| Melissa Rycroft-Strickland | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 11, 1983 Dallas, Texas |
| Spouse | Tye Strickland (2009–present) |
| Children | Ava Grace Strickland (born February 16, 2011) |
Melissa Katherine Rycroft-Strickland (born March 11, 1983), from Dallas, Texas, is a reality television contestant 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,[1] and CMT reality TV series Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team. She was also a contestant on the eighth season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars.[2] Rycroft was named to People magazine's list of World's Most Beautiful People 2009[3] and was also named as #99 on Maxim's list of "Hot 100 of 2009".[4]
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Rycroft was one of the more popular 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 35 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (DCC) for the 2006 NFL season.[5] Rycroft remained on the DCC squad through the 2007 NFL season.
Rycroft appeared on the 13th season of The Bachelor as one of the 25 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.[6]
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,[7] 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.
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.[8] She continues to report for the program. She also was a co-host on ABC's Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve on December 31, 2009. Melissa also did features for Entertainment Tonight and The Insider.
Rycroft was the co-host for season one of reality show, Bachelor Pad with Chris Harrison, which began airing August 9, 2010 on ABC.[9]
In 2011, Rycroft had a new reality show picked up by CMT under the wroking title, Melissa and Tye: A New Reality, which follows Rycroft moving to Los Angeles to pursue her Hollywood career while managing a long-distance relationship with her husband, Tye Strickland.[10]
Melissa was previously engaged to Jason Mesnick whom she met on The Bachelor. They ended their relationship after Jason admitted to still having feelings for runner-up, Molly. She then began dating Tye Strickland, whom she had dated on and off for two years. In June 2009 she announced via Twitter that she and Tye were engaged.[11] They married on December 12, 2009, in Mexico.[12] On October 20, 2010, Rycroft announced on CBS's The Talk that she will be having a baby girl.[13] On February 16, 2011, Melissa gave birth to the couple's first child, daughter Ava Grace Strickland.[14]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Lance Bass & Lacey Schwimmer |
Dancing with the Stars (US) third place contestant Season 8 (Spring 2009 with Tony Dovolani) |
Succeeded by Kelly Osbourne & Louis van Amstel |
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