Melissa Rycroft, an American television personality, host, and dancer is one of many to have enjoyed that spring in their steps that only dance can avail. A dancer par excellence, Melissa has participated in her fair share of reality shows.
She was on the reality TV show Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team, and on two separate seasons of Dancing with the Stars. She moved from participating in shows to hosting reality TV shows Bachelor Pad and Redneck Island. Let’s discover more about her career and personal life.
Melissa Rycroft’s Biography
Melissa Rycroft was born on the 11th of March, 1983 in Dallas, Texas. Her full name at birth was Melissa Katherine Rycroft. She had started from a very early age to take an interest in dancing and by the time she was in high school, she was strutting her stuff as the first lieutenant of her high school drill team. Her ability to move to a rhythm took somewhat of a back seat as she enrolled at the University of North Texas and later on graduated with a degree in Marketing.
By the time she was done with college, she was drawn back to her “first love” – dancing – somewhat. Rycroft found herself auditioning for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. When she was accepted, she danced for the team appearing on the reality show Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making The Team which ran on Country Music Television. She worked with the group for a couple of years, from 2006 – 2008.
When she left Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Rycroft was on the reality show, The Bachelor for its 13th season. Along with 25 other ladies or bachelorettes, she competed for the affection of a bachelor, Jason Mesnick. Rycroft turned out good as she got to the final and was chosen by the bachelor, Jason Mesnick in the season finale and was even proposed to. Signed sealed and delivered. At least so it seemed for Rycroft until Mesnick dumped her, quite publicly too, for the runner-up Molly Malaney. Mesnick explained that he had stronger feelings for Malaney.
As a dancer, she had to compete at Dancing with the Stars making her first appearance on the 8th season of the show. She was partnered with Tony Dovolani. The pair showed great teamwork and their performances earned them a third-place finish. That link-up would pay off again and this time in a far more grandiose way.
Rycroft and Dovolani competed in the All-Stars season of the show and emerged winners from the 10-week long contest. It was the show’s 15th season. In the first week, the pair did not score less than seven points from each of the three judges and over the following weeks, their performance improved to the point that they were raking in scores of no less than nine points per judge.
Rycroft also went on to host the 2015 Dancing with the Stars live tour and she even returned as part of a trio that included Cheryl Burke and Juan Pablo Di Pace in the 27th season.
Melissa Rycroft Net Worth
Aside from her already mentioned gigs, Melissa Rycroft is also a host of CMT’s reality TV show Redneck Island. She was also working on the Tribune morning show, Morning Dose. With all these, Rycroft has been able to amass a net worth of $1.5 million.
Family: Husband, Kids
Melissa Rycroft is as successful in marriage, (at least from what we can see), as she has been in her career. Her road to marital bliss was in no way a smooth one as she began experiencing movie-type splits and heartbreaks from when she was quite young.
While she was still in high school and afterward, Rycroft was in a relationship for seven long years. It did, however, end abruptly when he broke it off while they were in college. Breakups are normal in relationships but when the man involved gets married within two weeks of the split, Rycroft later revealed she was inconsolable.
She had an on-off relationship with the salesman’s boyfriend, Tye Strickland. Then she got dumped by Jason Mesnick on The Bachelor. Rycroft did marry Tye Strickland when the pair got back together. They are blessed with three children: Ava Grace, Beckett Thomas, and Cayson Jack.
Rycroft was born in Dallas, Texas to her parents, Bob Rycroft and Mary Rycroft. As to any other family, she may have, there is little or no information in that regard. The only family mentioned by her are her husband and kids
