Past contestants move into 'Bachelor Pad'

If someone isn't chosen by "The Bachelor" or "The Bachelorette," that's not necessarily the end of the line.

Editions of both of those unscripted series have proven that by bringing back some "players," and now, there's added evidence. Premiering Monday, Aug. 9, the ABC spinoff "Bachelor Pad" gathers 19 castoffs from the other two shows under one roof and gives them another chance for love ... and for $250,000, thanks to a series of challenges they're put through. Also in a "Survivor"/"Big Brother" vein, people will be voted out of the house.

"These people remain popular," executive producer Mike Fleiss says, "and they were hooking up and doing things that the tabloids were writing about, so why wouldn't we try to make a show around that? They've created this very intense subculture. The shared experience brings them together and forms these very intense relationships."

The "Bachelor Pad" tenants span various seasons of "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette," and one of the most recent - and best-known - is Tenley Molzahn, rejected earlier this year by "Bachelor" Jake Pavelka in favor of Vienna Girardi. That couple's extremely public breakup culminated last month in a televised "exit interview."

"Who knows how different my relationship (with Jake) could have been?" Molzahn reflects. "I don't think it was her fault or his fault; it takes two to tango. On the day Jake said goodbye to me, I didn't need to get down on my knees and say, 'Please pick me!' I knew he wasn't the man for me, and I was just so sad for them that it had come down to what it came down to."

Molzahn terms her "Bachelor" stint "probably one of the best experiences of my life, having come out of it so healed from past hurts, even before Jake. When he said goodbye, I had the peace of knowing we were not meant to be together. I was happy and ready to face life again, and because it was so positive, all my family and friends were on board with me (about doing 'Bachelor Pad')."

Getting to trade war stories with other "Bachelor" and "Bachelorette" returnees was, says Molzahn, fun.

"None of us were the chosen ones, so we talked about our goodbyes," she says. "We were getting to start over in a way with new friendships, and with not competing for one person."

The Internet has been fielding rumors of Molzahn dating "Bachelor Pad" housemate Kiptyn Locke, cut loose on last year's "The Bachelorette" by Jillian Harris, who has since ended her engagement to that season's "winner" (Ed Swiderski).

"Kiptyn and I have been great friends since he reached out to me when my show ended," Molzahn reports. "He had been in a similar position months before, and he's an awesome, awesome guy. I don't know if we're dating yet, but I wouldn't mind it some day!"

As "Bachelor Pad" host, "Bachelor" and "Bachelorette" staple Chris Harrison is assisted by another veteran of the franchise: Melissa Rycroft, who was chosen by Jason Mesnick in season 13 of "The Bachelor" - then ditched for runner-up Molly Malaney. They've since married, and while the now-wed-as-well Rycroft couldn't be a player on "Bachelor Pad," she's arguably happier to be its co-host.

"I still can't believe that they wanted me to do this," Rycroft says of her role on the show, which already has been taped except for the finale. "I learned a lot, and I hope to do more things like this in the future."

Rycroft also strutted her stuff on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" last year and has done segments for the network's "Good Morning America." She cites "Bachelor Pad" as "more structured. I actually have information that I have to get across."

Rycroft adds that having Harrison beside her was a help.

"Chris became a great friend of mine after I did 'The Bachelor.' He was always very nice and sweet to me, then when we started working on this, he made it a very comfortable atmosphere. I almost wish it had taken longer, so that we had more time to hang out."

If she didn't have a husband in Tye Strickland (with whom she's expecting her first child), Rycroft admits, "I'm not so sure that I would have made myself go into that 'Bachelor Pad' house as a contestant. I feel a lot safer on the other side, and it sure is a lot more fun to watch."

As fresh a spin as "Bachelor Pad" attempts to put on the "Bachelor" concept, Fleiss concedes, "It's still a soap opera. It's still about couples trying to find love, and you'll see that the men and the women approach it in completely different ways.

"The men are 50 percent interested in love and 50 percent interested in the money, while almost every one of the women said they'd rather leave in love than with the $250,000. That's quite a psychological statement."