‘The Bachelor’: Is Melissa Rycroft Engaged or Married Now?
On Monday, Aug. 10, The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons — Ever! will recap Jason Mesnick’s journey from start to finish, and fans are getting ready to relive the reality star’s uncomfortable breakup with Melissa Rycroft. The split is one of the most dramatic moments of the franchise. But while most viewers know how things ended for Mesnick, many don’t know what happened to his final pick. So is Rycroft engaged or married after The Bachelor? Here’s how the former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader is doing now.
What happened to Melissa Rycroft on Jason Mesnick’s season of ‘The Bachelor’?
In The Bachelor Season 13, which originally aired on ABC in 2009, Mesnick picked Rycroft over Molly Malaney. But shortly after the engagement, Mesnick and Rycroft broke up during the After the Final Rose special. Meanwhile, Mesnick went after — and later married — his runner-up.
Later, Rycroft admitted her relationship with Mesnick fell apart before filming the live special. Though she wished her then-fiancé told her about his feelings for Malaney at the time.
“To say that we went into that After the Final Rose in an absolutely perfect place is a lie,” Rycroft told Us Weekly in 2017. “[But] had we completely severed ties and broken up? No. I wasn’t expecting him to be like, ‘Oh, yeah, peace out. I have feelings for Molly, I’ve been talking to her and I’ve been seeing her. That was when I was humiliated.”
Melissa Rycroft is married to Tye Strickland now
Following The Bachelor Season 13, Rycroft went on to other projects, such as Dancing with the Stars and Bachelor Pad. She also moved on with her personal life.
According to People, Rycroft reconnected with her ex-boyfriend, insurance agent Tye Strickland, in January 2009. They originally met in their hometown, Dallas, Texas.
“Tye and I picked right back up,” Rycroft said at the time. “He’s my best friend.”
Then in March 2009, Rycroft announced her engagement to Strickland.
“Sometimes, the stars align and the clouds part and everything works out the way it should,” Rycroft said on Good Morning America, per ABC.
Nine months after the engagement announcement, Rycroft and Strickland got married in Mexico. Now, the couple is still together and they have three children — a girl named Ava Grace and two boys named Cayson Jack and Beckett Thomas.
How does Melissa Rycroft feel about ‘The Bachelor’ franchise today?
Clearly, Rycroft has moved on from Mesnick and The Bachelor franchise. In a recent Instagram post ahead of The Greatest Seasons special on Aug. 10, Rycroft confirmed she doesn’t hold anything against Mesnick or Malaney.
“Over a decade later, we’re both married, both have beautiful families, so why still be upset?” Rycroft wrote. “We all moved on from the situation so long ago, that having to relive it again almost feels like watching other people go through it! So please be kind. Jason and Molly are great people who have created a beautiful life together.”
Then in a separate Instagram post, Rycroft confirmed she’s still grateful for the experience on The Bachelor, particularly because it led her to Strickland.
“Considering what is about to air tomorrow, let me just say: I am SOOO glad that it happened – all of it,” Rycroft wrote. “I wouldn’t be with this guy, I wouldn’t have my babies, I wouldn’t have my career, and I wouldn’t be who I am today if it hadn’t happened – even the way it happened.”
She added, “It was totally embarrassing, but totally worth it.”
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