Authors: Melissa Rycroft
My Reality
I decided to tell my story to share what I’ve been through and how it shaped me into the person I am now, which is really the person I was all along. Only I didn’t have the confidence back then to realize it. I want to remind people that good times will be here again, even if it’s hard to see that from the midst of a heartbreak. Believe me, I know the hardest thing to hear when you’re heartbroken is that “time will heal all.” But it’s important to look back at the bad times and acknowledge them for the role they played in inspiring the kind of big, scary—ultimately necessary—life changes we all need to make in order to get to the good times.
—from
my reality
After the final rose. . .
Melissa Rycroft captured hearts across America when she won—and lost—
The Bachelor
on one of the most watched nights in the show’s history. As Jason Mesnick stunned her on national television by breaking off their engagement, fans cried along with her at the devastating news. Then, one week after the show aired, she did the unthinkable. She picked herself up, waltzed her way onto ABC’s wildly popular
Dancing with the Stars
, and wowed the judges. The former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader with the infectious smile and sweet personality instantly became the poster child for moving on.
Melissa endured what so many other women have been through in the search for Mr. Right. Every girl who has ever fallen for the wrong guy, believed she wasn’t good enough, or had to pick herself up after facing rejection, could relate. Melissa proved that it
is
possible to get over a failed relationship, that things
will
get better, that you
can
find happiness within yourself.
The truth is, it took a lot of heartache—and some hard lessons—for Melissa to find her independence. And it began with a breakup (her worst breakup ever) months before she was even a
Bachelor
contestant. As she wondered whether she was destined to be the girl who always got dumped, her friends conspired to sign her up for the show. The ensuing emotional roller coaster and the confidence she gained ultimately led her to a happy ending. Dreams do come true when you’re willing to be your own fairy godmother.
In this endearing and inspirational memoir, Melissa shares her upbeat and unconventional Cinderella story, how she went from being the girl who was always unlucky in love to finding the love of her life. She takes fans on the set of
The Bachelor
and writes candidly about what she was really thinking when she was living in the “Bachelor Bubble” and when Jason told her he was in love with another woman. Finally, she offers a glimpse of life after the show—what it was like to become famous overnight, endure the grueling but fun
Dancing with the Stars
schedule, land her dream job as an entertainment reporter . . . and uncover all the surprises that awaited her when she finally got back to reality.
MELISSA RYCROFT
was a contestant on the thirteenth season of ABC’s
The Bachelor
. A former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, she and her partner, Tony Dovolani, finished third on
Dancing with the Stars
, after she was sidelined by an injury. In 2009,
People
selected her for its coveted “World’s Most Beautiful People” issue. She has appeared as an entertainment reporter on
Entertainment Tonight
and
The Insider
, cohosted
The Bachelor Pad
with Chris Harrison, and is a special correspondent for
Good Morning America
. Melissa lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband, Tye Strickland, and their daughter, Ava Grace.
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JACKET PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMES ACOMB
COPYRIGHT © 2011 SIMON & SCHUSTER
MY
REALITY
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Gallery Books
A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
Copyright © 2012 by Melissa Rycroft
This work is a memoir. Events, actions, and experiences and their consequences over a period of years have been retold as the author presently recollects them. Some names and identifying characteristics have been changed, and some dialogue has been recreated from memory.
Photo insert credits:
Page 1
:
Natalie Woods
;
page 2
:
Natalie Woods (top)
,
Daniel Costilla (bottom)
;
page 3
:
Robin DeHoyos (top)
,
Ashley Smith (bottom)
;
page 4
:
Tye Strickland (bottom)
;
page 5
:
Michelle Mix
;
page 8
:
Laura Parker (top left)
. All other photos courtesy of the author.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Gallery Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Gallery Books hardcover edition June 2012
GALLERY BOOKS and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at
www.simonspeakers.com
.
Designed by Jaime Putorti
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rycroft, Melissa.
My reality / Melissa Rycroft. — 1st Gallery
Books hardcover ed.
p. cm.
1. Rycroft, Melissa 2. Television personalities—United
States—Biography. 3. Celebrities—United States—Biography. I. Title.
PN1992.4.S793A3 2011
791.4502’8092—dc22
[B]
2011012506
ISBN 978-1-4516-3163-0
ISBN 978-1-4516-3165-4 (ebook)
This is dedicated to the newest love of my life: my daughter, Ava.
Looking at her makes everything that’s happened on my journey to finding love absolutely worth it. She’s the epitome of my happiness, and I would go on this whole crazy, heartbreaking journey again, if she were the outcome.
I love you, Ava Grace.
CHAPTER ONE:
My Worst Breakup Ever
CHAPTER THREE:
Breakup Purgatory
CHAPTER FOUR:
I Think It’s Time for You to Go Now
CHAPTER FIVE:
The Bachelor Bubble
CHAPTER SIX:
Life in the Bubble
CHAPTER SEVEN:
In Love . . . and Out of Control
CHAPTER EIGHT:
Fighting for Love
CHAPTER NINE:
“Stricktly” Platonic
CHAPTER TEN:
After the Final Rose
CHAPTER ELEVEN:
Back to the Beginning Again
CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
A Totally Surreal Experience
CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
Dreams Really Do Come True
CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
My Real Happy Ending
I
’m the girl who gets her heart broken. I don’t know what it is about me, but that’s how it’s always been. And, let’s be honest, that’s how a lot of people still know me.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. The entire world watched what it assumed was me getting my heart smashed on TV’s
The Bachelor
. All of my previous relationships ended almost as badly. Call me unlucky, not the relationship type, or just not the
sustainable-
relationship type—whatever it was, I definitely was not good at the dating game.
So I was totally surprised when people started coming up to me after
The Bachelor
to ask me for romantic advice. I couldn’t figure out why in the world they’d want help from the girl who historically
never
got the guy. Sure, my dating life has a happy ending now, and I’m married to a man who is my soul mate and best friend, but a lot of people don’t know that. Some people who do know still can’t picture me with anyone but Jason Mesnick. And, again, we all know how well that ended—or at least appeared to end, which I’ll get to in a bit.
But then it clicked: People weren’t after the secrets of a successful relationship (if they were, I’d have to direct them to someone more qualified to help!), they were looking for advice on what to do when things
DON’T
work out. And that’s a subject I definitely know something about.