A woman saying she was Gil Ramirez’s ex-girlfriend filed a restraining order against him days before filming began.
About a week after the news of “Bachelorette” Season 21 winner Devin Strader’s ex-girlfriend filed a restraining order against him, reports emerged that a contestant on “The Golden Bachelorette” had a restraining order filed against him, as well.
“The Golden Bachelorette” made its debut on Sept. 18 and lead Joan Vassos met her 24 potential suitors. Among them was Gil Ramirez, a 60-year-old educator from Mission Viejo, California.
In his cast bio, which was released prior to the season airing and remains on ABC’s website, Ramirez is described as “the perfect combination of romantic, sweet and emotional.”
But after the premiere, details started circulating about Ramirez’s past relationship. TODAY.com has obtained a filing for a temporary restraining order issued against Ramirez by a woman saying she was his former partner on June 11.
The ex listed the need for a restraining order as “harassment — emotional.”
She wrote, “Despite telling him to not contact me, come to my house — he made repeated unwanted contact with me, family members and friends.”
Ramirez’s ex provided more details, adding there were “25 attempts daily via phone, texts, video. Although lives an hour away — showed up at places I frequent to confront me on a daily basis.”
She also said at the time that the alleged harassment had occurred for a “two week period thus far.”
On July 24, the temporary restraining order was dismissed in a hearing due to “lack of prosecution,” documents obtained by TODAY.com show.
A source close to production tells TODAY.com that production learned about the filing against Ramirez a few days before filming for “The Golden Bachelorette” began.
The source says that the filing occurred after they had already completed the background investigation and vetting process for the contestants.
Going forward, Ramirez’s screen time will be limited, the source confirms.
Reports of Ramirez’s restraining order come as “The Bachelor” franchise has been embroiled in controversy. On Sept. 16, Reality Steve — a staple in Bachelor Nation who has covered the franchise for years — revealed that Strader, who was briefly engaged to “Bachelorette” star Jenn Tran, had an allegedly abusive relationship with his ex.
TODAY.com obtained copies of Strader’s ex-girlfriend’s request for a restraining order against him, which was submitted in 2017.
In her petition for protection of abuse, she alleged that Strader broke into her house and “ransacked” her room, “shoved” her repeatedly in another instance and put her in a choke hold and covered her mouth. The ex also said in the filing that Strader allegedly spat on her and threw a drink at her during a New Orleans Pelicans game.
A few days later, Strader responded to the allegations in a statement shared on his Instagram story.
“Most recently, there have been challenges from a low point in my past that have been brought up and severely misconstrued,” he 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.”
He said at the end of his statement that he has “made mistakes” and is “not perfect.”
