Rycroft appeared on the 13th season of The Bachelor as one of the 25 bachelorettes vying for the heart of The Bachelor, Jason Mesnick. In the season finale, Mesnick chose Rycroft over runner-up, Molly Malaney, and proposed to her. A euphoric Rycroft accepted, said she was the "happiest woman in the world," and jumped into Mesnick's arms, weeping, as he spun her around and again. However, a shocking development would soon follow. Following the episode, ABC aired the After the Final Rose (Part One) episode, which was taped six weeks after the season finale episode. It was then, in a historic moment for the Bachelor, and in front of millions of viewers, that Mesnick revealed that he was breaking up with Rycroft, leaving her visibly devastated. Rycroft cursed Mesnick, handing his diamond engagement ring back to him. Rycroft would later reveal in her memoirs that the televised breakup was greatly humiliating.
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