Melissa Rycroft has announced she is pregnant with her first child.
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"It's the most wonderful surprise in the world. It's such a blessing."
Rycroft originally appeared as one of the bachelorette's vying for Jason Mesnick's heart on The Bachelor's thirteenth season, which was filmed in late 2008 and aired in early 2009.
She got engaged to Mesnick during the taping of The Bachelor's Final Rose Ceremony -- but he later dumped her on-air in favor of runner-up (and eventual wife) Molly Malaney during the January 2009 taping of the season's After the Final Rose special.
However Rycroft quickly entered into a new relationship of her own and reunited with former boyfriend Tye Strickland, whom she had previously dated on and off after meeting three years earlier, and the couple subsequently got engaged in June and wed in December.
After her rejection by Mesnick, Rycroft also accepted an offer to join Dancing with the Stars' Spring 2009 edition as a last-minute replacement for injured Access Hollywood co-anchor Nancy O'Dell. She eventually finished third behind Gilles Marini and eventual champ Shawn Johnson.
Since then, Rycroft has worked as a correspondent for ABC's Good Morning America, contributed to the network's 2010 Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest broadcast, and also served as a special Entertainment Tonight correspondent. In addition, she will also serve as the co-host of Bachelor Pad, ABC's new The Bachelor franchise spinoff, when it premieres next month.
Given her growing career, Rycroft, who is due in February, told Us starting a family was the last thing she had planned to do next this winter.
"He wanted the kids right away, and I was laughing at him going, 'No, not ready!'" she said. "He's actually cried more than I have. Tye is caring, he's funny. He's going to be a great dad."
Rycroft said she's hoping the baby will be a little bachelor of her own while Strickland, a 29-year-old insurance agent, wants a girl.
"We're going to find out as soon as we can," she told Us.
In the meantime, the couple is settling into their new Dallas home and dealing with Rycroft's food cravings.
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"[I'm] eating everything in sight," she told Us. "Knowing me, I'm going to swell and gain 90 pounds. But it's not about me anymore!"
About The Author: Steven Rogers
