Molly Mesnick

After a tumultuous and "historic" season finale of The Bachelor, Jason Mesnick and Molly Malaney say they are extremely happy. Melissa Rycroft? Not so much.

On today's Ellen DeGeneres Show, M-Ry is speaking out for the first time about being dispatched by her Bachelor fiance on national TV and how hurt she was when she discovered that he had been dating runner-up Molly.

When did things fall apart? Melissa says "it was pretty immediate" after the finale that Jason Mesnick realized he didn't want to be with her.

"Once we got back to the real world, we were talking about how [our relationship] was different. He kind of gave up, and I couldn't understand why at the time. Now I do - because I think there was someone else involved."

"And that is where my feelings of betrayal came in," Melissa Rycroft added.

Melissa says their engagement did not end on TV, as it may have appeared to viewers who saw him propose 25 seconds prior, but Jason was still dishonest.

The chemistry between these two faded fast after the finale.

"I knew on the night After the Final Rose [aired], I wasn't getting dumped. We had already ended the relationship and that was mutual."

"I repeatedly asked Jason, 'Is Molly involved in anything?' And when they moved up the taping of the After the Final Rose special [to January], I was thinking to myself, 'Why did we move the taping up? What's going on?'"

"I asked Jason, 'Am I going to be blind-sided by anything? Is there anything you want to tell me?' And he said, 'No, gosh no.' And the second I went out on that stage, he goes, 'P.S. it is Molly.' And I went, 'Bastard!'"

Even as Jason Mesnick initially denied he was dating Molly Malaney, Melissa Rycroft had a hunch something was going on with them.

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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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We call them strong
Those who can face this world alone
Who seem to get by on their own
Those who will never take the fall.

We call them weak
Who are unable to resist
The slightest chance love might exist
And for that forsake it all.

-- Garth Brooks, "Standing Outside the Fire"

Was The Bachelor finale staged?

Did Jason Mesnick always plan on choosing Molly Malaney as his wife, only to be told by ABC producers that maximum drama would be achieved if he first handed Melissa Rycroft the final rose, only to dump her on national TV for Molly?

We don't know. We'll likely never know.

But we do know this: Molly Malaney is a brave soul, one that followed her heart and is now waking up every morning next to the man she loves. How many people out there would give anything to say the same thing about themselves?

Our site has received record traffic and a record-number of comments following this week's roller coaster week of reality TV.

We appreciate it. We sincerely thank everyone that has taken the time to read the latest news on The Bachelor and share his/her opinion on such a stunning turn of events. Keep the responses coming!

Sometimes, though, members of our staff also feel the need to speak out. This is one of those times.

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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 ...

Molly Malaney may not have made headlines at the onset of The Bachelor season (well, except on this site), but she caught Jason Mesnick's eye from day one.

The Michigan native has the whole package: She's athletic, pretty, funny, laid back, and surprisingly un-crazy for a girl who would try out for The Bachelor.

No wonder she and Jason have such a connection.

She's made it to the finals of this 13th season of the show, and while she may be the underdog to Melissa Rycroft going into the finale, don't count her out.

Especially not if these Bachelor spoilers are to be believed.

Rumors of a "shocking" ending and an "intimate" special afterwards have the show's fans abuzz. Whatever happens, we'll be brimming with anticipation Monday.

In honor of the season finale, here's a tribute to Molly Malaney.

Click to enlarge some great pictures we put together of her with Jason, then vote for your favorite remaining bachelorette in the poll below:

Who do you want to win The Bachelor?