Gil Ramirez’s ex was granted a restraining order against him just days before the reality series began production.
Gil Ramirez’s time on The Golden Bachelorette is in jeopardy.
The contestant allegedly has a history of stalking, according to the request for restraining order obtained by PEOPLE. Ramirez’s ex-girlfriend was granted a temporary restraining order against him on June 11 — only a few days before production on the series’ inaugural season began.
A source close to the show tells EW that upon learning about Ramirez’s past, The Golden Bachelorette “further edited his already limited screen time and minimized him in promotional assets moving forward.”
That source also notes that the restraining order was granted “in the brief period between completion of our thorough background investigation and exhaustive vetting process,” which means it didn’t show up on the production’s background check because it hadn’t occurred yet.
As he attempted to woo Joan Vassos on the season premiere of the show, Ramirez’s profile described him as a 60-year-old educator from Mission Viejo, Calif. At one point in the episode, he tossed a ball to Vassos and joked, “I heard you were a great catch.” He also taught Vassos to play T-ball and ultimately received a rose at the end of the ep.
Ramirez’s ex-girlfriend was granted the restraining order citing alleged “harassment — emotional” as the justification. “Despite telling him to not contact me, come to my house — he made repeated unwanted contact with me, family members and friends,” she claimed in a request for a restraining order, alleging that the behavior had lasted at least two weeks. “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.” (The woman noted that she was not physically injured by Ramirez.)
A hearing was scheduled for July 2, but was delayed because Ramirez had not been served. At the July 24 delayed hearing, the woman’s case was “dismissed without prejudice for lack of prosecution for lack of service.” Her restraining order was also dropped on that date.
The news comes in the wake of another Bachelor nation figure, Bachelorette contestant Devin Strader, coming under fire for also having a restraining order taken out against him. Strader’s ex was granted a temporary restraining order in 2017 after he trespassed into her home in Baton Rouge. The contestant — who later dumped Bachelorette Jenn Tran after their engagement — falsely claimed that “the restraining order was never granted,” but EW has reviewed copies of the temporary restraining order and the extension that were indeed granted in 2017.
Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives for Ramirez and The Golden Bachelorette for comment.
