The 'Bachelor' alum also spoke with ET about judging 'Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team.'
Melissa Rycroft is shedding new light on when she fell ill during a harrowing trip to the Dominican Republic -- including why her parents thought she had died at one point.
“There was one report that was out that I was dead,” the Bachelor alum told ET’s Keltie Knight during an interview to promote her judging role on the latest season of CMT’s Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team. “My parents were frantically calling me that morning going, ‘We are getting people calling with their condolences.’ Like, ‘Mom, I'm on the phone with you. I'm in my bed.”
"I was never under the care of a nurse. I was never dying, I don't think. I felt like it a few times but I was never dying," she added.
Last week, the 36-year-old TV star shared with her Instagram followers that she had fallen ill while on vacation in the Dominican Republic with her family. According to CBS News, at least eight Americans have died while vacationing there since the beginning of the year.
Rycroft’s rep told ET, "She got an upset stomach on the second day of vacation, but it passed. Once they came home, she got severe cramping."
The rep added that it lasted for over a week, and she's been tested for possible parasites and any other infections. "She's assuming it's something food borne, but no one else in her family is ill."
As of June 19, she told her social media followers that she still didn’t have a diagnosis regarding her illness, but noted that "new meds are making me feel so much better!!!”
Rycroft, a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader who stars on the CMT show along with fellow Dancing with the Stars alum Cheryl Burke, also chatted about being a positive influence for the girls.
"I love to come back and be that positive influence for the girls. You never know what's going to happen," she shared. "If I could be that little bit of inspiration, these girls are 18, 19-years-old, I think that's great."
She went on to say that crushing dreams is one of the most difficult parts of being a judge.
"That's the hardest part of the job because it's emotional," Rycroft confessed. "They're real people with families behind them and their support systems behind them. Many of them give us everything they've got. Even that sometimes isn't enough in a field this competitive."
"I think the best part of the show is that it gave this exposure. There's this stigma about these girls that they are pretty little sticks with pom poms and there's so much to them," Rycroft added. "I'm glad that the world gets to see that."
The new season of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team airs in August on CMT. Be sure to tune in for more of ET's exclusive interview with Melissa Rycroft on Wednesday's show.
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