Melissa Rycroft life and biography

Melissa Rycroft 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, 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. Rycroft was named to People magazine's list of World's Most Beautiful People 2009 and was also named as #99 on Maxim's list of "Hot 100 of 2009".

In July of 2010, Rycroft appeared on GMA to announce that she and Strickland were expecting their first child. Rycroft joked with GMA host Robin Roberts that she and Strickland "wanted to see how many life-changing events we could fit into one calendar year." There was no immediate information on a due date.

Rycroft appeared on the 13th season of The Bachelor, where she made it to the season finale, where she was chosen as the winner by bachelor and single dad Jason Mesnick. Mesnick proposed to Rycroft, who accepted. The day the finale aired, Mesnick went on The Jimmy Kimmel Show and announced that he and Malaney were once again in a relationship.

Weeks later, during a follow up ABC show about The Bachelor, Mesnick told Rycroft he wanted to split, because he was in love with runner-up Bachelor contestant Molly Malaney.

On March 5, 2009, Rycroft talked about the incident on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She discussed her relationship with Mesnick during and after the show and the fallout from the dramatic post-finale reunion episode.

Melissa Rycroft's reality television career didn't end with The Bachelor. In March of 2009, she became a contestant on ABC's Dancing With the Stars. Rycroft was a last-minute addition to the show, replacing injured Access Hollywood host Nancy O'Dell in the lineup. Rycroft was paired with dancer Tony Dovolani.

Rycroft injured her ribs during week seven of DWTS but continued to dance. During week eight, Rycroft learned she had a hairline fracture on one of her ribs. Rycroft was given approval by her doctor to continue to dance, but at the end of the last rehearsal she was in too much pain to continue. The judges judged her on her last taped rehearsal and showed no mercy by giving her a total of 21.

Rycroft went on to finish third in the DWTS competition. Former Olympic medalist Shawn Johnson took the trophy.

Melissa Rycroft was a contestant on the eighth season of ABC's Dancing With the Stars. Rycroft replaced the injured Nancy O'Dell. Rycroft and her partner, dancer Tony Dovolani, finished third in the competition, which was eventually won by former Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson. After her stint on DWTS, Rycroft signed on as a special correspondent for Good Morning America.

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