This is the most dramatic podcast ever and iHeartRadio podcast. Chris Harrison coming to you from the home office in Austin, Texas. And this is a very Texas heavy show today because my guest Melissa Rycroft Strickland, and I know what you're thinking, Yeah, from The Bachelor and that crazy switch moment with Jason Mesnick.
If you have not listened to episode one with Melissa, go back, because we dove into all of everything that happened with her on season thirteen to The Bachelor with Jason Mesnick and the switch with Molly and the drama and every detail details I didn't even know. It was really great to hear her side of things, her perspective, and it brought up old memories for me. That's one of the things I always love about talking to, especially
people who are on the show a while ago. They bring up memories I've kind of forgotten because there was just so many seasons, but they really spark these memories and moments and life. So I love revisiting those. And so that conversation with Melissa you got to listen to because it really was the most dramatic moment in Bachelor history. It really was It changed my life, It changed the show, It changed the trajectory of the entire franchise, especially when
she said no to becoming the Bachelorette. So go listen to that. But today I wanted to talk about what we really knew Melissa for when she came on the show. She was a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. Melissa was a dancer in college and got out of college and in two thousand and six to two thousand and eight, she was a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. Very famous, very popular cheerleader in Dallas,
and obviously the Cowboy cheerleaders are world famous. So she comes on the show and she is, you know, America's sweetheart. This beautiful young lady who's a Cowboys cheerleader just fit the mold perfectly to be on the Bachelor to find love. But I never dove into her being a Cowboys cheerleader until now because it has become such a hot topic. Obviously, there was the original reality show that was on CMT
about making the Team. But now, and if you haven't seen this, you got to go see the Netflix special about the Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. This is a full documentary that follows them, and it is really inside stuff, and it really does pull back that fourth wall, and you're hearing and seeing things I did not think we would ever hear and see. So I wanted to go to someone who's been in the trenches and is still involved
with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. She still helps him from time to time and is a part of the organization. So I wanted to do just a show about Melissa and the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. So we talked all about your time on The Bachelor and everything that happened. But I want to get back to the two years before you were on the show. You were a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader.
I was a flipping Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. I see.
By the way, I still have the picture. I love the picture of you as a cheerleader.
Oh boy, what it is?
It's adorable. No, you're damn adorable. Look at this. I'm going to hold it up in this like like, look.
At this, don't it.
I looked so little, you were so little.
Yeah, So funny story about you know when we talked about Bachelor, the reason I went on I was going through a breakup. I actually became a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader going through a breakup as well. I had been in a seven year relationship that had ended right as I was graduating college. It was devastated, obviously, seven years when you're twenty one is a long time.
Yeah.
And I was at home, you know, stuffing my face with pizza and a commercial for tryouts for the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders in two weeks, and I went, you know what I could do that?
Were you a dancer at North Texas?
I did? I danced at North Texas. Yeah, I went to owe you for two years and took dance off. And then when I came back to you and T and I went to Texas Stadium that day and little they were filming a show. It was the very first season of making the team. None of us had any clue what that was.
The you know, the OG original reality show about making.
Yeah standard definition as you can get. Yeah. Ended up, I ended up making it and.
Change this is two thousand and six. And then you did it for two seasons.
I think I did it for two seasons.
The most you can do is three.
No, you can go as many seasons as you want. We have a girl who I.
Can on her six Oh wow, Oh my gosh.
I was just a lot of the girls start when they're eighteen. You know, I was working a full time job, I had a social life. I wanted to keep up, and so I would go to work from eight to five. I was at the stadium from six to eleven. And then you lather, rense, repeat, and you know, there's a lot.
That's a lot. You say, we you're still involved with them, You're one of their big alums.
I yeah, I think for twelve thirteen years now, I've been Judge Trials with them and going through training camp with them, and yeah, no, it's been fun. It's a full circle moment for sure, when I look at these girls.
The difference between the original reality show that you were a part of making the team and what you're seeing on Netflix now, which is one of the things I wanted to talk to you about, because this Netflix special has really captivated America at least, and I find it interesting because I grew up in Dallas, born and raised,
diehard Dallas Cowboy fan. I was always you know, captivated and mesmerized by the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, you know, often imitated, never equalled they were just bigger than life, because so were the Cowboys. Cowboys are still America's team, but I would say almost more so the shining kind of beacon. An example of America's team is the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders. They are around the world doing USO tours. They do so much, not just in our community, but around the world,
around the country. So the cheerleaders almost are a bit er symbol than the star itself.
I mean, I mean, I think so being completely unbiased, but yeah, So the original show was on CMT. It was a great show, just kind of lifted the curtain behind you know, during training camp. It shows, you know, three months long what Netflix has done though, and Ty had this great comparison. I was like, you're right, you know the show Hard Knocks for football fans, Yeah, this is the Hard Knocks for cheerleaders. Anyway, You're absolutely, that's
exactly what it is. You know, you're spotlighting a few girls, you're seeing the process, you're seeing the good, but you're also seeing the not so good, right, I mean, they've gotten a lot.
I am shocked at how much of not the good you're seeing. I know, I am too, to be honest, I was like, what are you shocked? So what are you most shocked that you've heard or seen? We're like, WHOA, I can't believe they said that out loud.
It's not that I can't believe they've said that, but obviously the pay topic has a huge point of contention with a lot of people. You know, and this is coming. I made fifty bucks a game back in my day.
Fifty dollars a game, hundred dollars a season. Guys, let that sink in. This is a billion dollar industry. Yeah, the club itself is worth billions of dollars, just the team, not the NFL. The team is worth over a billion dollars.
And I listen, you sign up. I signed a contract at the beginning of my year. I knew what my pay was. I was fine with it. I never really understood, like calendar stuff, when my face was being used for stuff not just mine. I'm saying me, like the girls, yes, you never saw them. There were no residuals, there were no none of that. It was great. Thanks for that. We're going to make millions of dollars on this merchandise.
Yeah, well, and think of how many how many girls walked around the United States as Dallas Cowboy chere leaders at Halloween. How many you know there was so much merch, so much money that was made.
No, they're definitely celebrities, and it's only gained with you know, social media and the accessibility of them, you know, I mean, once this curtain has come back, I think the fascination with who they are, what they are, what goes on behind the scenes. I mean, I just feel like right now, especially with this documentary, people are fascinated with how the wheels work on this machine.
You know, we're hearing in some of the things that are surprising. I think that we're not surprised they happen. It's a surprise you're hearing it. Any the critiques of body dance all this stuff, Like what were there any big critiques or harsh comments made to you if like you got to do this, you got to get better your nose, you know, we got to fix your teeth anything.
I mean, listen, I'm not going to go into details, but I was a cheerleader now about twenty years ago when we had America's Next Top Model where they're criticizing bodies and faces. It was the norm of where you were in our society that I can criticize you for the way you look, and how much do you know? Back then we were way every practice. You know. I remember going, I can't drink too much water because I'm
going to be heavier. And you had weight watch, weight warning, and weight probation and you didn't want to be in any of them. And oddly enough and tryouts this year, I was talking to Kelly about weight or something, and she goes, we haven't waited the girls in years, so, I mean they've evolved with the times as they have, But I mean back in my day, it was it was.
Tough, a breeding ground for eating disorders.
I think we all came out with eating. I'm gonna be real honest, I think we all with like healthy unhealthy? What do I do? Am? I am? I big? Am I not? You know? And I look back at my twenty year old self, going, oh my god, if I could, if I could be that tiny again.
You're like, that's as beautiful and spectacular as I'm ever gonna be. My skin's so elastic it bounds that it's. Uh. Do you think the pay is going to change now because this has been uncovered? I do, because the cowboys are smart. If one thing that Jones family knows to be smart.
Yeah, I think they also like to make up their own minds though, you know, of like true my decision if we I don't want to be I don't want people to think I was forced into make decision. So I think maybe we'll open up a conversation of we probably need to talk seeing is how many people find this offensive and a bit of an issue maybe.
I mean, look, I don't think they're going to be millionaires, and you know, it's not going to be like some crazy salary, but I think it goes up.
Well, they're getting paid more than we did. I mean it has gone I think they get paid for practices now like that that stuff has been changed. But like I mean, they're not getting rich off of being a cheerleader by any means.
I went to a big dance school. I was surrounded by dancers in college. I went to Oklahoma City University, and so again I understand the dance philosophy too. Of like they were weighed in and all the all the eating disorders that came out of it, but the physicality of it, I don't know if people fully appreciated the physicality of what you all do and did. When you see that, Oh yeah, my hips are just going to pop out of socket now because of how much we
do and the drop split. I love how much was made about the drop sport split.
Yeah, no it was. I mean I've always said, you're not your body's not fallen apart because you started dancing at twenty as a cheerleader. Right, these girls have been dancing since they were three. We have my Boddy. I'm forty one, and I creak and croak, I need surgeries.
I mean, it's just there are athletes in the sense that they've been doing this their entire lives, and they've been doing a lot of it their entire lives, and as you get to the professional status like it is with male athletes, they're practicing six hours a day, which is a lot on your body because it's not just your legs or your arms. I mean when you're dancing, it's total full body. And yes, those jump splits are not friendly to anybody. Nobody was like, yes, I get to jump in the air.
I don't think anybody would watch that and say, yeah, that's good for you.
Every time you were like, oh, my brother and done land in.
You know how much anxiety. It's really funny that there was a it's almost like a trust fall. I really enjoyed watching the rookies go through and like, you know, there's so much anxiety to do it the first time. Do you remember that much anxiety and looking towards Oh gosh, we're going to have to learn to do this jump split and doing it that first time.
I don't remember doing it the first time, but I remember that anxiety of like, if I must this up, I'm out. But also you have this fear because with a jump split, if you don't all jump up and land, because we've had girls that get nervous at the last minute and don't, so if you think about it, it throws the off next to you and pushes them down. So then you have this fear of if the girls around me aren't doing it right, I then can get hurt.
And it's this this ripple effect. I mean, it is highly effective visually yet massively terrifying when you're doing it and.
Then you get up and carry these I mean, and it's hot. By the way, you were at the old Texas.
Stadium, old open open, there.
Was open, hot, cold, wet, dry, you name it. And that turf was like a brick. It was just like turf laid over concrete, which was so hard. Compared to what they're performing at now on this soft turf and seventy eight degrees, it's so much nicer.
And I only got fifty dollars a game for that.
Fifty dollars a damn game. That's that's amazing. I think you make more selling Girl Scout cookies.
Yeah.
No, you could have a lemonade stand in Highland Park. Can you be much better off?
Well, it's funny. Back then, as we had to have like our nails done, we had to have our hair professionally done, our teeth white, and tanning. I was losing money being a cheerleader by what it costs today.
They didn't do that for you.
No, we had free tanning memberships. That was it. Everything else we had to maintain on our own.
And they also told you in the day, I don't know if they still do. You can shed some light on this. They tell you what color your hair is going to be correct.
Yes, they made me a red head, a red like a red brown, and I had to keep that.
Yeah, I was looking at your hair was much lighter and kind of so they kind of walk down the line because they don't want you know, look, thirty brunettes might be the best dancers and they make the team, but they don't want thirty brunettes on the field. They need five redheads, five blondes, five brunettes five you know. And so they break you up and tell you what color your hair is going to be?
Yes, and they I do think they I mean I don't think they just randomly go, hey, we're turning you into a burnette. I think they look and go, you know what, you could probably pull off yeah, darker or this, and I'm gonna be real honest and tryouts. We see a lot of hair makeover right there, Like we had one this year. I was like, it's silver, her hair looks gray. People pay a lot of money to not have that color hair. I don't understand. So sometimes it
is necessary. Sometimes the girls hate it, you know, they get their hair done. I think we saw in this past season on Netflix she hated her hair when she went from a blonde to a burnette. But you know, you're like, I let them do it. I actually liked it. I didn't hate my hair that's cool.
You're still involved with them though. I love that. That's cool. And have have you been on Are you going to be a part of the special at all or on the documentary? No?
I was just there for the tryout part, so just for the beginning. Because the format has changed so much, where it used to focus on what goes on during training camp. Yeah, now it's more kind of the individual girls and then the organization as a whole, and they film all year. They don't just fil during the training camp anymore.
Before I let you go, there were some fan questions because people were so excited you were coming on and wanted to ask you personal questions that they were wondering about Dallas campboard cheerleaders. How often do you interact with the football players?
Never unless you're at an appearance together.
Yeah. Separation of church and state one hundred percent. Yeah. Is there a hard and fast rule like do not date?
Yes. In that contract that you sign, they make it very known that there is no fraternization. There is. We've lost girls for ignoring that rule before. But yeah, sometimes you'll do appearances. Usually it's at Christmas time, like in the hospitals when you've got the foot in you and you're allowed to you know, hey, but no other than that part out.
We kind of talked about this, but do they have especially now, do they have them on a specific diet? Do they talk about that? Tell you? I mean, I know, you're not weighing in anymore.
No, you're not weighing And they actually have a nutritionist that is on staff. Back in our day, we had Jay who was our personal trainer. We don't have the Jay anymore, but now we have more health than They kind of make meal plans for everybody based on their eating habits, what they like, what they dislike, and what they need.
How hard is it to have a social life because it sounds like your full time job then you're dancing.
Yeah, I mean it sounds really glamorous. But like I was telling you, most of these girls have jobs during the day and then at night you're at practice. I think the misconception is that people think it's like two hours a week that you're working right during Cowboys games, Yeah, and it's not. It's all weak and it's the day of you're there six hours before the game starts.
I'm curious about this one. Are there any special rituals or things that are done right before a game. The cheerleaders do that. We don't know about the prayer circle.
Okay, there's a prayer circle. Yeah, everybody circles up, you cross your hands and hold them, Kelly says a prayer, and then you turn and walk out to the tunnel.
I love that. Okay, I want to end on this one because this is good. People want to know what advice you would give someone aspiring to become a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.
I would say, now that you've seen CMT and you've seen the Netflix and you've seen what it takes, that it's not just a pretty face. It's not you know, it's I love that these girls aren't just these ditsy pretty little girls with pom poms anymore. That you see that they're intelligent, they're well spoken, they're the highest athlete when it comes to the dance world. I mean, it just it takes a lot, and so don't go into
it at twenty thinking you're going to get it. Like start young and know that you know, they really are. They're cool and I'm proud to be a part of it. You know, it makes me proud now that people get to see it, or I'm like.
Hey, you know, she's often imitated, never equalled. Melissa Ryecroft Strickland. Thanks, one of my faves who's ever been through the show and on the franchise and has been a part of such huge, huge moments throughout my career, which is really wild to say. We are going to be indelibly tied together for forever because of that. But I'm glad you and the kids are doing great. I'm glad that you have a break. The kids are in camp, so you and Ti go be free. It's got to be weird
being an empty nester. The silence is tough. Sometimes I say.
I'm not ready for it. It makes me very uncomfortable, so I don't know how you do it.
Camp in the summers, that's the way to kind of break the ice and get Yeah, it's the start. It gets you used to it. Yeah, Melissa, thanks so much. It's so good to catch up with you. I'm glad you and tired doing great, and the kids all my bad.
Thank you you too.
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