We were on the island for a week before the wedding, and we could tell that we had drawn attention. We could just feel that people were looking at us, and we noticed there were people who passed by the house where we were staying again and again. Everything about the wedding was very casual. I didn’t want anything stuffy. I told everyone not to wear shoes to the ceremony because we were on the beach. So everyone went barefoot, including me. Obviously that meant my dress was very casual too. I found this beautiful strapless, off-white Alfred Angelo dress that was tight around the top and tiered around the bottom. Tye wore a linen suit and he was barefoot, too. And handsome, of course.
Even though so many emotional ups and downs had proceeded this day, I was very calm before the wedding. My bridesmaids and I had rented a house, so we all got ready together. I had to take a little Pepto for my nerves, which I think everybody does. But by the time I got to the beach where we were having the ceremony, I was excited but relaxed.
And then, the music started. One by one, my bridesmaids walked away. The next thing I knew, it was just my dad and me. And then, they started playing, “Here Comes the Bride.”
Oh my god, there’s my cue, I thought.
My dad and I started walking. The anticipation of that moment was so built up, and so built up, that when it was my turn to come out, I got overwhelmed and I had to stop for a moment.
“Hold on just a second, Dad,” I said, pulling him back.
My dad, of course, was crying. We started walking again, and I had these huge tears in my eyes. Then, I saw Tye, and he had these huge tears coming down his face. He’s always said that it was really windy, and he just got sand in his eye. Yeah, right. But, in the moment, seeing how emotional he was made me feel even more emotional. I tried to keep my tears in check.
And then, as I walked down the aisle toward Tye, I was facing the ocean, and I could see a motorboat going back and forth. Someone was on board, snapping pictures. There were people who worked at the resort where we were, and they were all along the side of the guests, holding up mirrors. I had no idea what it meant, and as I reached Tye and stood next to him, he and I were cracking up because we were thinking that if our guests could have only seen what was going on behind them, they would have laughed, too. Then I realized that the resort employees were trying to reflect the light into the camera lenses, so it would be impossible for the paparazzi to take pictures, but it didn’t work. They still got them. I looked at Tye.
“I can’t believe we have paparazzi at the wedding,” I said.
“You know what?” he said. “We’re getting married, and you can either enjoy it or focus on the boat.”
“You know what?” I said. “You’re right.”
My dad did a big opening prayer and spoke about the relationship between Tye and I, as he knew it. And then he sat down, and Tye’s dad actually married us. Then, my dad said a few closing words, during which he started crying again, and Tye’s dad pronounced us man and wife. I don’t remember hearing a word of what they said except that we were now husband and wife, and that Tye could kiss his bride.
Oh, it’s done, I thought. It’s done.
Then, the paparazzi on the boat waved at us. And, just like that, they went away.
Tye and I walked back down the aisle to Monday Night Football’s theme song, and then the party started. Our song, which we danced to during the reception, was “God Bless the Broken Road” by Rascal Flats. The lyrics very much fit us because it’s all about wasting time going down the wrong path, but also being thankful for the broken road because if it weren’t for that, we wouldn’t be where we are right now. Yes, that was definitely our story.
The whole night was amazing, but the best part was that Tye and I had made it and we were together. We kept sneaking away, maybe five times during the night, to this huge dock that led out into the water. Each time, we hung our feet over the side of the dock into the water and turned around and took a mental snapshot of the whole fantastic party that was spread out over the beach.
“This is all for us,” we kept saying.
After everything we had been through to get there, it was the best feeling in the world.
Our honeymoon was short, just two days in Riviera Mia, because we had to get back for the holidays and because Tye was really in the crunch time for his agency’s opening. Later, we went back to Mexico over Valentine’s Day for a really long weekend, and we kind of called that our honeymoon. But, honestly, every single day felt like a honeymoon to me.
I had decided that I didn’t want to work at all over the holidays, and then I got an offer that I just couldn’t refuse. I had been invited to cohost Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2010. It had always been a dream of mine to go to New York City on New Year’s Eve, because like everybody else in America, I had watched that special and seen how magical it looked with the snow and everything. I absolutely wanted to do it.
Tye and I went to New York City a week early for meetings. And then, the morning of New Year’s Eve, I did a GMA segment from the top of the big ball that drops at midnight, which was another one of the most amazing things I’ve done since becoming a correspondent for the show. The only problem was that Tye and I, both being from Texas, didn’t know what a New York winter felt like when we were packing for that trip. So I was wearing a pair of jeans, my little knit gloves, and a jacket that was sufficient in Dallas. But let’s just say that in New York City, in December, fifty stories up in the air, it was NOT enough. And then, it started snowing. Tye and I couldn’t believe how cold it was. And everybody kept saying it was going to be a million times colder that night. So he and I spent that whole day shopping, and when I assumed my hosting duties that night, I was wearing something like four layers of gloves, eight layers of tights and socks, plus I had heaters everywhere.
As I was getting ready for the show, I actually started to feel nervous, which was weird for me. We were in the dressing room, and I knew we had about ten minutes before we went down, and I started thinking about how big this show was and what a legend Dick Clark was. And then, I was on my way down to where I would be hosting from, and I met Dick Clark and his wife. They were so nice, and they knew who I was because they were fans of Dancing with the Stars. I couldn’t believe it. I texted my dad right away: I just met Dick Clark and he knew who I was! And he was such a great guy!
When we got downstairs, it was total chaos. I don’t know how many security guards Ryan had, but Tye and I had five around us. They had to push people away so I could get to my station. Where I was standing, it was a cameraman, two producers, and me. Oh, and a couple MILLION people who were there to celebrate. I was relying heavily on the producers to cue me as to when it was my time to go on because I couldn’t see Ryan, and I had no teleprompter. I had in these earpieces that were supposed to allow me to hear the producers, but they didn’t really work, because there was so much noise from the crowd. I realized I was going to have to just kind of wing it, and then I got REALLY nervous.
Faintly, I heard the music start in my ear. I knew we were going into the live broadcast, and then, it just flew by. It was the fastest three hours ever. When the ball dropped, Ryan was on, and I was supposed to go on after him. The ball was lowered, they started playing “New York, New York,” and the confetti was flying. It was just this big, emotional high for me, and the tears started coming. Of course, then, I was the one on camera, and there I was crying, and I couldn’t stop.
“I don’t know why I’m crying,” I said. “I’m so sorry. It’s very emotional to be here.”
This was my first New Year’s Eve as Tye’s wife, and that certainly would have warranted a kiss under normal circumstances. But the producers had initially said in all of the meetings that I shouldn’t kiss Tye on camera because he wasn’t going to be on camera other than that, and Ryan didn’t have anybody to kiss. So I was fine with that. But then, when it actually happened, as I was crying and talking into the camera about what an emotional moment it was, I
heard the producer in my ear.
“Kiss him, kiss him, kiss him!”
I wanted to talk back and remind them that they had told me not to, but I was on live TV, so I couldn’t do that. Instead, I literally took Tye, grabbed him, and pulled him in, and we got our first married couple kiss of the new year on camera in New York.
The rest of the night didn’t all go that smoothly, though. At one point, we were standing around, and the cameraman kind of just had the camera over his shoulder, and I was talking to an audience member. We hadn’t gone over what my next talking point was because I knew we were still a little ways out from taping my next segment. And then, all of the sudden, I thought I heard the producer in my ear.
I had missed my cue and I was totally unprepared.
“Now what’s going on with you, Melissa?”
“Um, um,” was all I could get out.
The producers were looking at me, and then they started making a gesture for me to do something. The camera focused in on me, and I was standing there in Time’s Square on New Year’s Eve, LIVE, stuttering and having no idea what to do. I was still standing right by the audience member I’d been talking to, and so I turned and blamed it on this girl next to me.
“She just got me really flustered because she told me an inappropriate joke,” I said. “I don’t even know what to say. But I’m standing in Times’ Square . . .”
I kept talking, trying to make it up as I went along, and I could feel myself sweating, even though it was about ten degrees outside. It felt like the whole experience was at least three minutes long. My brain wasn’t telling me what to do. I had no idea what I was supposed to say or where I was supposed to go afterward. Do I shoot it back to Ryan? Do I go to commercial? What in the world do I do?
Meanwhile, this poor girl next to me was looking at me like she couldn’t understand what she had done to get singled out like that. FINALLY, we finished the segment, the camera went off, and I could breathe again. I had no idea what had just happened, and I thought I had ruined the entire show, and that the executive producers up in the studio were going to be so mad at me.
But, then, they came down and told me what had happened. Ryan had had a glitch, so he had to send it to me. And nobody had gotten the feed that it was coming to me, and so nobody had expected me to be prepared. Still, I felt bad and kept apologizing. The good news was that, even though it felt like an eternity, apparently, the whole thing had only lasted about twenty seconds. Even with that crash course in the potential drama of live television, the whole night was magic. Once again, it was one of those moments where I kept asking myself how I had gotten there, not only to live the dream of being in Times’ Square for New Year’s Eve with MY HUSBAND, TYE, but the fact that I wasn’t even just in the midst of it all. I was out in this secure area, by myself, witnessing this amazing moment that meant so much to people all over the world. And then, afterward, I got to see Dick Clark again, and thank him, and see Ryan Seacrest again, and thank him, too. It was truly an awesome experience.
sixteen
•
MY REAL HAPPY ENDING
Tye and I were living in what almost felt like a weird fairy tale of a world, because everything we had both ever wished for had come true. Actually, wishes we didn’t even know were possible were coming true. I used to always say that the best writers in the world could not have written our story and made it sound believable, because it was just too unbelievable.
Things were great on the home front. We bought our first house together. We had expanded our family by one puppy (he was a wedding present from Tye!). Tye had his agency up and running. I had my steady slew of jobs. Things were really, really good. We started talking about starting a family in the next couple of years. And where we wanted to end up: if we would stay in Dallas, or if we would ever move to LA, or at least get another house in LA. We loved playing the game of wondering where we would be in five years, and ten years, and twenty years. Basically, we were enjoying being newlyweds and having a lot of fun.
I loved being a GMA correspondent. It was literally like my dream job—making my living by traveling and meeting people—and I hoped I could do it forever. In early 2010 Deena called me and told me that she’d gotten a call from one of the producers for Entertainment Tonight. He told her he was a huge fan of mine and asked her if I’d want to come be a correspondent for sweeps week. He didn’t have to ask twice. I was in. One of my first assignments was to cover the Valentine’s Day movie premiere, which meant I got to meet Bradley Cooper and Julia Roberts. Um, absolutely! Count me in! It was a dream job—and a dream assignment! I was on the red carpet of a major movie premiere with some of the biggest movie stars around. I definitely didn’t fit in, but I was having fun playing in their world!
Again, the stories I did for ET were fun and lighthearted, which is definitely what entertainment news is all about. And the more I did it, the more I found that it was really, truly my favorite thing to do. I realized that if I could pick my dream job, it would be doing some sort of entertainment news. Like I’ve said, I don’t take myself too seriously, and I’ve never pretended that I could sit behind a news booth and give that kind of important information.
But becoming a correspondent for Entertainment Tonight and The Insider did come with some new challenges. As I learned when I did taped pieces for GMA, for some stupid reason, I get more nervous doing taped TV than I do with live TV. I know that’s odd, because you would think, with live TV, it’d be easy for me to psyche myself out with the fact that it’s LIVE TV. But I actually loved that feeling of only having that one shot, and having to think quickly on my feet—it kept things challenging and fun for me. Turn a live camera on me, and I’ll perform without even thinking about it.
Of course, the first time I was on the set of Entertainment Tonight, I found myself sitting up there with Mary Hart! She’s a woman who is an absolute pro at her job, and it is very intimidating to be sitting next to someone like that! Calm down, Melissa! You can’t keep screwing up your lines; Mary doesn’t want to sit on this stage with you for thirty minutes! But it’s definitely not as easy as it looks. I know from an audience perspective, it looks like anyone can look into a camera and talk, but there’s actually a lot more that goes into it. You’ve got to know how to read a prompter (and how to make it sound like you’re not reading), know what camera to look at and when, interact with the other person with you, be aware of your face, and nail the delivery. Phew!
My main problem has always been that I talk really fast naturally, let alone when I’m nervous. And so I knew every time I did a show like Entertainment Tonight that my note would be: Do it again. Slow down. I’ve learned to take deep breaths and count to three slowly in my head, to start a slower pace. Hey, whatever works, right?
I’ve found since working for Entertainment Tonight that I like to make fun of myself, and my situation, and laugh at people, and with people, and so having the chance to do that on the show was just the best. The job was supposed to last only through sweeps week, but then, the producers just kept bringing me back, one assignment at a time. They were linked with The Insider, and filmed on the same set, in fact, so they invited me to go start doing some stuff with them, which I also really enjoyed. What’s not to enjoy?
I had the opportunity to cover the awards shows—both the Golden Globes and the Oscars—and it was just so unbelievable. I got to go to a showroom to try on dresses, and then get all dressed up and get my hair and makeup done, which for me was like being Cinderella. Normally, I’d be at home in my sweats all day, with my hair in a ponytail. After I got dressed up all fancy, and rode in the limo over to the theater, I found myself walking down the red carpet before the show started, with my shoes in my hand, to get to the place where the journalists stood.
The night that I covered the Oscars was a blur of the biggest celebrities, ever—Tom Hanks and George Clooney and everyone—and then I found myself talking to these people as if they were anyone else I might have met on the street. N
ever in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would be interacting with Tom Cruise, and, surprisingly, I wasn’t nervous at all. It was just fun. I kept reminding myself that they were just people. So when I talked with them, I didn’t get quite as starstruck as I normally would have. I said quite as starstruck—I definitely still had stars in my eyes! I was so amazed that, a year ago, I had been a fan of these stars, and I had read about them in all the rag mags, and now I knew them. I’d talked with them. And it was documented on film that I’d talked with them. I really had!
By this point, with my personal and professional life both going so well, my time on The Bachelor began to feel very far away. I hadn’t had any contact with Jason since we exchanged those few emails the night “After the Final Rose” taped, and I was just fine with that. When I looked back at my time with Jason, my conclusion was that it had never been a real relationship. I thought that it was at the time, I really did, but outside the Bachelor Bubble, I could see the truth of the situation. We went on three dates on the show. We didn’t know each other well enough to know if we were in love or even compatible enough to get married. Afterward, because I had made this big, very public commitment, which I felt I needed to honor, I believed I really had to fight for my relationship with Jason. I actually think I fought harder for it than he did, especially if he had already realized that his heart was really with Molly. It was when I could tell that he wasn’t going to reciprocate my efforts or my feelings that I finally gave up. I’m still not proud of that decision because I hate not seeing something through, especially something that important. But it’s obvious that it never would have worked out.
I look back at how I’ve always felt about Tye, and then how I thought I felt about Jason, and it doesn’t even compare. Tye has had my entire heart from the day I met him. So, in all honesty, Jason never really had a chance to steal my heart—because it belonged to someone else at the time. Even though I didn’t know it, and I tried to deny it, it’s the truth. And things ended up the way they should have: I married the love of my life, and Jason married the love of his life Molly.
My Reality Page 20