It's not rare for former Bachelors and Bachelorettes to show up at the beginning of a season to give the next person advice. Yet, it's ominous that Jason Mesnick appears on Arie's finale. Jason gives Arie advice on The Bachelor and there's a very good reason why the thirteenth Bachelor returned to the franchise. During Jason's season of The Bachelor, he regretted proposing to his winner, Melissa Rycroft, and wanted to be with his runner-up, Molly Malaney. Arie is going through the same exact dilemma, and so it was only fitting that Jason showed up to give the current Bachelor a little guidance.
Jason first appeared on DeAnna Pappas' season of The Bachelorette. She stopped him from proposing and later ended up becoming the Bachelor for Season 13. For the final rose ceremony, he proposed to Melissa Rycroft. But afterward, Jason had a significant change of heart and wanted to be with his runner-up Molly Malaney. As Chris Harrison blogged at the time for Entertainment Weekly, when Jason informed the show that he was going to end things with Melissa, the production team brought all three of them together. Jason breaking up with Melissa — and then Jason asking Molly for a second chance — was filmed for After The Final Rose. So yeah, Arie's not so revolutionary in the drama department, though the way everything went down — Arie bringing a camera crew with him in order to break up with Becca, and then bringing a camera crew with him to ask for Lauren back — is certainly a first for this show (not to mention the unedited split-screen treatment of his prolonged breakup with Becca).
Speaking with Arie after he broke off the engagement with Becca, Mesnick cautioned Arie that he should expect be condemned in the press. "There was some backlash," Mesnick said. "The cover of People magazine said 'Bachelor Betrayal.'" It wasn't easy, he said, so Arie should be prepared or the absolute worst. Because if you're really in love, it'll still be worth it. "People are going to be angry with what you did," he added. "Don't do this unless you're 100 percent certain."
His best advice for Arie going forward with Lauren? "Get out of a big city ... just get away and really work on your relationship ... [couples that succeed], they get out of this thing and they go back to their lives," he said. "Get a plane ticket far away for at least a couple of weeks."
While Jason's experience on The Bachelor could be a cautionary tale, it actually worked out for him in the end. Molly ultimately did take Jason back and they got married in a 2010 TV special. They have been together ever since, with E! reporting that the Mesnicks recently celebrated their eighth wedding anniversary. They have a daughter together and Jason also has a son from his previous marriage.
So it actually made a lot of sense for Jason to come on Arie's season to share his experience. Before The Bachelor showed what Jason said to Arie, he spoke to Harrison for the live after show on March 5. "You came here to find somebody to spend the rest of your life with," Jason said about what Arie should do. "It's really hard, you break a lot of hearts — and I know that. But find that person and make that decision because that's why he's here."
As for Melissa, she's doing OK now too. She also has been married for eight years to Tye Strickland, an insurance salesman who she dated before going on The Bachelor and rekindled with after the show. The couple has three children together. So while the breakup was messy and public, both Melissa and Jason found lasting loves. That should give Becca fans some peace of mind that she's going to be all right. And of course, there's always the chance she gets her own shot at love on The Bachelorette.
