Melissa Rycroft of The Bachelor & Dancing with the Stars: “Family was always my number one priority — and remained that way through all the jobs I got, places I traveled, the money I made, people I met — and I think that’s why I’m so content with my life now”
My advice is to stay true to who you really are. No matter where life takes you, there will always be opportunities for you to change your values, beliefs, goals, etc, and I think you always have to be aware of that. Family was always my number one priority — and remained that way through all the jobs I got, places I traveled, the money I made, people I met — and I think that’s why I’m so content with my life now. I never altered what my main goal in life was, and I think that’s really important for this next generation to keep in mind in this ever-changing social media world we live in.
As a part of our series about stars who are making an important social impact, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Melissa Rycroft. Melissa is a television personality, host, and dancer. She is a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. She participated in the thirteenth season of ABC’s The Bachelor, on the CMT reality series, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team, on her reality series Melissa and Tye, and on the eighth and fifteenth seasons of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. Rycroft went on to host reality-TV competition shows such as Bachelor Pad and Redneck Island and was a regular correspondent for Good Morning America. Today, she still works with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, and she has a podcast called Logically Irrational that she hosts with her husband. She’s been married for 10 years and has three children.
Thank you so much for joining us Melissa! Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your career? What was the lesson or takeaway that you took out of that story?
I once went live on air with baby spit-up on my shirt, and I had no idea! I was also late for a live shot because I was in the bathroom once too. I quickly learned, with live tv, you just have to roll with the punches! If something goes wrong, you kind of have to laugh at it!
What would you advise a young person who wants to emulate your success?
My advice is to stay true to who you really are. No matter where life takes you, there will always be opportunities for you to change your values, beliefs, goals, etc, and I think you always have to be aware of that. Family was always my number one priority — and remained that way through all the jobs I got, places I traveled, the money I made, people I met — and I think that’s why I’m so content with my life now. I never altered what my main goal in life was, and I think that’s really important for this next generation to keep in mind in this ever-changing social media world we live in.
Is there a person that made a profound impact on your life? Can you share a story?
Of course, my parents are obvious choices. However, a woman named Kitty Carter, who worked with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders at the time that I was on the squad, is a HUGE reason I am who I am today! She helped bring out the confidence in me and believed in me when I didn’t feel like a lot of people did. She was a huge factor in my growth into a woman.
How are you using your success to bring goodness to the world? Can you share with us the meaningful or exciting causes you are working on right now?
I think with having any platform, you need to be able to use your voice for causes that are important and related to you. I’ve used my voice to help terminally ill children, rescue animal shelters, various diseases, child trafficking (just to name a few), and am now using my voice to help educate on the importance of understanding allergies: the symptoms, severity, and treatments.
Can you share with us the story behind why you chose to take up this particular cause?
Allergies affect my life daily, and the life of my family. Once my quality of life started to become affected, I decided something needed to change. A lot of people just shrug allergies off as something everyone has, and they’re “not that bad,” however, there are times that it can be severe, and it can impact your daily activities. I’ve always dealt with allergies — the stuffy nose, the cough, the watery/puffy eyes — so I figured it was just normal and used an OTC to just get by. It wasn’t until I saw my daughter suffering that I decided to learn more about the causes and all the treatments out there for allergies. At understandingait.com there is so much information to help educate yourself with — from symptoms to a local doctor locator, to various treatment options.
Can you share with us a story about a person who was impacted by your cause?
My entire family has been impacted! My husband and daughter both went and got tested, and both have been on immunotherapy treatments for their allergies! We’ve seen a significant improvement!
Are there three things that individuals, society or the government can do to support you in this effort?
I think it’s important to share knowledge. Education is always key, and when talking about allergies, I think there is a stigma we need to overcome! We’ve become a bit numb to the word ‘allergy’ and just assume it’s something we just have to deal with, and they’re ‘not that bad’. At understandingait.com there is so much information on types of allergies, symptoms, and possible solutions, that it’s a great place to start!
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Children and animals are big triggers for me, and I’d love to start some sort of organization around either one. My daughter is the biggest animal lover that I know, so it would be pretty amazing to start something with her one day.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you explain how that was relevant in your life?
I once heard “Be the best one of the best ones.” And I love that saying! It’s such a good reminder to keep striving to be the best that you can!
We are blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Politics, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them :-)
I’d love to have a brunch with Oprah! She’s such an inspiration to me! (And I’d love to see what she eats for brunch!)
