Melissa Rycroft

Melissa Katherine Rycroft-Strickland (born March 11, 1983) after transferring from the University of Oklahoma, where she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega.

Career

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders After graduating from the University of North Texas, Rycroft auditioned for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. She danced for the team from 2006 to 2008. As a cheerleader, she made regular appearances on Country Music Television's reality show Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team. She also appears on the judging panel for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders auditions and is also a showmanship mentor to the training camp candidates. In the season finale, Mesnick chose Rycroft over runner-up Molly Malaney, and proposed. Shortly after the proposal, Mesnick left Rycroft, explaining he had feelings for Malaney. Mesnick and Malaney married in 2010.

Dancing with the Stars

Rycroft first competed on season eight of Dancing with the Stars where she was partnered with Tony Dovolani and finished in third place. She and Dovolani once again served as partners in the All-Stars season and were announced as the winners on the season finale. She later served as the host of the 2015 Dancing with the Stars live tour. She later returned in season 27 as a trio partner to Juan Pablo Di Pace and Cheryl Burke.

Dancing with the Stars Performances (Season 15)

Melissa & Tye In 2012, Rycroft and her husband Tye Strickland starred in their own reality show titled Melissa & Tye on CMT. The show ran for one season (eight episodes), from April 20, 2012, to June 8, 2012.

Logically Irrational Rycroft and husband Tye Strickland launched a podcast with YEA Networks on November 8, 2018. “Logically Irrational” delves into relationships, family, pop culture and Reality TV. Episodes release each Thursday morning on iTunes.

Other shows Rycroft is a co-host of CMT's reality-TV show Redneck Island during its fifth and final season succeeding Jesse James Decker after season 4. Rycroft left the Tribune morning show, Morning Dose, on June 1, 2018.

Personal life Rycroft was briefly engaged to Jason Mesnick, whom she met on The Bachelor. Mesnick called the engagement off after he admitted he was in love with runner-up, Molly Malaney; Mesnick and Molly still remain married as of October 2025. The couple married and have three children.

Legal issues

On September 23, 2025, Rycroft was arrested in Southlake, Texas and booked on a DUI charge. She would be jailed for 8 hours before being released on a $1,000 bond and making a court appearance on September 24, 2025. As of October 7, 2025, Rycroft has yet to be found guilty on this charge, and the investigation against her remains ongoing. According to a police statement, witnesses confirmed seeing her black Cadillac Escalade "driving erratically" before she crashed after hitting a tree. Police found Rycroft after she crashed the Escalade. She was then given a Standardized Field Sobriety Test, which led to her being arrested and transported to the Keller Jail.