[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Whoa! We’ve got some shocking news for you, Bachelorette fans!
Just weeks after Season 21 of the beloved dating show concluded, we’re hearing some troubling news about the guy Jenn Tran chose to give her final rose to! He has a disturbing history with jail time and abuse!
OK, so The Bachelorette finale concluded with Jenn and her choice guy Devin Strader getting engaged? However, they broke up shortly after. It hasn’t been pretty. In reality — actual reality, we mean, not reality TV — he’s apparently not the same dude Jenn fell in love with on the small screen. She’s been pretty open about it, revealing on the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast earlier this month that the day after they got engaged, “the first thing he asked the producers was, ‘How long do people stay together?” Oof.
During her first reunion with Devin following their split for the season’s finale, they looked back on happier times when they got engaged in Hawaii. And Jenn even said the words, “that man doesn’t exist anymore.” Yeesh! But seriously, it sounds like she really dodged a bullet… Because he has some major skeletons in his closet!
On Monday, YouTube star Reality Steve, who’s made a name for himself in reporting Bachelor Nation news, revealed a bombshell arrest affidavit, showing Devin was arrested for one felony count of simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling seven years prior to shooting the dating show. Huh. Seems like something the show’s background check people would find out, that he was a felon. Burglary isn’t as bad as it gets, but… It turns out it was an even bigger red flag — because it was a violation. See, it was his ex-girlfriend who accused him of breaking into her Louisiana home while she was out of town! Oh no!
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That’s right, according to the Baton Rouge Police Department affidavit, the unnamed ex-girlfriend claimed that when she returned home her abode was ransacked, with several personal items damaged… and the diamond necklace Devin gave her missing. At the time, Devin apparently just lived two doors down from her and came to her house “banging on the door several times and screaming at her” after the breakup. Charming. There was another incident in which he allegedly laughed at her when she was having a flat tire on her car changed. So amid all this, she filed a restraining order against him.
That’s WILD that he pushed her to that point! He sounds like such a creep! Didn’t hear about this stuff during hometown week…
But get this, the unnamed ex also alleged that after filing the order, Devin “made a fire out in the street with what appeared to be the actual restraining order.” Holy s**t! We’d feel so threatened! And things get MUCH worse!
According to a now-unsealed petition obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, the woman also made shocking allegations of “physical abuse” against The Bachelorette star. She claimed he once “put me in a choke hold covering my mouth,” and “spit on me and threw his drink on me at [a] Pelicans game in front of everyone in the stands.”
WTF! Who is this guy?!
In addition to that, she said she said she once woke up with bruises on her “knees, elbow, stomach, and arms” and a “pounding” headache, and claimed Devin nearly “killed” her. However, she said she was hesitant to talk about it. Yeesh. And beyond the physical abuse, she claimed he verbally abused her as well:
“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.”
This is seriously CRAZY!
In April of this year, she claimed, he called her “multiple times during the day” — “screaming.” He also left a “love letter” in her mailbox. Sounds almost like stalker behavior! Then on April 25, per The US Sun, he was arrested for DWI in Baton Rouge. What should have been rock bottom for him was nothing but a speed bump. The ex says he came banging on her door again just moments after the arrest — he had dragged the cop with him. She recalled:
“He told the cop I was his girlfriend and he wanted to talk to me so I can bail him out of jail. I told the cop I had a restraining order on him and the cop apologized for waking me up. After the cop left, I received 4 phone calls from Devin. He knocked on my door later that day and called me multiple times. He also called me the next day.”
On May 2, she had to file a follow-up violation order. But this slippery sucker got away with a slap on the wrist!
Entertainment Weekly reported that Devin was able to get off on the burglary, the DWI, AND the charge of violating the restraining order by pleading guilty to two misdemeanors instead — criminal trespass and simple criminal damage to property of less than $500. He got just one year of unsupervised probation. He also was required to complete online classes, stay drug-free, and most importantly have NO CONTACT with the victim.
This all just brings up the question of the casting process for the reality show. We mean… How did they let a guy like this compete on a dating show??
A production source told THR that the details of the restraining order were sealed during the casting process, but the arrest affidavit was public. It’s not clear what exactly Devin told producers at the time to gain their approval. However, a show source told THR:
“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.”
This is really scary. We’re so glad that Jenn is out of that relationship with him!
What are your reactions? Let us know in the comments down below!
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/
[Images via Bachelor Nation/YouTube]
