Speaker 1: This is the most dramatic podcast ever and iHeartRadio podcast.
Speaker 1: Chris Harrison coming to you from the home office in Austin, Texas.
Speaker 1: And this is a very Texas heavy show today because
Speaker 1: my guest Melissa Rycroft Strickland, and I know what you're thinking, Yeah,
Speaker 1: from The Bachelor and that crazy switch moment with Jason Mesnick.
Speaker 1: If you have not listened to episode one with Melissa,
Speaker 1: go back, because we dove into all of everything that
Speaker 1: happened with her on season thirteen to The Bachelor with
Speaker 1: Jason Mesnick and the switch with Molly and the drama
Speaker 1: and every detail details I didn't even know. It was
Speaker 1: really great to hear her side of things, her perspective,
Speaker 1: and it brought up old memories for me. That's one
Speaker 1: of the things I always love about talking to, especially
Speaker 1: people who are on the show a while ago. They
Speaker 1: bring up memories I've kind of forgotten because there was
Speaker 1: just so many seasons, but they really spark these memories
Speaker 1: and moments and life. So I love revisiting those. And
Speaker 1: so that conversation with Melissa you got to listen to
Speaker 1: because it really was the most dramatic moment in Bachelor history.
Speaker 1: It really was It changed my life, It changed the show,
Speaker 1: It changed the trajectory of the entire franchise, especially when
Speaker 1: she said no to becoming the Bachelorette. So go listen
Speaker 1: to that. But today I wanted to talk about what
Speaker 1: we really knew Melissa for when she came on the show.
Speaker 1: She was a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. Melissa was a dancer
Speaker 1: in college and got out of college and in two
Speaker 1: thousand and six to two thousand and eight, she was
Speaker 1: a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. Very famous, very popular cheerleader in Dallas,
Speaker 1: and obviously the Cowboy cheerleaders are world famous. So she
Speaker 1: comes on the show and she is, you know, America's sweetheart.
Speaker 1: This beautiful young lady who's a Cowboys cheerleader just fit
Speaker 1: the mold perfectly to be on the Bachelor to find love.
Speaker 1: But I never dove into her being a Cowboys cheerleader
Speaker 1: until now because it has become such a hot topic. Obviously,
Speaker 1: there was the original reality show that was on CMT
Speaker 1: about making the Team. But now, and if you haven't
Speaker 1: seen this, you got to go see the Netflix special
Speaker 1: about the Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. This is a full documentary
Speaker 1: that follows them, and it is really inside stuff, and
Speaker 1: it really does pull back that fourth wall, and you're
Speaker 1: hearing and seeing things I did not think we would
Speaker 1: ever hear and see. So I wanted to go to
Speaker 1: someone who's been in the trenches and is still involved
Speaker 1: with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. She still helps him from
Speaker 1: time to time and is a part of the organization.
Speaker 1: So I wanted to do just a show about Melissa
Speaker 1: and the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. So we talked all about
Speaker 1: your time on The Bachelor and everything that happened. But
Speaker 1: I want to get back to the two years before
Speaker 1: you were on the show. You were a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader.
Speaker 2: I was a flipping Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. I see.
Speaker 1: By the way, I still have the picture. I love
Speaker 1: the picture of you as a cheerleader.
Speaker 2: Oh boy, what it is?
Speaker 1: It's adorable. No, you're damn adorable. Look at this. I'm
Speaker 1: going to hold it up in this like like, look.
Speaker 2: At this, don't it.
Speaker 1: I looked so little, you were so little.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So funny story about you know when we talked
Speaker 2: about Bachelor, the reason I went on I was going
Speaker 2: through a breakup. I actually became a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader
Speaker 2: going through a breakup as well. I had been in
Speaker 2: a seven year relationship that had ended right as I
Speaker 2: was graduating college. It was devastated, obviously, seven years when
Speaker 2: you're twenty one is a long time.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: And I was at home, you know, stuffing my face
Speaker 2: with pizza and a commercial for tryouts for the Dallas
Speaker 2: Cowboys cheerleaders in two weeks, and I went, you know
Speaker 2: what I could do that?
Speaker 1: Were you a dancer at North Texas?
Speaker 2: I did? I danced at North Texas. Yeah, I went
Speaker 2: to owe you for two years and took dance off.
Speaker 2: And then when I came back to you and T
Speaker 2: and I went to Texas Stadium that day and little
Speaker 2: they were filming a show. It was the very first
Speaker 2: season of making the team. None of us had any
Speaker 2: clue what that was.
Speaker 1: The you know, the OG original reality show about making.
Speaker 2: Yeah standard definition as you can get. Yeah. Ended up,
Speaker 2: I ended up making it and.
Speaker 1: Change this is two thousand and six. And then you
Speaker 1: did it for two seasons.
Speaker 2: I think I did it for two seasons.
Speaker 1: The most you can do is three.
Speaker 2: No, you can go as many seasons as you want.
Speaker 2: We have a girl who I.
Speaker 1: Can on her six Oh wow, Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2: I was just a lot of the girls start when
Speaker 2: they're eighteen. You know, I was working a full time job,
Speaker 2: I had a social life. I wanted to keep up,
Speaker 2: and so I would go to work from eight to five.
Speaker 2: I was at the stadium from six to eleven. And
Speaker 2: then you lather, rense, repeat, and you know, there's a lot.
Speaker 1: That's a lot. You say, we you're still involved with them,
Speaker 1: You're one of their big alums.
Speaker 2: I yeah, I think for twelve thirteen years now, I've
Speaker 2: been Judge Trials with them and going through training camp
Speaker 2: with them, and yeah, no, it's been fun. It's a
Speaker 2: full circle moment for sure, when I look at these girls.
Speaker 1: The difference between the original reality show that you were
Speaker 1: a part of making the team and what you're seeing
Speaker 1: on Netflix now, which is one of the things I
Speaker 1: wanted to talk to you about, because this Netflix special
Speaker 1: has really captivated America at least, and I find it
Speaker 1: interesting because I grew up in Dallas, born and raised,
Speaker 1: diehard Dallas Cowboy fan. I was always you know, captivated
Speaker 1: and mesmerized by the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, you know, often imitated,
Speaker 1: never equalled they were just bigger than life, because so
Speaker 1: were the Cowboys. Cowboys are still America's team, but I
Speaker 1: would say almost more so the shining kind of beacon.
Speaker 1: An example of America's team is the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.
Speaker 1: They are around the world doing USO tours. They do
Speaker 1: so much, not just in our community, but around the world,
Speaker 1: around the country. So the cheerleaders almost are a bit
Speaker 1: er symbol than the star itself.
Speaker 2: I mean, I mean, I think so being completely unbiased,
Speaker 2: but yeah, So the original show was on CMT. It
Speaker 2: was a great show, just kind of lifted the curtain
Speaker 2: behind you know, during training camp. It shows, you know,
Speaker 2: three months long what Netflix has done though, and Ty
Speaker 2: had this great comparison. I was like, you're right, you
Speaker 2: know the show Hard Knocks for football fans, Yeah, this
Speaker 2: is the Hard Knocks for cheerleaders. Anyway, You're absolutely, that's
Speaker 2: exactly what it is. You know, you're spotlighting a few girls,
Speaker 2: you're seeing the process, you're seeing the good, but you're
Speaker 2: also seeing the not so good, right, I mean, they've
Speaker 2: gotten a lot.
Speaker 1: I am shocked at how much of not the good
Speaker 1: you're seeing. I know, I am too, to be honest,
Speaker 1: I was like, what are you shocked? So what are
Speaker 1: you most shocked that you've heard or seen? We're like, WHOA,
Speaker 1: I can't believe they said that out loud.
Speaker 2: It's not that I can't believe they've said that, but
Speaker 2: obviously the pay topic has a huge point of contention
Speaker 2: with a lot of people. You know, and this is coming.
Speaker 2: I made fifty bucks a game back in my day.
Speaker 1: Fifty dollars a game, hundred dollars a season. Guys, let
Speaker 1: that sink in. This is a billion dollar industry. Yeah,
Speaker 1: the club itself is worth billions of dollars, just the team,
Speaker 1: not the NFL. The team is worth over a billion dollars.
Speaker 2: And I listen, you sign up. I signed a contract
Speaker 2: at the beginning of my year. I knew what my
Speaker 2: pay was. I was fine with it. I never really understood,
Speaker 2: like calendar stuff, when my face was being used for
Speaker 2: stuff not just mine. I'm saying me, like the girls, yes,
Speaker 2: you never saw them. There were no residuals, there were
Speaker 2: no none of that. It was great. Thanks for that.
Speaker 2: We're going to make millions of dollars on this merchandise.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, and think of how many how many girls
Speaker 1: walked around the United States as Dallas Cowboy chere leaders
Speaker 1: at Halloween. How many you know there was so much merch,
Speaker 1: so much money that was made.
Speaker 2: No, they're definitely celebrities, and it's only gained with you know,
Speaker 2: social media and the accessibility of them, you know, I mean,
Speaker 2: once this curtain has come back, I think the fascination
Speaker 2: with who they are, what they are, what goes on
Speaker 2: behind the scenes. I mean, I just feel like right now,
Speaker 2: especially with this documentary, people are fascinated with how the
Speaker 2: wheels work on this machine.
Speaker 1: You know, we're hearing in some of the things that
Speaker 1: are surprising. I think that we're not surprised they happen.
Speaker 1: It's a surprise you're hearing it. Any the critiques of
Speaker 1: body dance all this stuff, Like what were there any
Speaker 1: big critiques or harsh comments made to you if like
Speaker 1: you got to do this, you got to get better
Speaker 1: your nose, you know, we got to fix your teeth anything.
Speaker 2: I mean, listen, I'm not going to go into details,
Speaker 2: but I was a cheerleader now about twenty years ago
Speaker 2: when we had America's Next Top Model where they're criticizing
Speaker 2: bodies and faces. It was the norm of where you
Speaker 2: were in our society that I can criticize you for
Speaker 2: the way you look, and how much do you know?
Speaker 2: Back then we were way every practice. You know. I
Speaker 2: remember going, I can't drink too much water because I'm
Speaker 2: going to be heavier. And you had weight watch, weight warning,
Speaker 2: and weight probation and you didn't want to be in
Speaker 2: any of them. And oddly enough and tryouts this year,
Speaker 2: I was talking to Kelly about weight or something, and
Speaker 2: she goes, we haven't waited the girls in years, so,
Speaker 2: I mean they've evolved with the times as they have,
Speaker 2: But I mean back in my day, it was it was.
Speaker 1: Tough, a breeding ground for eating disorders.
Speaker 2: I think we all came out with eating. I'm gonna
Speaker 2: be real honest, I think we all with like healthy unhealthy?
Speaker 2: What do I do? Am? I am? I big? Am
Speaker 2: I not? You know? And I look back at my
Speaker 2: twenty year old self, going, oh my god, if I could,
Speaker 2: if I could be that tiny again.
Speaker 1: You're like, that's as beautiful and spectacular as I'm ever
Speaker 1: gonna be. My skin's so elastic it bounds that it's. Uh.
Speaker 1: Do you think the pay is going to change now
Speaker 1: because this has been uncovered? I do, because the cowboys
Speaker 1: are smart. If one thing that Jones family knows to
Speaker 1: be smart.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think they also like to make up their
Speaker 2: own minds though, you know, of like true my decision
Speaker 2: if we I don't want to be I don't want
Speaker 2: people to think I was forced into make decision. So
Speaker 2: I think maybe we'll open up a conversation of we
Speaker 2: probably need to talk seeing is how many people find
Speaker 2: this offensive and a bit of an issue maybe.
Speaker 1: I mean, look, I don't think they're going to be millionaires,
Speaker 1: and you know, it's not going to be like some
Speaker 1: crazy salary, but I think it goes up.
Speaker 2: Well, they're getting paid more than we did. I mean
Speaker 2: it has gone I think they get paid for practices
Speaker 2: now like that that stuff has been changed. But like
Speaker 2: I mean, they're not getting rich off of being a
Speaker 2: cheerleader by any means.
Speaker 1: I went to a big dance school. I was surrounded
Speaker 1: by dancers in college. I went to Oklahoma City University,
Speaker 1: and so again I understand the dance philosophy too. Of
Speaker 1: like they were weighed in and all the all the
Speaker 1: eating disorders that came out of it, but the physicality
Speaker 1: of it, I don't know if people fully appreciated the
Speaker 1: physicality of what you all do and did. When you
Speaker 1: see that, Oh yeah, my hips are just going to
Speaker 1: pop out of socket now because of how much we
Speaker 1: do and the drop split. I love how much was
Speaker 1: made about the drop sport split.
Speaker 2: Yeah, no it was. I mean I've always said, you're
Speaker 2: not your body's not fallen apart because you started dancing
Speaker 2: at twenty as a cheerleader. Right, these girls have been
Speaker 2: dancing since they were three. We have my Boddy. I'm
Speaker 2: forty one, and I creak and croak, I need surgeries.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's just there are athletes in the sense
Speaker 2: that they've been doing this their entire lives, and they've
Speaker 2: been doing a lot of it their entire lives, and
Speaker 2: as you get to the professional status like it is
Speaker 2: with male athletes, they're practicing six hours a day, which
Speaker 2: is a lot on your body because it's not just
Speaker 2: your legs or your arms. I mean when you're dancing,
Speaker 2: it's total full body. And yes, those jump splits are
Speaker 2: not friendly to anybody. Nobody was like, yes, I get
Speaker 2: to jump in the air.
Speaker 1: I don't think anybody would watch that and say, yeah,
Speaker 1: that's good for you.
Speaker 2: Every time you were like, oh, my brother and done
Speaker 2: land in.
Speaker 1: You know how much anxiety. It's really funny that there
Speaker 1: was a it's almost like a trust fall. I really
Speaker 1: enjoyed watching the rookies go through and like, you know,
Speaker 1: there's so much anxiety to do it the first time.
Speaker 1: Do you remember that much anxiety and looking towards Oh gosh,
Speaker 1: we're going to have to learn to do this jump
Speaker 1: split and doing it that first time.
Speaker 2: I don't remember doing it the first time, but I
Speaker 2: remember that anxiety of like, if I must this up,
Speaker 2: I'm out. But also you have this fear because with
Speaker 2: a jump split, if you don't all jump up and land,
Speaker 2: because we've had girls that get nervous at the last
Speaker 2: minute and don't, so if you think about it, it
Speaker 2: throws the off next to you and pushes them down.
Speaker 2: So then you have this fear of if the girls
Speaker 2: around me aren't doing it right, I then can get hurt.
Speaker 2: And it's this this ripple effect. I mean, it is
Speaker 2: highly effective visually yet massively terrifying when you're doing it and.
Speaker 1: Then you get up and carry these I mean, and
Speaker 1: it's hot. By the way, you were at the old Texas.
Speaker 2: Stadium, old open open, there.
Speaker 1: Was open, hot, cold, wet, dry, you name it. And
Speaker 1: that turf was like a brick. It was just like
Speaker 1: turf laid over concrete, which was so hard. Compared to
Speaker 1: what they're performing at now on this soft turf and
Speaker 1: seventy eight degrees, it's so much nicer.
Speaker 2: And I only got fifty dollars a game for that.
Speaker 1: Fifty dollars a damn game. That's that's amazing. I think
Speaker 1: you make more selling Girl Scout cookies.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: No, you could have a lemonade stand in Highland Park.
Speaker 1: Can you be much better off?
Speaker 2: Well, it's funny. Back then, as we had to have
Speaker 2: like our nails done, we had to have our hair
Speaker 2: professionally done, our teeth white, and tanning. I was losing
Speaker 2: money being a cheerleader by what it costs today.
Speaker 1: They didn't do that for you.
Speaker 2: No, we had free tanning memberships. That was it. Everything
Speaker 2: else we had to maintain on our own.
Speaker 1: And they also told you in the day, I don't
Speaker 1: know if they still do. You can shed some light
Speaker 1: on this. They tell you what color your hair is
Speaker 1: going to be correct.
Speaker 2: Yes, they made me a red head, a red like
Speaker 2: a red brown, and I had to keep that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I was looking at your hair was much lighter
Speaker 1: and kind of so they kind of walk down the
Speaker 1: line because they don't want you know, look, thirty brunettes
Speaker 1: might be the best dancers and they make the team,
Speaker 1: but they don't want thirty brunettes on the field. They
Speaker 1: need five redheads, five blondes, five brunettes five you know.
Speaker 1: And so they break you up and tell you what
Speaker 1: color your hair is going to be?
Speaker 2: Yes, and they I do think they I mean I
Speaker 2: don't think they just randomly go, hey, we're turning you
Speaker 2: into a burnette. I think they look and go, you
Speaker 2: know what, you could probably pull off yeah, darker or this,
Speaker 2: and I'm gonna be real honest and tryouts. We see
Speaker 2: a lot of hair makeover right there, Like we had
Speaker 2: one this year. I was like, it's silver, her hair
Speaker 2: looks gray. People pay a lot of money to not
Speaker 2: have that color hair. I don't understand. So sometimes it
Speaker 2: is necessary. Sometimes the girls hate it, you know, they
Speaker 2: get their hair done. I think we saw in this
Speaker 2: past season on Netflix she hated her hair when she
Speaker 2: went from a blonde to a burnette. But you know,
Speaker 2: you're like, I let them do it. I actually liked it.
Speaker 2: I didn't hate my hair that's cool.
Speaker 1: You're still involved with them though. I love that. That's cool.
Speaker 1: And have have you been on Are you going to
Speaker 1: be a part of the special at all or on
Speaker 1: the documentary? No?
Speaker 2: I was just there for the tryout part, so just
Speaker 2: for the beginning. Because the format has changed so much,
Speaker 2: where it used to focus on what goes on during
Speaker 2: training camp. Yeah, now it's more kind of the individual
Speaker 2: girls and then the organization as a whole, and they
Speaker 2: film all year. They don't just fil during the training
Speaker 2: camp anymore.
Speaker 1: Before I let you go, there were some fan questions
Speaker 1: because people were so excited you were coming on and
Speaker 1: wanted to ask you personal questions that they were wondering
Speaker 1: about Dallas campboard cheerleaders. How often do you interact with
Speaker 1: the football players?
Speaker 2: Never unless you're at an appearance together.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Separation of church and state one hundred percent. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Is there a hard and fast rule like do not date?
Speaker 2: Yes. In that contract that you sign, they make it
Speaker 2: very known that there is no fraternization. There is. We've
Speaker 2: lost girls for ignoring that rule before. But yeah, sometimes
Speaker 2: you'll do appearances. Usually it's at Christmas time, like in
Speaker 2: the hospitals when you've got the foot in you and
Speaker 2: you're allowed to you know, hey, but no other than
Speaker 2: that part out.
Speaker 1: We kind of talked about this, but do they have
Speaker 1: especially now, do they have them on a specific diet?
Speaker 1: Do they talk about that? Tell you? I mean, I know,
Speaker 1: you're not weighing in anymore.
Speaker 2: No, you're not weighing And they actually have a nutritionist
Speaker 2: that is on staff. Back in our day, we had
Speaker 2: Jay who was our personal trainer. We don't have the
Speaker 2: Jay anymore, but now we have more health than They
Speaker 2: kind of make meal plans for everybody based on their
Speaker 2: eating habits, what they like, what they dislike, and what
Speaker 2: they need.
Speaker 1: How hard is it to have a social life because
Speaker 1: it sounds like your full time job then you're dancing.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it sounds really glamorous. But like I
Speaker 2: was telling you, most of these girls have jobs during
Speaker 2: the day and then at night you're at practice. I
Speaker 2: think the misconception is that people think it's like two
Speaker 2: hours a week that you're working right during Cowboys games, Yeah,
Speaker 2: and it's not. It's all weak and it's the day
Speaker 2: of you're there six hours before the game starts.
Speaker 1: I'm curious about this one. Are there any special rituals
Speaker 1: or things that are done right before a game. The
Speaker 1: cheerleaders do that. We don't know about the prayer circle.
Speaker 2: Okay, there's a prayer circle. Yeah, everybody circles up, you
Speaker 2: cross your hands and hold them, Kelly says a prayer,
Speaker 2: and then you turn and walk out to the tunnel.
Speaker 1: I love that. Okay, I want to end on this
Speaker 1: one because this is good. People want to know what
Speaker 1: advice you would give someone aspiring to become a Dallas
Speaker 1: Cowboys cheerleader.
Speaker 2: I would say, now that you've seen CMT and you've
Speaker 2: seen the Netflix and you've seen what it takes, that
Speaker 2: it's not just a pretty face. It's not you know,
Speaker 2: it's I love that these girls aren't just these ditsy
Speaker 2: pretty little girls with pom poms anymore. That you see
Speaker 2: that they're intelligent, they're well spoken, they're the highest athlete
Speaker 2: when it comes to the dance world. I mean, it
Speaker 2: just it takes a lot, and so don't go into
Speaker 2: it at twenty thinking you're going to get it. Like
Speaker 2: start young and know that you know, they really are.
Speaker 2: They're cool and I'm proud to be a part of it.
Speaker 2: You know, it makes me proud now that people get
Speaker 2: to see it, or I'm like.
Speaker 1: Hey, you know, she's often imitated, never equalled. Melissa Ryecroft Strickland. Thanks,
Speaker 1: one of my faves who's ever been through the show
Speaker 1: and on the franchise and has been a part of
Speaker 1: such huge, huge moments throughout my career, which is really
Speaker 1: wild to say. We are going to be indelibly tied
Speaker 1: together for forever because of that. But I'm glad you
Speaker 1: and the kids are doing great. I'm glad that you
Speaker 1: have a break. The kids are in camp, so you
Speaker 1: and Ti go be free. It's got to be weird
Speaker 1: being an empty nester. The silence is tough. Sometimes I say.
Speaker 2: I'm not ready for it. It makes me very uncomfortable, so
Speaker 2: I don't know how you do it.
Speaker 1: Camp in the summers, that's the way to kind of
Speaker 1: break the ice and get Yeah, it's the start. It
Speaker 1: gets you used to it. Yeah, Melissa, thanks so much.
Speaker 1: It's so good to catch up with you. I'm glad
Speaker 1: you and tired doing great, and the kids all my bad.
Speaker 2: Thank you you too.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening. Follow us on Instagram at the most
Speaker 1: dramatic pod ever and make sure to write us a
Speaker 1: review and leave us five stars. I'll talk to you
Speaker 1: next time.