00:00Devin Strader from The Bachelorette is speaking out on his previous arrest
00:03and the restraining order filed against him seven years ago.
00:08Devin won the final rose in the most recent season of the ABC reality show
00:12and was briefly engaged to Jen Tran.
00:15The season ended in heartbreak when Jen revealed during the After the Final Rose special
00:19that Devin called off their engagement through a phone call.
00:23Back in 2017, Devin was arrested on accusations that he burglarized an ex-girlfriend's home in Louisiana.
00:29Reality Steve was first to report the news,
00:32publishing an affidavit reportedly from Devin's arrest warrant.
00:35The ex-girlfriend also noted other past incidents in a now unsealed petition
00:39which was obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.
00:41She alleged that Devin once, quote,
00:43put me in a chokehold covering my mouth and spit on me and threw his drink on me
00:47at a Pelicans game in front of everyone in the stands.
00:50And after she awoke to bruises and a, quote, pounding head,
00:53she claims he said he almost killed her and didn't want to talk about it.
00:57She filed a restraining order and also alleged that he verbally and mentally abused her.
01:01Now, in a new statement to THR and shared on Devin's social media accounts,
01:06he says the accusations are, quote, simply not true.
01:09He said,
01:10Most recently, there have been challenges from a low point in my past
01:13that have been brought up and severely misconstrued.
01:16The accusations are simply not true as I have never inappropriately laid hands on another individual
01:21or treated my ex-girlfriend in any of the ways I have been depicted.
01:25That restraining order was never granted and fully dismissed.
01:28My college ex-girlfriend and I ended up reconciling
01:31and eventually ended our relationship on good terms.
01:34In his statement, Devin also addressed the 13-minute video he recently shared on Instagram
01:38in which he revealed private text messages between him and Jen
01:41as a means to defend himself and the relationship timeline
01:44that was presented during the Bachelorette finale.
01:47He said in a statement,
01:48Following my time on The Bachelorette,
01:50there have been many stories and misrepresentations put out in the media
01:54that I want to take a moment to address.
01:56I want to apologize for the video I released following the final episode.
01:59I am not proud of that lapse in judgment.
02:01I am truly grateful for my time on this show
02:03and for getting the chance to know and love Jen.
02:06I certainly regret hurting her in any way.
02:08She is a very special person and I wish her nothing but good things.
02:12News of Devin's background re-ups questions surrounding ABC's vetting process
02:16for the show's cast, given this is not the first time a casting controversy has clouded a season.
02:21A source close to the show told THR,
02:23We take the safety of our contestants very seriously
02:26and make every effort to conduct thorough diligence.
02:29As exhaustive as our vetting process is,
02:32this protective order did not surface in our searches.
02:35For more on this story, head to THR.com.
02:37This is The Hollywood Reporter News.
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