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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
The Bachelorette’s most recent winner Devin Strader, who was briefly engaged to the show’s star Jenn Tran, was arrested for alleged burglary seven years before featuring on season 21 of ABC’s hit dating show.
The 28-year-old’s criminal past was exposed on a recent YouTube livestream hosted by popular Bachelor Nation fan RealitySteve, who regularly reports on the franchise.
In the video, RealitySteve shared scans of an affidavit from Strader’s supposed 2017 arrest warrant on one felony count of “simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling.”
Variety has separately verified the filing as legitimate. According to Variety, attached to Strader’s arrest warrant were documents filed on March 19, 2017, by an unnamed ex-girlfriend who alleged that while she was out of town, her home was burglarized and a diamond necklace that Strader had gifted her had been stolen.
She also alleged that Strader had come to her Louisiana house several times, pounding on the door and yelling at her, which led her to file a restraining order against him on March 22, 2017.
While The Hollywood Reporter reported that the details in the restraining order were originally sealed when producers conducted their background check, Entertainment Weekly has since obtained the now-unsealed petition.
A source close to the show told EW: “We take the safety of our contestants very seriously and make every effort to conduct thorough diligence. As exhaustive as our vetting process is, this protective order did not surface in our searches.”
In the restraining order, it’s alleged that “[Strader] made a fire out in the street with what appeared to be the actual restraining order. [The ex-girlfriend] also had a tire flattened in her vehicle and when it was getting changed, [Strader] came outside and began laughing at her.”
It’s additionally alleged that Strader once “put me in a chokehold covering my mouth” and “spit on me and threw his drink on me at [a] Pelicans game in front of everyone in the stands.”
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The abuse allegations go beyond the physical, with claims he mentally abused her, too. “He has degraded me and taken everything from me. My self confidence, self-esteem, and I hope no other girl ever has to go through what I went through.”
The Independent has contacted ABC for further comment. A representative for Strader was not immediately found.
After Strader was arrested on burglary charges, he pleaded guilty to charges of criminal trespass and simple criminal damage to property of less than $500 and was ordered to complete one year of unsupervised probation, per EW.
These revelations come just weeks after Strader reunited with Tran on The Bachelorette season 21 finale in front of a live studio audience to discuss the downfall of their relationship.
During the episode, Tran recalled how Strader broke off their engagement over a phone call.
“He had basically said that he didn’t love me anymore and didn’t feel the same way and felt like something had been off since the second he proposed, and regretted getting engaged,” she said, adding that “he denied ever being in love.”
In a later attempt to try and defend his actions, Strader posted a since-deleted video on Instagram in which he exposed private texts shared between him and Tran.
Tran will next compete on the new season of Dancing with the Stars, debuting September 17 on ABC at 8pm ET.
