Jason Mesnick The Bachelor

The Bachelor may be over, but judging by the number of comments on this site and many others devoted to the controversial ending of the 13th season, viewers can't comprehend what they just saw - and still have many questions.

The Seattle Times talked to Jason Mesnick and new girlfriend Molly Malaney in the aftermath of the "shocking" and "intimate" finales. Here's what they said:

Q: Can we start from the beginning? Last time I talked to you in early December, you were engaged to Melissa. Did you ever expect to change your mind?

Jason Mesnick: I would never have proposed if I thought I was going to change my mind. If I had a few more months things would have been different. With the time constraints on the show, at the time I thought I was making the right decision.

Q: You spent the holidays with Melissa in L.A. Was Molly on your mind that whole time?

Jason Mesnick: Initially, I tried to ignore it. Any time I would think about Molly I would be like, "Forget it." I made a decision, I'm going to get married to Melissa. But every day, I just remember thinking, okay, first of all I feel really bad what I did to Molly. And then slowly, I would say, week after week it started building more and more. It was like, now I just don't feel bad, there's a piece of me that's still gone.

Q: Did you fall out of love with Melissa Rycroft?

Jason Mesnick: Melissa is that person I thought going into it I would end up with. I guess in a way she's similar to a lot of other girls I've dated in my life, which is part of the reason why I ended up picking her. It was just something I thought I wanted when realistically, there's probably a reason why my past relationships haven't worked out. What I really needed was somebody different and it was Molly.

Q: The decision to do it on television has been what everyone has been talking about. Did you actually tell Melissa beforehand?

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As the fallout from the season finale of The Bachelor continues, Access Hollywood claims to have uncovered personal e-mails between Jason Mesnick and Melissa Rycroft, his chosen fiancee who he dumped on national TV four minutes later.

In the first of several emails, Melissa Rycroft expressed her anger at Jason following the "After the Rose" special (taped in mid-January), in which Jason dumped her hard and opted for a second chance with runner-up Molly Malaney.

While Jason's change of heart shocked viewers who saw it unfold about 16 seconds after their televised engagement, Melissa may have seen it coming.

She wrote in the e-mail dated January 19:

"Last night didn't go NEAR how I thought... I still can't believe how you can't give reasons other than 'It changed.'... You know as well as I do that you didn't give 100% to me or the relationship. I don't understand how you can walk away form something without giving it your all. But I am walking away knowing I did."

Jason hands Melissa a rose (and false hope) in the season premiere.

In the initial e-mail after the taping, Melissa Rycroft seemed quite clued in to Jason's feelings for Molly Malaney prior to his tearful TV confession:

"And getting confirmation about Molly in front of people like that was a complete classless move if you ask me - how could you do that to me after I repeatedly asked you about it? I'm not stupid, I knew about Molly... and you lied to me about it. I can't even tell you how much respect I lost for you... but it makes this whole process from here on out much easier for me."

Follow the jump to read more and see the emails themselves ...

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"You've got to be joking!"

This is how The Bachelor host-pimp Chris Harrison says he reacted when Jason Mesnick told him that he changed his mind and wanted to end things with the winner, Melissa Rycroft, and reconcile with runner-up Molly Malaney.

The shocking "After the Final Rose" special, in which Jason dumped Melissa for Molly, sparked controversy, outrage, big ratings and unanswered questions.

Did the producers know? Did they orchestrate the whole thing?

Both Harrison and The Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss spoke out about it in the aftermath, and the short version is that Jason legitimately did change his mind (for reasons still unknown), but the public exchange was a total ratings stunt.

A contemplative Jason Mesnick ponders ruining Melissa Rycroft's life.

Here are some quotes from The Bachelor powers that be ...

They were just as shocked as we were: "When we left New Zealand, we were high-fiving, thinking this is great, 'People are going to love this guy and love the story,'" Chris Harrison recalls. "I talked to Jason when we got back, and things were going great. And then the next thing I hear, the producers are saying, 'He wants another shot with Molly.' And I just said, 'You've got to be kidding me!' We were all blown away."

Not their idea: "People think we wanted to pull this stunt, but we didn't!" Harrison says. "This isn't good for us. I mean, the ratings were insane and all that, but we would have much rather had him end up with Melissa and have them get married. In the long run, that's a better story for us and for the fans."

Seriously, not their idea: “It was [Jason's] choice in New Zealand who he proposed to,” says Fleiss. “But after the show wrapped, he was not in love with Melissa anymore and instead he was in love with Molly and needed to make a change.”

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Last night's season finale of The Bachelor was one for the ages.

After making "the hardest decision he's ever had to make," Jason Mesnick bid farewell to Molly Malaney, got down on one knee and proposed to Melissa Rycroft.

Minutes later, in an intimate "After the Final Rose" special, the single dad shocked and angered the show's fans when he abruptly ditched her for Molly Malaney.

That set up tonight's second "After the Final Rose" installment.

Bachelor host-pimp Chris Harrison recaps the events thus far, then after boring interviews with fans (really) and ousted bachelorettes, updates us on the latest.

First on the hot seat? America's Most Hated, Jason Mesnick himself.

Jason basically spews the same vague BS from last night - he had no choice and felt bad dumping Melissa, but is more in love and better friends with Molly. Zzz.

To say this guy is unpopular right now would be an understatement.

Melissa Rycroft declined to appear, but Molly Malaney takes the stage to discuss her relationship with Jason. Things are going well lately. Jason proclaims they're in love, Molly announces she's moving to Seattle, and they make out. Yay.

Finally, Chris announces the new star of The Bachelorette: Jillian Harris!

Are you satisfied by this ending, or just disgusted? Will Jason and Molly last, or will The Bachelor soon extend its futility streak to 0-for-13?

Share your thoughts below, and click to enlarge more pictures of Jason, Melissa, Molly, and the great Chris Harrison on last night's finale of The Bachelor:

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.

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In the show's previews throughout this season, The Bachelor host Chris Harrison has been promising viewers "the most shocking twist in Bachelor history."

Suffice it to say, he made good on the hype.

Despite proposing to Melissa Rycroft on the season finale that aired just moments ago, Jason Mesnick's engagement to the beautiful former cheerleader from Dallas, Tx., is apparently off after some unknown events took place in the past few months.

Turns out those scandalous Bachelor spoilers were more or less right.

The skinny: Six weeks have passed since the season finale was taped, but mere minutes for viewers. Jason tells Chris that it's not gonna work with Melissa, he's been thinking about Molly Malaney, and he's gonna dump Melissa on national TV.

Talk about a d!ck move. Oh, sorry, we mean "emotionally difficult."

Jason's news certainly did not go over well with Melissa, who calls Jason a bastard and makes completely valid points ... albeit ones that lose something when cameras pan to Chris next to her. She storms off, and Molly Malaney takes the stage.

Molly, who supposedly has no idea why she's there, and has not talked to him in six weeks, confides to Chris that despite his choosing Melissa in New Zealand, Jason is definitely still the man of her dreams. Convenient, and not at all staged.

Jason Mesnick returns to the stage and tells Molly how he just ended it with Melissa, then asks Molly on a date. She looks at Chris and stares blankly. This is beyond ridiculous and kind of depressing that a real network is airing it.

Molly agrees to take him back and "see where things go."

So, with another "After the Final Rose" special on tap tomorrow, we can only ask: What now? Are you upset by this turn of events? Comment below!

After what was an incredible 13th season and an emotional, two-hour season finale chock full of twists, turns and heartbreak, Jason Mesnick got down on one knee and proposed to Melissa Rycroft on The Bachelor Monday night.

It was an outcome many expected ever since a promo appeared to show Melissa's pinky ring. But it wasn't just ABC's sloppy editing job that gave the ending away - the chemistry between Melissa and Jason was palpable from the start.

This is not to suggest Melissa Rycroft had it easy tonight. She was grilled hard by Jason's parents and brothers and even more importantly, win over little Ty.

Runner-up Molly Malaney put up a heck of a fight, only to fall just short. She may be second guessing the re-use of her high school prom dress as we speak.

As for DeAnna Pappas' much-hyped return? Well, that was completely useless, staged and comical, but it at least ate up a good 10 minutes of air time.

In the end, absolutely no one could quite measure up to Melissa Rycroft's rare blend of beauty, love and charm. She and Jason Mesnick are engaged and happy ...

... or ARE they?

You may have read The Bachelor spoilers suggesting Melissa and Jason are headed for a shocking early breakup - with Molly taking her place by his side.

Is this for real? Would you be happy if so? And did Jason make the right choice? We'll find out on the "After the Final Rose" special airing ... right now!

Sound off on Melissa Rycroft and The Bachelor finale below!

He's fallen in love with two beautiful girls. Unfortunately, this isn't Big Love. There can be only one rose and one engagement ring distributed tonight in New Zealand.

The Bachelor star Jason Mesnick finally makes his choice on the season finale, and he's got quite the decision: Does he go with Molly Malaney or Melissa Rycroft?

Making the decision even tougher? A "surprise" visit by DeAnna Pappas ...

The Bachelor Season Finale Preview

A couple of points before we throw it over to you for comments:

• This is the cheesiest preview ever, even by Bachelor standards. Jason did a good job inserting "Molly" and "Melissa" into the generic Bachelor finale script.
• Are we really supposed to believe Jason had no idea DeAnna was in New Zealand? Who takes a 67-hour flight to give someone they dumped a little advice?

What do you think is DeAnna's role in tonight's finale? Are The Bachelor spoilers going around legit? Who do you want to win? Vote and leave comments below!

Jason Mesnick should be with ...

Rumors that Jason Mesnick will choose Melissa Rycroft on next Monday's The Bachelor season finale only to dump her during the "After the Final Rose" special in favor of runner-up Molly Malaney have sparked controversy among fans.

This Bachelor spoiler bombshell, courtesy of a reality TV blogger claiming to be in the know, is now giving way to a slightly different iteration.

Rather that hatching this elaborate scheme with ABC from the beginning to create the most possible drama - a charge host Chris Harrison vehemently denies - the new theory is that Jason simply changed his mind and swapped girls on his own.

According to message boards on Reality Steve's blog - which first broke The Bachelor spoilers in question - a 67-year-old ex-ABC employee who knows people involved with the show claims Melissa's actions resulted in Jason's change of heart.

Jason Mesnick's "hometown date" with Melissa raised red flags.

The insider says Jason Mesnick proposes to Melissa Rycroft in New Zealand and she accepts. That much has been rumored since the first promo of the year.

However, according to this Bachelor insider, the trouble begins when they return to the hotel and she calls her folks to break the engagement news.

Melissa's parents, of course, were conspicuously absent from the Bachelor hometown dates episode. Melissa said that they were private people not comfortable being on camera. Even stranger, none of Melissa's friends had ever met them either.

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There’s just one rose left as Monday's season finale of The Bachelor approaches, and it’s down to Melissa Rycroft and Molly Malaney, two people as worthy of being called Mrs. Jason Mesnick as any we could imagine (sorry, Hilary Mesnick).

While spoilers abound as to who wins it, one mystery is solved: The single dad will be presenting this ring and doing some crazy name-dropping of product placement references when he gets down on one knee at the final rose ceremony:

The marquis-cut diamond-and-platinum ring from Neil Lane features a 1.94-carat marquis-cut diamond encrusted with 170 smaller ones for a total of 3.18 carats.

As is custom on the show, Jason Mesnick actually had three rings from which to choose, including pear-shaped and oval-cut diamonds. The hunk was torn between a marquis and oval-cut sparkler, but ultimately opted for the marquis.

Host-pimp Chris Harrison probably steered him in that direction.

“He loved the marquis because it had so much fine detail and he thought it was really feminine, and she would love it,” says a source close to The Bachelor.

So... who do you want to receive that sucker?