Jason Mesnick

This week, ABC will be releasing the list of 25 women that will compete for the love and affection of Jason Mesnick on ABC's The Bachelor.

In preparation for the widely-anticipated January 5 premiere, Jason Mesnick spoke to the press today. Here's what he had to say about ...

... The decision to become The Bachelor:
"It wasn't an easy decision because my question was, 'How would this impact Tyler?' That was my first question. I talked to a therapist and a pediatrician and they said, 'He's going to be fine'. I just said, 'I'm not gonna go more than a week or so without seeing him.' I can't do that. The show was great and they gave me what I need. He was around when he needed to be and he was with his mom when he needed to."

... Single mothers being on the show this season:
"Honestly, it doesn't make a difference either way. I would hope people would view me as a person, not just as a single dad. It didn't surprise me that there would be single mothers but it didn't make me think one way or the other."

... His son Ty being part of The Bachelor:
"He plays a very small part on the show. You'll see that, early on, if you see him, it's him and I. Just him and I."

... Advice he gets from his son:
"He's 3 so he lives a life day to day and has a great time no matter what he's doing. I don't know about any advice by word, but his advice by living is, 'Let's just live today'. When you're with a little guy, you know it's all about today."

... Revealing his engagement:
"I just remember, in my opinion, how could I hold something like that back, when I'm as happy as I am? There's only certain things I can say with the show not even starting yet, but I just said to myself: 'This is me. I'm so excited right now and I'm so happy and I want everyone to know it.' There's no way I could hold that back."

... Trying to find love on reality TV a second time:
"I just knew it was real. A real love experience for me. It's something you have to experience to really, truly know. If that didn't happen to me the first time, there's no way I would do it [a second time]."

... The possibility of a TV wedding:
"I have not even thought about anything like that. My life is off of tv and I cannot even imagine that happening."

More than a few of us shed tears when DeAnna Pappas broke his heart last summer.

Well, get ready to bawl your eyes out again when The Bachelor's Jason Mesnick gets engaged during the final rose ceremony, according to host Chris Harrison.

"I'm extremely happy for Jason and the woman he chose. It's a fantastic season that has an incredible finish," Harrison said Thursday in an interview. "There will be many tears shed as fans take this journey with us this season."

Jason Mesnick - who was dumped by DeAnna Pappas on The Bachelorette finale in July - has already confirmed that he is engaged. We will get to see it all play out on the ABC reality show's upcoming season (premiering January 5).

Jason Mesnick, 32, was hesitant to start dating again after Pappas rejected him.

"I haven't dated at all since DeAnna," a heartbroken Jason said in August.

"I wanted to give myself the time to heal so that when I got out there again I was ready to give whoever I am with the respect and total attention she deserves... to give these girls everything I can to find the one that is right for me."

We're glad it worked out for Jason Mesnick, and can't wait to watch.

The new season of The Bachelor doesn’t begin airing until January 5, but Jason Mesnick says that he did find love this time on ABC’s reality dating series.

“I’m engaged!” Mesnick, the 32-year-old Seattle single dad who won America's hearts as the runner-up on The Bachelorette last summer, tells People. “I found exactly what I was hoping for, what I was looking for. I’m completely in love.”

His marriage proposal to DeAnna Pappas was thwarted when she chose pro snowboarder Jesse Csincsak. They later broke up, which shocked Mesnick.

“I really did fall in love with DeAnna,” he says, adding that when he heard she and Csincsak split, “I was shocked. I thought they were going to make it.”

An outpouring of support from his fans and family helped convince the divorced Jason Mesnick to take another chance at finding love on reality TV.

“I don’t want to be by myself,” he says. “I’m ready for a relationship and a family.”

That family includes Ty, Mesnick’s three-year-old son from his first marriage. Jason says that the woman of his dreams has (or apparently, she had) to understand that falling in love with him also means connecting with Ty.

“I was not looking for a mom,” he says. “But I was definitely looking for a partner for me and a mentor and a friend to Ty.”

Mission accomplished. Mesnick says he’s still in awe of how his life has changed in the past year, from The Bachelorette to a starring turn on The Bachelor. “I just really believed this can happen to me... I cannot believe it’s this great!”

It seems like just a couple of months ago that Jason Mesnick was shockingly rejected by DeAnna Pappas on the season finale of The Bachelorette.

Oh, that's right, it was. But despite losing out to Jesse Csincsak - who DeAnna broke up with a week or so ago - Mesnick has gotten the last laugh.

The Bachelor will return to ABC on January 5 and this time, Jason Mesnick - a normal, single dad from Washington state - will be the man of the hour.

A two-hour episode will kick off the season. After that, the show will return to its usual 90-minute episode format, starting at 9:30 pm on Mondays.

HE'S BACK! Ladies, get ready to swoon over Jason Mesnick (and adorable son Ty).

The Hollywood Gossip staff is proud to bring you Tale of the Tape, in which we break down prospective matchups within the celebrity gossip world. The following battle is one involving two upcoming - and sexy - reality TV stars.

Jason Mesnick won the hearts of millions on The Bachelorette, only to be nixed by DeAnna Pappas. But he'll be back as The Bachelor in January! Meanwhile, former amateur porn director Ray J apparently landed a dating show, too.

Pitted against each other, which of these single studs will emerge victorious in a grueling, 10-round battle? Let's find out. Ding, ding!

Jason Mesnick: Jesse Csincsak
Ray J: Kim Kardashian
Edge: Ray

2. CONDOM ENDORSEMENT DEALS

Jason Mesnick: 0
Ray J: 1
Edge: Ray

3. MEMORABLE QUOTES

Jason Mesnick: "All I am missing, really, is someone to share my life with."
Ray J: "Tomorrow we're gonna get up and f*%k again."
Edge: Even

4. DAY JOB

Jason Mesnick: Successful financial exec / estate planer
Ray J: Occasional rapper / actor / producer
Edge: Jason

5. BEST-KNOWN FAMILY MEMBER

Jason Mesnick: Son Ty, 3
Ray J: Sister Brandy, 29
Edge: Jason

Jason Mesnick, the new star of ABC's The Bachelor, admits he hasn't been on a date since DeAnna Pappas rejected his proposal on The Bachelorette.

"I haven't dated at all since DeAnna," the single father tells Us Weekly. "I wanted to give myself time to heal so that when I got out there again I'd be ready to give whoever I am with the respect and attention she deserves."

But Mesnick, the 32-year-old single dad from Seattle, is looking forward to the opportunity to find love on the 13th season of The Bachelor:

"I am ready. I am open to giving these girls everything I can to find the one that is right for me. All I am missing, really, is someone to share my life with. There's no guarantee but 25 girls? It's a real opportunity to find just one."

Jason Mesnick says he was approached to do The Bachelor at the "After the Final Rose Special" by the long-running reality show's producers.

"All I could think was, 'Oh man, I am so excited' - mostly because really I am just the most regular guy you could ever come across and for this to be happening to me is unbelievable," he said. "It just leaves me completely speechless."

Even his former rivals are psyched. Jason Mesnick says all of the guys from The Bachelorette contacted him with congrats when his new gig was announced.

That ass clown Brad Womack rejected DeAnna Pappas on The Bachelor.

She went on to star on The Bachelorette, where she spurned Jason Mesnick in the finale (although at least DeAnna ultimately chose someone).

Now Mesnick will get his second chance at reality TV love - and no one could be happier for the single dad from Seattle than DeAnna Pappas.

The reigning Bachelorette star – with fiance Jesse Csincsak by her side – proclaimed that her second choice will make the "perfect catch."

DeAnna Pappas told E! that the new star of The Bachelor - who she rejected on The Bachelorette season finale - will be an "ideal mate."

As for the new crew of ladies who will vie for Mesnick's attention, Pappas has a piece of advice: Don't be the next Shayne Lamas.

"[Jason Mesnick] needs a woman who is down to earth and doesn't care about fame or all the business going around. He's normal."

Also, since Jason Mesnick has a little boy, three-year-old Ty, DeAnna Pappas says an aspiring wife better be into kids.

"Ty is the most important thing in Jason's life," she says.

The Bachelor returns in January 2009. Ladies, better pick up a copy of Goodnight, Moon and start honing your skillz with Legos.

Jason Mesnick is hoping he is luckier in love with a crop of females on the upcoming season of The Bachelor than he had with Bachelorette DeAnna Pappas, who rejected his marriage proposal on the finale last season.

ABC announced Wednesday that Mesnick, who has already won the hearts of millions, will star in the 13th season of The Bachelor in January.

An account executive in estate and legacy planning who divorced two years ago, he is the single father of an adorable 3-year-old son, Ty.

Jason Mesnick lives in Kirkland, Washington.

Jason Mesnick will get a second shot at reality TV love!

DeAnna Pappas surprised many by choosing snowboarder Jesse Csincsak in the finale. Both 26, they have set a wedding date of May 9, 2009.

Others rumored to be the next star of The Bachelor where fellow Pappas castoffs Graham Bunn and Jeremy Anderson, as well as JT Torregiani.

A single father from Washington State broadcasts his relationship status to the country only to be swamped with letters from adoring female fans.

Sleepless in Seattle, it's not. But Jason Mesnick, a.k.a. the nice guy DeAnna Pappas shot down in favor of Jesse Csincsak on The Bachelorette season finale, may be an even bigger hit with ladies than the Tom Hanks flick.

The 32-year-old single father (his son Ty is 3) has set up a new email account for any fans wishing to contact him.

“I’ve gotten thousands of comments from fans,” Jason Mesnick said.

“The generosity and the kindness is unbelievable. Every one is so sweet and nice. All the comments are pure love.”

After DeAnna Pappas told him in the finale that her “heart is somewhere else,” Jason Mesnick fans overloaded his MySpace account with comments and bombarded ABC with email. Producers finally set up a separate e-mail account just for him.

Fans can contact him directly at fanofjason@gmail.com.

Following his stunning ouster Monday night, Jason Mesnick believes DeAnna Pappas altered what she was looking for during The Bachelorette.

"I could say that the one thing that I thought throughout the whole process was if she was ready for what she said she was ready from Day One, [DeAnna Pappas] would have picked me," Jason Mesnick said this week.

"But if it turned out she wasn't or things changed throughout the process and she wasn't sure if she was ready for the family, then she'd go with [Jesse Csincsak] instead. We saw what she did."

That's exactly what she did.

To the surprise and dismay of some readers, DeAnna Pappas chose Jesse Csincsak over Jason Mesnick (above), a 31-year-old account executive and single father from Kirkland, Wash., during Monday evening's Bachelorette season finale.

"I know more than anybody that people can change and you can learn more about yourself through an experience," Mesnick said.

"Do I think she led me on? I don't know. Maybe a little bit. But I really don't fault her for it at all anymore."