Who Knew? Tons of Bachelor Nation Members Were Former Professional Cheerleaders: Uncover Them All

There’s no shortage of cheerleaders in Bachelor Nation! It’s no secret that Gabby Windey cheered for the Denver Broncos before becoming the Bachelorette, but she’s not the only reality star who shook her pom poms on the field. 

The first NFL cheerleader who made her appearance on The Bachelor was Mary Delgado, a former Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleader, who was a contestant during Bob Guiney‘s season of the show. After getting eliminated, Mary returned for season 6 and ended up getting engaged to Byron Velvick. However, they’ve since split.

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Following her lead, Julie Durda, a San Francisco 49ers cheerleader, had a brief appearance on season 5 competing for Jesse Palmer‘s heart. Jenni Croft from season 11 cheered for the Dallas Cowboys, while Nikki Delventhal from season 19 cheered for the New York Jets.

However, the most famous Bachelor Nation cheerleader might be Melissa Rycroft, who was a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader from 2006 to 2008 and even appeared on Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team. 

“I was 23 years old when I had my time on the team. I know everything I went through completely changed my life; I mean, look at the career I’ve gotten to have,” the former ABC star told Bachelor Nation blog Accept this Rose in September 2021 about her Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team appearance. “When I was given the opportunity to come back and actually work with the girls, it was like, ‘Why wouldn’t I?’ These girls are starting just the way I was.”

She added, “I like getting to be the positive face that they see. Training camp is tough; there’s a lot of negative feedback that they get. Having the opportunity to be a helper is something that keeps me going.”

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Gushing over the team, Melissa told the site that the “team just gets better and better every year” with new cheerleaders joining the squad.

“The talent is just extraordinary, and I think you can credit the show for that. It’s not just Dallas girls trying out,” the reality star alum added. “Over the last decade, you’ve got people not just from across the country but across the world. I think that that’s been the biggest blessing from the show, is that they’ve been able to get this talent that they didn’t necessarily have access to before.”

Scroll through the gallery to see which other former Bachelor Nation members were cheerleaders.