa Rycroft hosts Absolut Saturday at Azure."/></a><script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.js"></script>

[edit] References

1. ^ "Facebook - Melissa Rycroft". Facebook.com. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Melissa-Rycroft/77334399821. Retrieved on 2009-05-23.
2. ^ "Facebook - Melissa Rycroft". Facebook.com. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Melissa-Rycroft/77334399821. Retrieved on 2009-05-23.
3. ^ "Melissa Rycroft Biography from "The Bachelor"". ABC.com. 2009-01-14. The Bachelor - Bios - ABC.com. Retrieved on 2009-03-11.
4. ^ "Melissa Rycroft Biography from "Dancing with the Stars"". ABC.com. 2009-03-09. Dancing With The Stars - Bios - ABC.com. Retrieved on 2009-03-09.
5. ^ "Sneak Peek: World's Most Beautiful People - Melissa Rycroft People.com". People.com. 2009-04-29. Sneak Peek: World's Most Beautiful People - MELISSA RYCROFT : People.com. Retrieved on 2009-04-29.
6. ^ "2009 Hot 100 Pictures". Maxim.com. 2009 Hot 100 Pictures - 2 of 100 - Maxim Girls Photo Gallery | Maxim.com. Retrieved on 2009-05-10.
7. ^ "Melissa Rycroft to compete on "Dancing with the Stars"". NYDailyNews.com. 2009-03-08. 'The Bachelor' ex-fiancee Melissa Rycroft to join 'Dancing with the Stars'. Retrieved on 2009-03-08.
8. ^ "Source: Bachelor’s Melissa Rycroft to Join Dancing With the Stars". People.com. 2009-03-08. Source: Bachelor’s Melissa Rycroft to Join Dancing With the Stars - PEOPLE TV Watch.
9. ^ "Melissa Rycroft joins 'Good Morning America'". EW.com. 2009-06-18. Melissa Rycroft joins 'Good Morning America' | TV, movie and music news | News, Television | EW.com.