‘A dangerous individual and a pathological liar’: ‘Bachelorette’ lowlife Devin Strader’s ex-friend confirms his unhinged behavior and violent homophobic past

Devin Strader, who Jenn Tran picked in the most recent season of The Bachelorette, only to have him break up with Tran a short time later, had a restraining order taken out against him by an ex-girlfriend. Strader called the allegations “severely misconstrued.” Now, Strader’s “ex-friend” has spoken out on the matter.

RealitySteve, a Bachelor and related franchise journalist and podcaster, broke the Strader restraining order story with an affidavit that other outlets have since obtained. The affidavit says Strader’s ex-girlfriend took out a temporary restraining order against him in 2017 after Strader burglarized her home, alleging physical, verbal, and mental abuse, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

After Strader’s burglary arrest, he pleaded guilty and received one year of supervised probation. Reportedly, Bachelorette producers were aware of his burglary conviction, but questions remain as to why they would have Strader on the show if they knew about the restraining order.

“We take the safety of our contestants very seriously and make every effort to conduct thorough diligence,” a source close to the show told The Hollywood Reporter. “As exhaustive as our vetting process is, this protective order did not surface in our searches,” the source said.

Strader’s statement

After RealitySteve broke the story, Devin Strader addressed the controversy on Instagram. “Most recently, there have been challenges from a low point in my past that have been brought up and severely misconstrued,” Strader’s statement said in part. “The accusations are simply not true as I have never inappropriately laid hands on another individual or treated my ex-girlfriend in any of the ways I have been depicted.”

Strader then said the restraining order was never granted and was dismissed, before adding that he reconciled with his ex-girlfriend, and their relationship ended “on good terms.” Strader continued, “I know that I have made mistakes in my life and that I am not perfect, but I have continued to work every day to be someone that my family and friends would be proud of, and I am truly thankful to everyone who has been by my side.”

Strader’s “ex-friend” response

Devin Strader’s insistence that the restraining order situation was “severely misconstrued” was contradicted the next day by a statement from his “ex-friend,” who alleged that Strader had sent him homophobic slurs on social media. RealitySteve shared the statement on X, and in it, Strader’s ex-friend added, “Yesterday, Devin attempted to discredit his ex-girlfriend and denied the existence of the restraining order, despite clear public records to the contrary.”

The statement then claimed that Strader violated the restraining order, and had threatened his ex-girlfriend’s friends and family. “I refuse to stand by as he continues to malign someone I care about,” the statement said, referring to Strader’s ex-girlfriend. “Devin is a dangerous individual and a pathological liar,” it concluded.

Strader and The Bachelor/Bachelorette‘s other controversies

Before Devin Strader’s restraining order came to light, Strader had already courted controversy when he broke up with Jenn Tran in a phone call after the show’s finale, but before the After the Final Rose reunion special. The Bachelorette producers have also been criticized for forcing Tran to appear together with him at the reunion and to relive, in painful detail, how their relationship ended.

In 2000, The Bachelorette creator, Mike Fleiss, allowed Rick Rockwell to appear in Fleiss’ first hit show on Fox, Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire, even though Rockwell had a restraining order against him in the past. Another restraining order slipped through the cracks at ABC when it was revealed that Gil Ramirez, a contestant on the most recent season of The Golden Bachelorette, had a restraining order taken out against him just months before that show premiered.

A Golden Bachelorette source told People that Ramirez’s restraining order happened “in the brief period between completion of our thorough background investigation and exhaustive vetting process and the beginning of production.” The source said Ramirez’s role would be minimized in the show going forward.