The Bachelor He Said She Said They Said

If you have been following The Bachelor controversy you probably know that Jason Mesnick picked lovely Melissa Rycroft in the Final Rose episode and actually proposed to her with a gorgeous Neil Lane diamond ring.

You also know that Jason dumped Melissa on National TV in front of millions of viewers and told her he still had feelings for Molly Malaney, the 2nd runner up.  It was heartbreaking and extremely upsetting to many fans of The Bachelor and to viewers not expecting this type of outcome.

Many questions resulted ranging from was this a pre-planned event?  Did Jason Mesnick know even before he proposed to Melissa that he would ultimately dump her for Molly?  Did the producers of The Bachelor create this specific scenario to create "good TV" and because Jason, Melissa and Molly signed an ironclad contract they had to go along or be sued?

Other questions have popped up.  Was Jason Mesnick told to dump Melissa on national TV by The Bachelor producers?  Did Melissa know in advance that she would be getting dumped in After The Final Rose?  Did Jason warn her in advance?

Even more intriquing, did Chris Harrison know about has now been tagged as "The Bachelorette Switcheroo" which ultimately implied that Jason would propose to his 2nd choice knowing all along he would wind up with his 1st choice according to a predetermined show plan?

He Said #1:  Jason Mesnick Said He Was Contractually Required To Dump Melissa On Air

Jason Mesnick claims he was required by his contract to break up with Melissa on National TV because of his "contract" and that he was not allowed to see her before the break up happened.  However, he did say, more than once "Melissa knew" what was coming and he reported he asked her why she was still wearing her ring when they were no longer together.

He Said #2: The Bachelor's Mike Fleiss Said Jason Was NOT Contractually Required To Dump Melissa On Air

The Bachelor creator and producer Mike Fleiss, as reported by Film.com, which asked about the fact Jason repeatedly has said he was contractually obligated to break up with Melissa on the air replied "I think he felt an obligation to the show, but there's no contractual obligation there.  None."

When Film.com asked Mike Fleiss, "so Jason did not have to break up with Melissa on the show?"  He replied "he definitely had time to tell her before ... You can check the contracts. How would you put that into a contract anyway? It's impossible."

Even more interesting, when Mike was asked "did Jason ever tell you he didn't want to dump Melissa on camera?" he said "I never heard that."

OK.  So Jason said he was required by his contract to break up with Melissa on camera but Mike Fleiss, The Bachelor's producing god said it wasn't so.  Who do you believe?  Jason or Mike Fleiss?

She Said:  Molly Is NOT Moving To Seattle (As Reported) And Nothing Was Scripted

In a phone interview published by JSONLINE Molly Malaney has said contrary to what Jason and others have said, "she's NOT, repeat NOT moving to Seattle anytime soon."  She also said that the show was completely unscripted in any way.

They Said:  Chris Harrison Said Jason's Decision To Dump Melissa Wasn't What

Bachelor Producers Wanted

Chris Harrison told E! that the Producers did not want Jason to do what he did.  He said: The Producers Did Not Want This to Happen. The long time host of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette said "people think we wanted to pull this stunt off, but we didn't!" Harrison insists.

Chris also said "This isn't good for us (The Bachelor). I mean, the ratings were insane and all that, but we would've much rather had him (Jason) end up with Melissa and have them get married. In the long run, that's a better story for us."

"We had a really big dilemma when this happened," Harrison admitted to E!. "It wasn't like a normal deal where, after the show airs, the couple doesn't work out and they just go on their way. It was right when the show started airing; he wants to make this switch to the girl he just broke up with.

So what do you do? You can't just show him proposing to Melissa and then have People magazine reporting that he's dating Molly. We had to put something together. I don't know if it turned out right or wrong. That will be debated for a long time."

Everyone Does Agree

Regardless whether you talk to Chris Harrison, Mike Fleiss, Jason Mesnick or Molly Malaney, they will all probably agree that Jason has won the title of "Most Hated Bachelor Of All Time".  Jason's name is not being bandied about as a way to describe someone who does a heinous act such as "Mesnicked" or given "The Mesnick".

Ironically, in his own way, Jason Mesnick has become bigger Reality Road Kill than Melissa Rycroft.

What do you think?  Was Jason forced to break up with Melissa on air due to his contract or not?  Do you believe Chris Harrison when he says Jason Mesnick blindsided The Bachelor team by deciding to go back to Molly after selecting Melissa?

Ultimately the world is waiting to hear from Melissa who will appear on Ellen Degeneres today, Thursday, March 5th to tell her side of the story.

In essence Chris Harrison has sided with Mike Fleiss and the ABC Production Company.  He claims that it was a complete shock to him and that it was all Jason's doing to decide to dump Melissa to be with Molly.  Chris did not really address whether Jason was required to dump Melissa on air or not.

However, based on the fact Chris says Team Bachelor would have preferred for him to have stayed with Melissa, it is loosely implied that Jason was not required to dump Melissa on the air.