He did what he had to do.
That was Jason Mesnick’s explanation for proposing to, then publicly dumping Melissa Rycroft in favor of runner-up Molly Malaney on The Bachelor season finale.
Jason says he would have preferred to have delivered the news to Rycroft off camera, but the contract he signed with The Bachelor’s producers and ABC spelled out that he had to make this painful declaration on national TV.
“That was part of the deal. I signed up for it in my contract. Your relationship is - good and bad - in front of everybody,” says Mesnick. “If I could have, I would have seen Melissa the night before. It killed me. It kills me now.”
After a romantic final date in New Zealand, the single dad, 32, proposed to Melissa Rycroft, 25, in the two-hour season finale of The Bachelor. She was happy.
But on the "After the Final Rose" special, filmed six weeks later but airing just minutes after the finale, he gave a seemingly unsuspecting Melissa the boot.
Moreover, he confessed he still had feelings for Molly Malaney.
Jason Mesnick ponders his final decision on the finale of The Bachelor ... and how he's going to sleep at night after pulling off the elaborate ratings stunt concocted by ABC.
Supposedly having no idea about this, Molly was then informed by Jason that he just dumped Melissa, and accepted Jason's offer to give it another shot.
Mesnick knows what Bachelor viewers must think of him:
"‘That guy is a jerk.’ ... I’m not proud of what I had to do.”
Offering only a vague explanation of why - which lends credence to the Bachelor spoilers that suggest this was all contrived - Mesnick said only that after The Bachelor cameras stopped rolling, the chemistry with Melissa began to fade.
“After we got back into the real world, all of a sudden, we had less to talk about and I didn’t know why. I started thinking wow, what’s happening with us? Why aren’t we communicating the way we did when the show was going on?” said Mesnick.
“I didn’t say something right away because I wanted to figure out what was going in inside of me. There was part of me that wanted things to work out with Melissa so bad. But the other piece was I had these crazy feelings for Molly.”
Finally, Jason Mesnick says, he could not deny the truth: “Melissa and I just have different ways of communicating. We’re not right for each other.”
Yeah. For more half-hearted insight from America's Most Hated Bachelor, check out Jason's interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night ...
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110 Comments
March 3rd, 2009 12:49 PM
Blah, blah blah, get over yourself dude!!! Can't wait to see if ABC can pull ratings for the next bachelor. Stop treating people like idiots, have more respect for your audience!
March 3rd, 2009 1:02 PM
After last night I have decided not to watch the bachelor anymore. It was absolutely ridiculous. It's almost as if it was staged that way to add more drama. He's an idiot and doesn't deserve either girl. Melissa is better off and Molly better run away from that jerk.
March 3rd, 2009 1:13 PM
What a VILE individual Jason Mess-Kit is. Utterly loathsome & reprehensible. That Slut Molly is no better, picking up Melissa's sloppy seconds. What low self esteem she must have to revel in being second choice...
March 3rd, 2009 1:13 PM
Of course they had nothing to talk about. If all he's got on his mind is Molly then why in the world would Melissa want to talk about her? I'd be surprised if they lasted. Molly just seems like a dingbat. She didn't start showing any emotion until she saw that she was in the final running and wanted to win the "prize". Until then, I don't think she really cared.
What I find truly amazing is that she kept saying she was done partying (at 24??? let me guess, she quit right before the show) but that she could still go out and have a good time with the girls, AND she was totally focusing on her career. Now, where did a man and a child fit into that equation? Should be interesting to see how this turns out...
And for the record, I thought it was completely classless that they started making out 2 seconds after he had just dumped his fiance'. They deserve each other
March 3rd, 2009 1:17 PM
i agree with all sentiments! jason is a jerk who obviously didn't give it any time at all... he says the chemistry fizzled, but how could it have kept burning when they couldn't be near each other yet (until the finale were to air). don't they have to keep it under wraps until the finale airs.... so how did he even give it a chance when he was in seattle and she had to stay in texas. he is more than a jerk, especially since he made the choice to jump right back in with molly. i get the contract (don't like it, but get it) and how he had to tell melissa on air, but he did not HAVE TO pursue molly immediately after that. that, he could have done later, off camera. he talked about teaching his son to do the right thing which was absure because in no way did he do the right thing. i wish molly would have seen how shallow and selfish he was and not agreed to just pick up where they left off. i thought she was a bit more respectable.
omg! i could go on and on and on... but my point is this.... i will not be watching anymore bachelor or bachelorette!
i also commend melissa and feel for her as she is correct about him not giving it a chance.
he cried and cried about deanna 'making him get on a knee,' and look what he did to melissa! again, above all, i can't believe he didn't give it a chance once the show aired and the publicity died down. he didn't even give melissa a chance. ooooh, they spent some time together over the holidays....?!!? everyone knows that the holidays are crazy and with having to keep everything under wrap, of course the chemistry would have been distracted!!!!
WHAT A JERK AND WHAT A HORRIBLE SHOW!
March 3rd, 2009 1:18 PM
Doesn't it seem like he was trying to blame Melissa in this interview w/Kimmel?
“After we got back into the real world, all of a sudden, we had less to talk about and I didn’t know why."
He knew why- because HE was focusing on other things rather than building their relationship.
March 3rd, 2009 1:27 PM
I think this show is OVER. It's not a reality show anymore - it all follows the plot that ABC lines out. Ridiculous. I know they just lost one faithful viewer. I'm over it.
March 3rd, 2009 1:29 PM
I have watched every episode of the The Bachelor...I think Jason is a spoiled brat and only wants what he cannot have. I get the chemistry thing, but he should have figured that out before devastating Melissa. Relationships take time and he gave it none, cause all he was thinking about was what he did not have. Now wonder his marriage did not work. I don't think I can take another season. It just isn't fair to put people's real emotions and have everything ripped from you. It cannot be good on ones ego. I cannot stand him.
March 3rd, 2009 1:32 PM
I hope Jason teaches his son better life skills than he has! His family should be ashamed of him!
March 3rd, 2009 1:37 PM
honestly i think jason is an amazing guy and he does deserve the best
but how could you do that jason?
me was so pretty and you guys connected so well
i think you did the same thing to her as deanna did to you.
i dont think your a jerk but you should remember that it takes alot to work a relationship
and only trying for 6 weeks is not going to help at all.
and to molly i cant believe you could take him back after he dumped you for someone else that he was about to marry.