Heavy Melissa Rycroft initially said no to DWTS.
A former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant is opening up about how resisted joining the show. Melissa Rycroft competed on season 8 of DWTS, which aired in 2009, as well as on the “All-Stars” season that aired in 2015. She competed both times with professional dancer Tony Dovolani, and the pair won the All-Stars season.
However, Rycroft was blunt in turning “Dancing with the Stars” down initially. When she was first approached to do the show, she told the casting director that she hated the network and everyone associated with it. She ended up accepting the offer, and she had to hit the ground running.
Here’s what you need to know:
Melissa Rycroft’s ‘Bachelor’ Experience Left Her Wary
Rycroft joined retired “Dancing with the Stars” pro Cheryl Burke for an episode of her podcast, “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans.” During the December 17 episode, Rycroft shared the scoop on how she ended up on the show. It was a last-minute decision, and it took a lot of convincing by casting director Deena Katz to get Rycroft to agree to it.
At the time Rycroft was pursued for “Dancing with the Stars,” she was “dodging ABC’s calls.” She had been through immense heartbreak as a contestant on “The Bachelor” season that had just aired. After “Bachelor” lead Jason Mesnick blindsided Rycroft with an on-camera split, the network pushed hard to convince her to be “The Bachelorette.”
Despite pulling out all the stops, Rycroft told ABC, “Absolutely not. I don’t trust you people. I don’t want anything to do with that.” After making it clear she was not going to become “The Bachelorette,” Rycroft was told someone with “Dancing with the Stars” would be calling her. That’s when Katz called.
“I had never seen ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ and Deena called me and I originally said no,” Rycroft recalled. She even told Katz, “I hate ABC, I hate you all, you’re horrible people.”
At the time, Rycroft had reunited with her pre-“Bachelor” boyfriend, Ty Strickland. After her call with Katz, Rycroft called Strickland, to whom she’s now married, and told him about the offer.
Strickland asked how much money they’d offered, and she admitted she hadn’t even asked. When she called back and heard the offer, she decided to do it.
Rycroft Had Little Time to Get up to Speed
It turned out, “Dancing with the Stars” needed someone quickly. “Access Hollywood’s” Nancy O’Dell had originally been partnered with Dovolani. As Today shared in March 2009, she had to withdraw from the show due to an injury.
O’Dell explained, “I have torn the meniscus in my knee in two places, which requires surgery. According to the doctor, one is a ‘significant’ tear and it will require my getting knee surgery within the next couple of weeks.”
Rycroft shared that O’Dell’s injury happened the same day that “The Bachelor: After the Final Rose” aired. That episode was where Rycroft was blindsided by Mesnick, who ended their engagement as the cameras rolled.
Once Rycroft agreed to join “Dancing with the Stars,” she met Dovolani two days later. They had three days to rehearse before their first performance. She even had to wear the dress created for O’Dell, as there wasn’t time to come up with something new.
Burke wondered if it took special approval behind the scenes for Rycroft to be able to do “Dancing with the Stars” after “The Bachelor.” Rycroft said that was indeed the case. However, she noted, “The Bachelor” crew was quite motivated to make it happen.
“Their whole thing at ‘Bachelor’ was that they wanted the audience to see I was okay,” Rycroft explained. She continued that “The Bachelor” team wanted to “show the world, it’s not a horrible franchise, we’re not bad people, she’s okay.”
Rycroft admitted she and Dovolani had some rocky times during their season 8 partnership. However, when they reunited for the All-Stars season, they had fun, did well together, and ultimately, won.