WEBVTT - Melissa Rycroft Strickland (Part One) 0:00:01.000 --> 0:00:06.000 This is the most traumatic podcast ever and iHeartRadio podcast. 0:00:08.080 --> 0:00:10.000 Hey everybody, Chris Harrison coming to you from the home 0:00:10.000 --> 0:00:13.520 office in Austin, Texas. Hope everybody's being safe as a 0:00:13.560 --> 0:00:18.000 massive hurricane is just made landfall here in Texas, going 0:00:18.040 --> 0:00:20.239 through Houston and guy's going all the way up to 0:00:20.280 --> 0:00:22.800 the East coast. So everybody be safe this week with 0:00:22.840 --> 0:00:25.000 all the crazy weather going on. I'm excited about the 0:00:25.040 --> 0:00:31.560 show today because someone who was a part of well, 0:00:31.680 --> 0:00:33.960 you know how I say, used to say, this is 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:37.159 the most dramatic moment ever. Well, this was the most 0:00:37.200 --> 0:00:40.919 dramatic moment ever. It was Jason Mesnick's season of The Bachelor. 0:00:41.000 --> 0:00:43.840 It was two thousand and nine and he got engaged 0:00:43.880 --> 0:00:50.200 to Melissa, and then there was the infamous switch where 0:00:50.640 --> 0:00:53.880 Jason broke up with Melissa asked Molly out for a date. 0:00:54.280 --> 0:00:57.360 The rest is Bachelor and history for all of them, 0:00:57.400 --> 0:01:01.480 because now Jason and Molly are married and Melissa went 0:01:01.520 --> 0:01:03.240 off to Dance with the Stars, did a bunch of 0:01:03.240 --> 0:01:06.040 other stuff and is now happily married to her old 0:01:06.040 --> 0:01:11.720 boyfriend Tie. They have three kids. But it was a moment, 0:01:11.959 --> 0:01:16.640 a light bulb moment in the history of the show. 0:01:16.959 --> 0:01:18.920 And again when I say, well, you know, when people 0:01:18.959 --> 0:01:21.600 say what was the most dramatic, this was it. So 0:01:21.880 --> 0:01:24.720 you know, the show had been on for gost two 0:01:24.760 --> 0:01:26.720 thousand and nine, so we've been on since two thousand 0:01:26.720 --> 0:01:29.560 and two, so you know, good seven years. This was 0:01:29.560 --> 0:01:32.199 season thirteen of The Bachelor, which is hard to believe 0:01:32.200 --> 0:01:37.880 because it seems so much long longer. But this really 0:01:39.040 --> 0:01:42.760 blew things up in a way that it's hard to 0:01:42.800 --> 0:01:45.959 even fathom now because there wasn't social media. There wasn't 0:01:46.000 --> 0:01:48.040 a lot of what we have now that made things 0:01:48.080 --> 0:01:51.440 so big. But despite not having social media and despite 0:01:51.440 --> 0:01:55.320 not having all those avenues to talk about it, it 0:01:55.600 --> 0:02:00.480 was massive, very controversial and a lot of ways. So 0:02:01.000 --> 0:02:04.680 the show we're doing today is with Melissa Ryecroft. It's 0:02:04.720 --> 0:02:07.720 a conversation I've really never had publicly with her. We've talked, 0:02:08.919 --> 0:02:10.880 but it's been a while since I've seen her and 0:02:10.960 --> 0:02:13.240 run into her as she is very busy again a 0:02:13.280 --> 0:02:15.800 mother of three. But it's a conversation I've wanted to 0:02:15.840 --> 0:02:18.680 have for a very long time. So I'm so excited 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:20.560 to have Melissa Yecraft on the show today because not 0:02:20.560 --> 0:02:22.840 only were going to talk about Bachelor, bacherette stuff. But 0:02:23.240 --> 0:02:26.640 she was also a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader just a year 0:02:26.720 --> 0:02:29.880 before she came on The Bachelor. She was a Dallas 0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:32.320 Cowboys surely a very popular one, had been there for 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:35.560 two years. And you know the reality show that is 0:02:35.680 --> 0:02:38.720 blowing things up right now on Netflix. We got to 0:02:38.760 --> 0:02:40.880 dive into that as well. So so much to talk 0:02:40.919 --> 0:02:44.920 about with our guest today, Melissa Ryecroft. Melissa, it's so 0:02:45.040 --> 0:02:48.200 good to see you again. Welcome to the show. I've 0:02:48.240 --> 0:02:50.720 been I've been waiting for this talk for a long time. 0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:53.440 Uh oh no, in a good way. I just I 0:02:53.480 --> 0:02:55.280 just haven't seen you in a while. I mean, obviously 0:02:55.320 --> 0:02:57.320 you have been raising three kids. What's what are the 0:02:57.400 --> 0:02:58.320 what are the ages? Again? 0:02:58.840 --> 0:03:01.440 I have a thirteen year old now ten and eight, 0:03:01.800 --> 0:03:04.639 so in a way in it, but they're getting bigger. 0:03:05.160 --> 0:03:06.799 Your oldest is thirteen. 0:03:06.520 --> 0:03:09.080 And my young my Caubooz is eight. Like that's really 0:03:09.120 --> 0:03:09.600 sad to me. 0:03:10.400 --> 0:03:14.480 It's wild. So eight is that? Let's see? I said, 0:03:14.560 --> 0:03:16.720 is it like fourth grade? Third grade? What is that? 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:18.800 Oh, it's been a long time for you, hasn't it. 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:21.680 No? Suse yes, Second, he's going in a second. So 0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:23.799 he started, Okay, so because I know they start around 0:03:23.840 --> 0:03:26.160 four or five, depending on old they are. That's kindergarten. Yeah, 0:03:26.200 --> 0:03:29.560 then first, second, third, Yeah, okay, that has been a 0:03:29.960 --> 0:03:33.040 look minor, I mean one out of college, one's about 0:03:33.080 --> 0:03:36.600 to graduate. And this is crazy, I know, And you know, 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:38.960 I was thinking, this is one thing when I when 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:43.080 I bring on former constants from the show, that seem 0:03:43.360 --> 0:03:44.800 and I don't mean this in a bad way because 0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:46.880 it just ages both of us, but it's to me, 0:03:47.000 --> 0:03:51.520 it honestly feels like a lifetime ago. But it's also 0:03:51.560 --> 0:03:53.880 weird because it was season thirteen of The Bachelor, so 0:03:53.960 --> 0:03:55.840 obviously we'd done it for a while. It was seven 0:03:55.960 --> 0:03:58.480 years in. But at the same time, at two thousand 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:02.520 and nine, man, it feels like a long time ago. Yeah. 0:04:02.600 --> 0:04:07.000 I mean I still probably get recognized more for Bachelor, 0:04:07.080 --> 0:04:10.600 oddly enough than anything else, which you know, and you know, 0:04:10.640 --> 0:04:12.960 I mean again it's aging. It's this was twenty plus 0:04:13.040 --> 0:04:18.279 years ago at this point, you know. But yeah, I 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:23.680 mean I was twenty three, I think going into or 0:04:23.720 --> 0:04:26.000 maybe twenty two, twenty three, like just a baby, and 0:04:26.520 --> 0:04:28.560 people will still come up to me like, oh, you 0:04:28.640 --> 0:04:31.279 look so better off. I'm like, it's been twenty years. 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:33.400 But yes, I mean it was a long time ago. 0:04:33.760 --> 0:04:35.880 But when I even see clips online, I'm like, that 0:04:35.880 --> 0:04:38.080 doesn't even it doesn't look like me, it doesn't sound 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:40.880 like me. It's weird to have that part of your 0:04:40.960 --> 0:04:44.880 life documented, right or everybody? 0:04:45.120 --> 0:04:47.240 Yeah, I can't imagine. I mean even when I see 0:04:47.279 --> 0:04:49.280 pictures of when the show started, and every now and 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:51.679 then a clip will come out from the early early days, 0:04:52.000 --> 0:04:56.520 you know, Alex Michelle or Bob Guiney or Trista, which 0:04:56.680 --> 0:05:00.360 was you know, five six years before your season. Yeah, 0:05:00.400 --> 0:05:03.159 it's that time capsule gets dug up and you're like, 0:05:03.200 --> 0:05:06.040 oh my god, I was are your voice is still 0:05:06.120 --> 0:05:09.200 high and you know, your cadence was different, and yeah, 0:05:09.240 --> 0:05:11.160 I mean you were fresh out of college. I mean 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:13.760 you had gone to North Texas, you had danced for 0:05:13.800 --> 0:05:17.000 the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders for two years, and then you 0:05:17.040 --> 0:05:17.440 came on. 0:05:17.440 --> 0:05:20.120 The Bachelor, and then I came on The Bachelor. Yeah, 0:05:20.240 --> 0:05:21.080 oddly enough. 0:05:21.760 --> 0:05:24.040 And I think I've told you the story that I 0:05:24.200 --> 0:05:26.160 was going through a breakup with. 0:05:26.600 --> 0:05:28.600 My now husband right now with Ti. 0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:30.040 Yeah, Hi, Yeah, we. 0:05:30.040 --> 0:05:32.920 Had been together for about two years and broke up 0:05:33.040 --> 0:05:34.880 and I just had a real hard time getting over 0:05:34.920 --> 0:05:37.000 it had one of my girlfriends who was a cheerleader 0:05:37.560 --> 0:05:38.120 nominate me. 0:05:38.160 --> 0:05:39.560 I don't know how the process is now. 0:05:39.600 --> 0:05:41.880 Back in the day, you could go online and just 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:43.839 type in I guess somebody. 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:45.800 I'll be honest, I don't think they know how the 0:05:45.839 --> 0:05:46.760 process is now. 0:05:49.120 --> 0:05:50.839 And yeah, it just kind of happened. It was. 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:54.040 Yeah, that was funny. I'm shocked. I think you were 0:05:54.040 --> 0:05:57.039 the first, maybe in even the only Dallas Cowboy cheerleader. 0:05:57.040 --> 0:05:58.839 I don't know if we've had more since then, but 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:02.800 I'm shocked we didn't have more, because, you know, being 0:06:02.839 --> 0:06:06.480 from Dallas where I grew up, and I knew some 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:08.880 of the people from the Cowboys, and I had met 0:06:08.920 --> 0:06:10.880 some of the cheerleaders from time to time. I may 0:06:10.920 --> 0:06:13.760 have even been there while you were. I don't know 0:06:13.800 --> 0:06:15.360 if I did. Did I ever come in the room 0:06:15.440 --> 0:06:18.200 or like take pictures, or was on the field. 0:06:18.400 --> 0:06:20.360 It all feels a lot. I don't remember. I don't 0:06:20.400 --> 0:06:22.600 remember the details. I have no idea. 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:24.680 Because I'm a big Cowboy fan and I know the 0:06:24.760 --> 0:06:27.040 Jones family fairly well, and so from time to time 0:06:27.080 --> 0:06:28.400 I would come to a game, and every now and 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:30.279 then I would go in and meet some of the 0:06:30.320 --> 0:06:34.120 cheerleaders or take a picture, And I was I wonder 0:06:34.160 --> 0:06:37.240 if our paths ever came so close to crossing or 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:39.479 did cross and we just obviously didn't know each other. 0:06:39.760 --> 0:06:41.880 Weird. Yeah, no, I think about that stuff. 0:06:41.920 --> 0:06:45.560 But yeah, it was The cheerleaders back then were very 0:06:45.560 --> 0:06:49.680 different than I mean, we were celebrities in the Dallas world, 0:06:49.880 --> 0:06:52.800 you know, like coing out to bars and stuff. We 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:54.680 were little local celebrities. 0:06:54.200 --> 0:06:58.200 I guess. Yeah, now they're bona fide celebrities. 0:06:58.080 --> 0:06:59.640 Right, it's gotten so much bigger. 0:06:59.760 --> 0:07:03.159 Yeah, it's definitely a different thing. There was a girl, 0:07:03.240 --> 0:07:04.600 do you remember Jasmine? 0:07:05.040 --> 0:07:06.200 Yeah, of course, Yeah, he was. 0:07:06.200 --> 0:07:08.920 A DCC and now okay, one of the vander Pump 0:07:09.040 --> 0:07:13.120 spin off on wrong So yes, there was one other. 0:07:13.200 --> 0:07:14.720 I think she was the only one, but there was 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:15.280 one more. 0:07:18.040 --> 0:07:19.560 So yeah, I was just I mean because as I 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:21.400 was looking back this morning, as I was getting ready 0:07:21.440 --> 0:07:23.000 to talk to you, and I'm like, man, two thousand 0:07:23.040 --> 0:07:27.960 and nine, and in the lead up and open to 0:07:28.040 --> 0:07:33.000 this conversation, I said, when people ask me, and I 0:07:33.040 --> 0:07:35.600 always get asked, you know what is actually the most 0:07:35.640 --> 0:07:38.840 dramatic moment you've ever been through on the show, Because 0:07:38.840 --> 0:07:40.320 I say that quite a bit, and I said it 0:07:40.360 --> 0:07:43.680 over twenty years, but I say it was this moment 0:07:43.960 --> 0:07:45.840 it was two thousand and nine, now. 0:07:45.840 --> 0:07:47.600 Twenty years later, still holds. 0:07:47.280 --> 0:07:49.080 The most, still still does. I mean, there were there 0:07:49.120 --> 0:07:52.239 were crazy moments, you know, whether it was Chad threatening 0:07:52.280 --> 0:07:54.440 to kill me on the beach in Mexico or you 0:07:54.480 --> 0:07:57.360 know the Jake Pavelka season that got wild, and you 0:07:57.360 --> 0:07:59.280 know a lot of things went off the rails and 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:02.040 were bad or you know, bad in a good way 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:06.800 TV wise, but this moment was And this is what's weird. 0:08:06.840 --> 0:08:09.040 That's why I wanted to talk to you, because obviously 0:08:09.360 --> 0:08:12.280 I've spent time with you and we've chatted before. But 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:14.280 I think now that we've had time to kind of 0:08:14.320 --> 0:08:16.720 really think about this and we've grown up and gotten 0:08:17.000 --> 0:08:19.119 a little bit more experienced in our lives, it's funny 0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:22.120 to think back on what an indelible mark this made 0:08:22.800 --> 0:08:25.200 on my life. But clearly it was one of the 0:08:25.240 --> 0:08:28.800 biggest moments of your life and Jason and Molly's course, 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:32.480 and to have shared in that is really wild to 0:08:32.520 --> 0:08:34.960 me because usually, you know, a big moment for somebody 0:08:35.040 --> 0:08:37.480 like you, you would just tell me about it, but I 0:08:37.559 --> 0:08:41.280 lived it which was weird, which was so weird. I 0:08:41.320 --> 0:08:44.079 should not have been there. I shouldn't have been there, 0:08:44.120 --> 0:08:45.880 you know, Yeah, you shouldn't have be there. 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:52.960 Yeah, it was I imagine for you it was completely awkward. 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:57.680 What what I specifically remember is when they would cut 0:08:57.720 --> 0:09:00.280 to the commercial quote unquote, we're taking a break, and 0:09:00.320 --> 0:09:03.679 it would just be silence nobody. And now that I've 0:09:03.720 --> 0:09:05.200 done a few things, but that's not what happened. You 0:09:05.240 --> 0:09:08.000 cut for commercially, you talk, you joke, you laugh, there 0:09:08.160 --> 0:09:11.840 was it was silence with everybody for what two or 0:09:11.840 --> 0:09:13.520 three minutes while we just kind of sat there. 0:09:13.720 --> 0:09:14.040 It was. 0:09:14.120 --> 0:09:16.480 It was And for those that don't remember, or maybe 0:09:16.520 --> 0:09:21.400 you haven't been born yet at the time. So on 0:09:21.640 --> 0:09:24.640 season thirteen to The Bachelor, Jason Mesnik was our bachelor. 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:29.439 We get to the end and we are in New Zealand, yeah, 0:09:29.480 --> 0:09:32.640 and which was beautiful. And so we're in New Zealand 0:09:33.080 --> 0:09:36.280 and it was pretty close coming to the end, but 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:39.280 we kind of knew he was going to choose Melissa, 0:09:40.000 --> 0:09:43.679 and that's what happened. There was a proposal, It was beautiful, 0:09:43.960 --> 0:09:49.600 We had a great time. We pop champagne, We go home. Yeah, 0:09:49.600 --> 0:09:51.280 we jump in the pool, yeah, we had all these 0:09:51.320 --> 0:09:55.760 moments and we you know, one of the funny things 0:09:55.840 --> 0:09:58.480 before I move forward. I don't know if you know this, 0:09:58.600 --> 0:10:03.760 but the proposal. Maybe this was like an omen Maybe 0:10:03.760 --> 0:10:07.640 this was God saying guys, don't do this. But right 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:10.640 as the proposals about to happen, obviously we know he's 0:10:10.640 --> 0:10:13.280 about to get down on one knee, the power goes 0:10:13.320 --> 0:10:19.000 out in the control room. No, just it's never happened before, 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:21.640 it's never happened since. But right, I mean, we have, 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:24.520 you know, so just so people know, we're set up, 0:10:24.559 --> 0:10:27.120 you know in usually houses or resorts or something. So 0:10:27.120 --> 0:10:29.600 we'll take over a hotel room or maybe someone's bedroom 0:10:29.800 --> 0:10:31.920 and we turn it into this huge control room. So 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:36.400 there's like ten monitors, there's audio behind us, there's you know, 0:10:37.200 --> 0:10:39.800 there's all this equipment in this room. And it says 0:10:39.840 --> 0:10:43.080 if someone just flipped one switch and it was just shoom, 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:45.640 that was God. That was that was God. That was 0:10:45.679 --> 0:10:48.640 God saying, guys, stop this. And so I'll never it 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:52.800 because Ken Fuchs, our director, without even blinking an eye, 0:10:53.280 --> 0:10:56.040 dropped everything threw off his headset, went sprinting, and it 0:10:56.080 --> 0:10:59.400 was like we're good four hundred yards away sprinting down 0:10:59.400 --> 0:11:01.600 this hill to get to the mountaintop where you guys were, 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:04.880 and he started just running from camera to camera to 0:11:04.880 --> 0:11:07.520 make sure everybody was getting the shots. Luckily, you know, 0:11:07.600 --> 0:11:09.600 the photogs on that show are the best in the 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:12.000 world at what they do, and so everybody just kept 0:11:12.000 --> 0:11:14.520 doing their job and getting their shots of the you know, 0:11:14.600 --> 0:11:17.840 the isoshot of Melissa, the isoshot of Jason, and the 0:11:17.880 --> 0:11:20.600 two shots and then the jibs getting these big But 0:11:21.280 --> 0:11:24.280 we didn't see that proposal. We didn't hear it. We 0:11:24.320 --> 0:11:27.400 didn't know what we had until we got back home. 0:11:27.400 --> 0:11:29.679 So you didn't know. I said, yes, technically. 0:11:29.200 --> 0:11:32.400 We did well, we did because we ran down celebrate. Okay, 0:11:32.480 --> 0:11:35.480 so we get home after that little anecdote, we get home, 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:39.200 when did you guys know that things weren't well? 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:45.120 I mean, pretty quick, I'm going to be honest. Once 0:11:45.480 --> 0:11:49.559 once the relationship turned to strictly phone calls, because back 0:11:49.640 --> 0:11:51.720 then you didn't have FaceTime, you didn't. 0:11:51.480 --> 0:11:52.800 Have Zoom, you didn't you didn't have that. 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:57.320 Phone calls And I think I think what I learned 0:11:57.400 --> 0:12:01.040 was that the cameras created a protect around us of 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:02.960 there's always kind of something fun to talk about you 0:12:02.960 --> 0:12:06.720 have your best stories, you have your best self, and 0:12:06.800 --> 0:12:10.839 once that was gone, we didn't have a ton in common. 0:12:10.840 --> 0:12:14.280 Right well, and the show facilitates that. And I will 0:12:14.320 --> 0:12:19.160 say we and as the show got better at facilitating 0:12:19.160 --> 0:12:22.160 the relationships that we built in the in the early days, 0:12:22.160 --> 0:12:24.200 and I think you were still considered early days, I 0:12:24.200 --> 0:12:27.400 would say we didn't do a good job of facilitating relationships. 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:29.120 We did a good job at building them. Like you said, 0:12:29.120 --> 0:12:31.360 we made sure that Melissa and Jason only got to 0:12:31.360 --> 0:12:34.720 see each other for a short amount of time, so 0:12:34.800 --> 0:12:36.320 it was always the honeymoon. 0:12:35.920 --> 0:12:39.600 Phase, right exactly, exactly, Yeah, And once the honeymoon phase 0:12:39.640 --> 0:12:43.400 was gone, it was still you know, in my mind, 0:12:43.400 --> 0:12:45.240 I just thought, we just need to see each other again. 0:12:45.280 --> 0:12:49.320 This is because you know, I can't when I tell 0:12:49.360 --> 0:12:52.280 people what this process was like for me, Like I 0:12:52.320 --> 0:12:56.840 went from going into this a single woman, quote unquote 0:12:56.840 --> 0:12:58.600 falling in love to what I thought I was falling 0:12:58.600 --> 0:13:01.040 in love. I left an engaged and I couldn't tell 0:13:01.080 --> 0:13:04.200 a soul. I couldn't tell my best friend, I couldn't 0:13:04.200 --> 0:13:06.720 tell my parents found out because remember they were not 0:13:06.760 --> 0:13:08.240 even on the show. My parents wouldn't go on the 0:13:08.240 --> 0:13:12.840 show call them and just say no right and tell them. 0:13:12.880 --> 0:13:16.200 But I couldn't. I couldn't delve into details of what 0:13:16.240 --> 0:13:19.320 I was going through, And so I have this roller 0:13:19.320 --> 0:13:22.000 coaster of emotions and now I've got a relationship that 0:13:22.720 --> 0:13:26.120 is not even one hundred percent and I can't talk 0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:29.960 to anybody about it because nobody even knows I'm engaged. 0:13:29.960 --> 0:13:32.880 It was a really weird mind place to be in, 0:13:33.000 --> 0:13:34.440 and so in my mind, I went. 0:13:34.520 --> 0:13:35.959 He's back in Seattle with his kid. 0:13:36.320 --> 0:13:38.600 He's back in his job with his kid, doing his 0:13:38.679 --> 0:13:39.080 thing too. 0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:41.960 Then you're in Dallas and my little cubicle. 0:13:42.080 --> 0:13:45.480 It's like, it's like life, this huge life event happened, 0:13:45.520 --> 0:13:48.480 and then we separated, pretended it didn't and continued with 0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:49.080 our lives. 0:13:49.400 --> 0:13:51.880 You must have been like, did I did Did any 0:13:51.920 --> 0:13:52.800 of that even happen? 0:13:53.080 --> 0:13:53.320 Mine? 0:13:53.400 --> 0:13:53.520 Key? 0:13:53.760 --> 0:13:54.840 Am I thing buried? 0:13:55.200 --> 0:13:58.840 I mean, it must have just seemed like some weird 0:13:59.160 --> 0:14:02.319 fever dream it because it's like being shot out of 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:04.760 a cannon. Then you're just like, Okay, go back to 0:14:04.800 --> 0:14:07.480 your life. And again that's where we didn't do a 0:14:07.480 --> 0:14:10.160 good job back in the day of facilitating those relationships. Yeah, 0:14:10.200 --> 0:14:13.000 we had those quote unquote happy couple get away weekends, 0:14:13.000 --> 0:14:15.560 but we didn't do a good job. And like you said, 0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:18.200 communication was a little more difficult because you just had 0:14:18.360 --> 0:14:21.080 you just had to have a long distance phone call, and. 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:22.360 You had to be at the same time, you know, 0:14:22.520 --> 0:14:23.880 it had to be when I was off work and 0:14:23.880 --> 0:14:24.640 you were off work. 0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:26.160 And yeah, but. 0:14:26.200 --> 0:14:30.360 Yeah, just I realized pretty quickly personalities were pretty different, 0:14:30.720 --> 0:14:35.960 interests were pretty different. But I really thought, once this 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:39.000 is all over, the show is aired, we can finally. 0:14:38.640 --> 0:14:39.240 Be a couple. 0:14:40.280 --> 0:14:43.280 We'll be normal again, and it'll be fine. So that's 0:14:43.320 --> 0:14:46.920 how I went into the after the final Rows, even 0:14:47.000 --> 0:14:49.560 though no we can talk. You know, they bumped our 0:14:49.600 --> 0:14:54.640 taping up like a month, and I remember asking, and 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:56.080 I was like, why did they bump our after the 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:58.480 final rose up? It wasn't supposed to tape until like 0:14:58.600 --> 0:14:59.880 end of February, right, Oh that's. 0:14:59.840 --> 0:15:02.920 Right, that's right, And we did it right after Christmas, yes. 0:15:02.800 --> 0:15:04.680 And I was told, oh, it has to do with 0:15:04.720 --> 0:15:08.880 Bachelorette taping. I'm like, okay. I remember talking to Jason. 0:15:08.920 --> 0:15:10.440 I was like, do you know why they're doing this? 0:15:10.480 --> 0:15:23.880 And he goes, no, I have no clue. 0:15:24.560 --> 0:15:27.080 So yeah, I remember from the other side, I can 0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:28.880 tell you. I got a phone call. I might have 0:15:28.960 --> 0:15:30.720 even been like Christmas Eve. It was. I know it 0:15:30.760 --> 0:15:33.040 was right around Christmas because I remember I was with 0:15:33.080 --> 0:15:36.560 my family. I was on vacation, and they said, you know, 0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:39.560 I don't know anything yet, but things aren't looking good 0:15:39.600 --> 0:15:43.040 with Jason and Melissa. And they said, you know, we're 0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:46.200 going back and forth, but just be prepared because why 0:15:46.240 --> 0:15:48.120 the reason they called in the middle of Christmas week 0:15:48.240 --> 0:15:51.760 is where are you going to be right after New 0:15:51.800 --> 0:15:54.680 Year January? Yeah, just in case. And I was like, well, 0:15:54.920 --> 0:15:56.760 I mean I don't know. I'm like, I can you know, 0:15:56.800 --> 0:15:59.160 it's my job. I'll be available, and they said, okay, 0:15:59.200 --> 0:16:02.000 we'll keep you post. And it wasn't a week later 0:16:02.080 --> 0:16:05.520 that they called and said we are shooting something around 0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:08.560 January seventh, whatever it was. I forget the shoot date, 0:16:09.000 --> 0:16:13.240 but this is not going to go well, and we'll 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:14.960 keep you posted well. 0:16:15.000 --> 0:16:18.840 In reference, yeah, we actually got engaged over Thanksgiving, so 0:16:19.360 --> 0:16:20.240 you can do the math. 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:22.200 It was not a very long time. 0:16:22.560 --> 0:16:24.320 No, that was a short honeymoon right. 0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:27.120 That we were at home trying to make but in 0:16:27.560 --> 0:16:30.240 I will say there was no breakup. Like I didn't 0:16:30.280 --> 0:16:31.880 know production had been contacted. 0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:32.480 I didn't know. 0:16:32.520 --> 0:16:36.880 There were conversations of we're going to end this. That's 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:40.200 where when what happened on the After Final Rows happened. 0:16:40.240 --> 0:16:41.880 I was like, what they just had to tell me? 0:16:42.000 --> 0:16:44.640 All you had to do, yeah, was not pull the 0:16:44.680 --> 0:16:48.720 rug up? So what Mliss is alluding to? So we decide, 0:16:48.960 --> 0:16:52.200 you know, pretty early on, we started this special called 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:55.160 After the Final Rows. Now it's commonplace and they do 0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:57.240 it every season. We didn't used to always do that, 0:16:57.760 --> 0:17:01.040 so we do this show after the Final Row. We 0:17:01.080 --> 0:17:02.960 always had a little bit of a studio audience and 0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:07.080 it's a lot of fanfare or whatever. And with this one, 0:17:07.240 --> 0:17:09.960 I get the call and they say, we're going to 0:17:10.800 --> 0:17:13.119 do this at Telepicture Studio. It's where they used to 0:17:13.119 --> 0:17:16.360 shoot the show Extra back in the day over there 0:17:16.359 --> 0:17:20.040 at Telepictures in Burbank. And I don't even know if 0:17:20.080 --> 0:17:23.080 that's the studio or the building exists anymore. I know 0:17:23.160 --> 0:17:26.080 that Extra is not there anymore, but we're going to 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:28.880 do it in a dark studio without an audience. 0:17:29.400 --> 0:17:31.119 And I didn't know that was abnormal. I had no 0:17:31.200 --> 0:17:32.640 idea that that was not I'm like. 0:17:32.600 --> 0:17:35.480 What and they said yeah, they're like they're like, that's 0:17:35.640 --> 0:17:39.080 one good thing. I do think maybe it was good 0:17:39.200 --> 0:17:41.000 they said, you know, we're going to do without an audience, 0:17:41.080 --> 0:17:45.000 because what's going to happen is I think Jason is 0:17:45.040 --> 0:17:46.879 going to break up with Melissa and he's going to 0:17:46.960 --> 0:17:50.199 ask Molly for another chance. He's asking about Molly and 0:17:50.280 --> 0:17:52.840 I think he's going to go back and ask her 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:56.679 for another chance. And I'm like, oh my god, like 0:17:56.960 --> 0:18:01.919 what the f is? And so I'm like, okay. So 0:18:01.960 --> 0:18:04.959 we get there that day and it is the studio 0:18:05.080 --> 0:18:06.120 is just two chairs. 0:18:06.359 --> 0:18:09.440 You didn't know what was going to happen. 0:18:09.600 --> 0:18:11.919 No, I didn't know one hundred percent either, because you know, 0:18:12.280 --> 0:18:14.320 you know, honestly, Jason back then, I don't know if 0:18:14.359 --> 0:18:17.560 he knew for a hundred percent he was he was 0:18:17.640 --> 0:18:21.560 a mess. He was he was a puddle of a 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:24.359 man at the time. I mean, he was such a wreck. 0:18:24.440 --> 0:18:26.639 Not to take him off the hook at all, but 0:18:26.960 --> 0:18:31.480 he was an absolute mess. And I did this really 0:18:31.480 --> 0:18:33.639 overly dramatic open that you know, we're not going to 0:18:33.640 --> 0:18:36.439 have an audience, you know, out of respect for everybody involved, 0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:38.679 as if that made it better. Uh, you know, but 0:18:39.200 --> 0:18:45.040 here was the biggest bizarre mistake, because well, we'll continue 0:18:45.040 --> 0:18:46.040 to talk and then I want to go back and 0:18:46.040 --> 0:18:49.879 tell you the biggest mistake we made among others. We 0:18:49.960 --> 0:18:52.040 get in that studio and the first person to come 0:18:52.080 --> 0:18:55.760 out is you. I don't know, and yeah, you you know, 0:18:55.840 --> 0:18:57.680 because obviously he had to break up with you first, 0:18:57.720 --> 0:19:00.479 so we and I don't know if he it might 0:19:00.520 --> 0:19:02.119 have just been you and I first, or if it 0:19:02.160 --> 0:19:05.000 was Jason. I want to say, if I recollect maybe 0:19:05.000 --> 0:19:06.600 you and I sat and talked a loan first to 0:19:06.640 --> 0:19:09.159 get a vibe for the what your thoughts were on 0:19:09.200 --> 0:19:13.320 the relationship, and then y'all were together. But when did 0:19:13.359 --> 0:19:15.879 you know in that talk that he was going to 0:19:16.640 --> 0:19:18.639 actually break up? Did you feel the vibe as you 0:19:18.680 --> 0:19:19.200 walked in? 0:19:19.760 --> 0:19:25.160 Still, to be completely honest, I felt something was wrong 0:19:25.240 --> 0:19:27.919 going into that day, and I, you know, he and 0:19:27.960 --> 0:19:33.160 I had like a conversation after because I remember before saying, 0:19:33.160 --> 0:19:34.560