Dancing with the Stars
Gossip (Page 9)

Despite only having a few days to rehearse, Melissa Rycroft should have no problem on Dancing With the Stars, says her ex-fiance Jason Mesnick.

"I am so excited for Melissa," The Bachelor star tells Extra. "I know she's danced her whole life, and must be excited. I hope and think she will win it all."

Meanwhile, on Monday's Bonnie Hunt Show, Mesnick continued his national apology tour after dumping Rycroft on the "After the Final Rose" special.

"I want to apologize to you and to the audience and to anybody who is watching because I did something obviously that I am not very proud of and that is talking to [Melissa Rycroft] in front of the camera," the single dad admits.

"It's something that I regret and I've thought about every day since it happened ... the producers really wanted me to do it that way, but it was my decision, I take full responsibility for my actions and I apologize most of all to Melissa," he says.

The passion between Jason and Melissa was palpable on The Bachelor. But he says he knew Rycroft wasn't the right girl for him soon after the show ended.

"We had spent a bunch of weekends together and spent a week together at Christmas and all of a sudden ... we had so many silences and nothing to talk about," he says. "I think we both knew there was something missing."

Molly Malaney, the show's runner-up who is now dating Mesnick, admits she was iffy about dating him after seeing how he treated Melissa Rycroft.

"I needed to understand what happened with Melissa and him," said the 24-year-old department store buyer and Grand Rapids, Mich., native.

"I wanted to make sure that he wasn't running back to me just because it didn't work out with Melissa," added Malaney, who isn't planning on getting married or engaged to Mesnick yet, but says she's very happy with her man.

Like Jason, we can't wait to watch Melissa Rycroft dance tonight!

Will Melissa Rycroft actually participate on season eight of Dancing with the Stars?

All indications point to this scorned Bachelor suitor taking the place of an injured Nancy O'Dell on the series, though fans won't know for certain unless they tune in tonight (and visit our site tomorrow for a full recap, of course!).

We can report that the show's cameras did not catch Rycroft rehearsing for the competition. This may simply mean producers wish to keep her appearance as a surprise.

It's no surprise that Julianne Hough is paired with real-life boyfriend Chuck Wicks, though, as evidenced by the shot of the pair at a recent practice session:

Awwww! This may be adorable to some, but it's competitive fodder for Wicks and Hough's fellow dancers.

Click on the pics below for enlarged images of other tandems getting their Dancing with the Stars' rehearsals on...

After having your heart broken in front of millions of viewers, being critiqued on your Paso Doble really isn't a big deal.

With that in mind, jilted Bachelor star Melissa Rycroft will reportedly join Dancing with the Stars.

Sources have told People that Rycroft - the original recipient of Jason Mesnick's final rose and the first-ever contestant on The Bachelor to be dumped on national television - will replace injured Access Hollywood host Nancy O’Dell on the show.

Melissa Rycroft was humiliated by Jason Mesnick. But will a Dancing with the Stars trophy enable her to get the last laugh?

Holly Madison has already been chosen as a replacement for Jewel.

Rycroft is expected to hit the dance floor on tomorrow night's eighth season premiere. Look for her to be paired with professional Tony Dovolani.

For Melissa's sake, let's hope he doesn't exchange her for a different partner soon after the first episode airs.

For the record, we adore Holly Madison.

She's attractive, fun, hard-working.

On The Girls Next Door, Madison even proved to be more than an empty, often-naked body. The series often focused on her efforts to learn the editorial trade.

Still, we're a bit taken aback by the news that Madison is likely replacing an injured Jewel on the new season of Dancing with the Stars.

While the show has never shied away from contestants that have posed in Playboy - from Kim Kardashian to Denise Richards - at least the average viewer was likely unaware of these dancers' nude pasts.

But Madison's affiliation with Hugh Hefner and his magazine is the ONLY thing this beauty is known for. How will the series even introduce her? Say hello to former Playboy model and number-one girlfriend of a man old enough to be her grandfather... Holly Madison!

For a show whose audience is largely comprised of children, does this strike anyone as misguided? Let us know!

Should Holly Madison be a contestant on Dancing with the Stars?

Seriously, does Dancing with the Stars purposely seek out contestants that have posed in Playboy?!?

Following the news that Jewel might miss the new season of the show due to tendinitis in her knee, Us Weekly is reporting that the competition has found a replacement: Holly Madison.

The singer, who has been the crown (pun alert!) jewel of ABC's advertising campaign so far - due to her and husband Ty Murray both competing on season eight - released a statement this week saying she'd suffered a "minor setback," but added: "Don't count me out, as I am in this for the long run."

If Madison does replace Jewel on next week's premiere, she will:

• Be paired with Dmitry Chaplin;
• Become the latest contestant with a Playboy past, following in the nude footsteps of Brooke Burke, Kim Kardashian, Lisa Rinna, Denise Richards and Belinda Carlisle. Sheesh!

In 2005, Lil Kim was found guilty of conspiracy and perjury for lying to a grand jury about her friends' involvement in a 2001 shooting outside the Hot 97 studios in Manhattan.

As a result, the rapper was sentenced to a year in prison... and ended up as part of the season eight cast on Dancing with the Stars!

According to Kim, fellow inmates loved this reality competition and encouraged her to try out for it; once she had paid her debt to society, of course.

"I'm a huge fan!" the Grammy-winner said. "When I was in prison, me and my girls used to watch it. My girls were like, 'Kim, you need to be on that show.' Everyone watched it faithfully. It's like the #1 show in prison!"

Lil Kim is partnered with Derek Hough on the show. She's psyched about that.

"I was hoping and praying that I got Derek for my partner," she said.

We're just hoping and praying Kim's nipples remain covered throughout the competition.

On March 2, the most exciting season in the history of The Bachelor comes to an end.

Fortunately, fans won't need to sulk for very long: a week later, the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars takes over the Monday night timeslot on ABC abaoned by Jason Mesnick and company.

Who will raise this year's crystal ball trophy? Take a look at the contenders below, highlighted by Julianne Hough and Chuck Wicks because, well, she's very good looking:

Click on the photos above for enlarged images of new profesional Dmitry Chaplin, along with every other tandem this season on Dancing with the Stars.

Forget Denise Richards: It's Complicated.

This attention-starved thespian is embarking on another reality show this spring, Denise Richards: It's Another Opportunity to Exploit My Children.

"My biggest fear is just forgetting everything right before going on live, that’s what I’m scared of,” the actress told People Magazine of her new role as contestant on the eighth season of Dancing With the Stars. “All I hope is that I don’t embarrass my girls!"

Wow. It took all the way until her second sentence for Richards to mention the adorable children she created with Charlie Sheen and has tried to make money off ever since.

Daughters Sam, 4, and Lola, 3, will be forced to stay up late and cheer cheering on their mother, the actress said.

"I let the girls stay up a bit later when the show is on. It’s popcorn night at our house."

The unofficial odds for Richards, who is partnered with Maksim Chmerkovskiy, to win the competition stand at 15-1. The odds of her kids showing up in the first row every night? 1-3.

Dancing with the Stars is at it again.

Last season, the series featured contestant (and eventual winner), Brooke Burke. The model had posed naked for Playboy numerous times, creating questions over whether or not the show was being irresponsible for highlighting a celebrity with such a lewd past.

Producers must not have thought so, considering the just-released cast for season eight.

FOLLOW THIS ARTICLE'S JUMP TO SEE WHICH TWO OF THESE COMPETITORS HAVE POSED NUDE, AND LET US KNOW IF YOU THINK THIS IS A PROPER PATH FOR THE SHOW TO FOLLOW...

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The eighth season of Dancing with the Stars, which premieres on March 9, will feature a husband and a wife; a boyfriend competing with his professionally-trained girlfriend; and one of our staff's least favorite celebrities.

Here's a look at the full list of the complete cast:

• Belinda Carlisle: Washed up pop star
• Stephen "Steve-O" Glover: Creator and star of Jackass
• David Alan Grier: Comedian, host of Chocolate News on Comedy Central
• Shawn Johnson: Olympic gymnast
• Jewel Kilcher,: Singer
• Lil' Kim: Rapper, horrible dresser
• Gilles Marini: Actor, appeared in Sex and the City: The Movie
• Ty Murray: Former rodeo cowboy, Jewel's husband
• Nancy O'Dell: Access Hollywood host 
• Denise Richards: Actress, awful mother
• Lawrence Taylor: Retired NFL player
• Chuck Wicks: Country singer, paired with girlfriend Julianne Hough
• Steve Wozniak: Apple computer co-founder

Click on the photos below for a closer look at each new Dancing with the Stars cast member: