The Bachelor Franchise’s Casting Team Is Probably Having a Bad Week

ABC’s Bachelor franchise is dealing with its second restraining-order scandal this month. After revelations about The Bachelorette winner Devin Strader made headlines, the focus this time is on a 60-year-old contestant on The Golden Bachelorette. Per a June court filing obtained by People, a woman who had allegedly dated Gil Ramirez was granted a temporary restraining order against him, citing “harassment — emotional.” A source close to The Golden Bachelorette told Vulture that “this filing occurred in the brief period between completion of our thorough background investigation and exhaustive vetting process, and the beginning of production.” (In other words, they’re saying that the show didn’t know.) Here’s what we’ve learned so far, including what Ramirez was accused of, whether his screen time on the show will be reduced, and more.

Who is Gil Ramirez?

According to his official cast bio, Ramirez is a 60-year-old educator who “wants to show the world that men can be committed and want the same kinds of relationships that women do during their golden years.” He’s from Mission Viejo, California. If you tuned into the Golden Bachelorette premiere, you might remember the father of two tossing Joan Vassos a ball in order to crack a dad joke about her being “a great catch.” He also taught her to play T-ball, and was (spoiler!) one of 18 men who received a rose at the end of the first night.

What was Ramirez accused of?

Per a June 11 court filing obtained by People and USA Today, an alleged ex-girlfriend claimed that Ramirez made “repeated” unwanted contact with her, her family, and her friends. This allegedly included “25 attempts daily via phone, texts, video” and him showing up in person to “confront” her “on a daily basis” at places she frequented, despite living an hour away from her. She claimed that Ramirez’s alleged emotional harassment had been happening for two weeks.

A judge granted her request for a temporary restraining order on the same day, and a hearing was set for July 2. However, per People, that date was postponed because the order could not be served to Ramirez. Following a rescheduled July 24 hearing, the case was ultimately dismissed without prejudice — which means it could be filed again — “for lack of prosecution for a lack of service.” The restraining order was dropped.

Will this impact Ramirez’s screen time?

Yes, though it sounds like he might not have had that much to begin with. A source close to The Golden Bachelorette told Vulture that because of the “newly confirmed information” about the temporary restraining order, the show has further edited Ramirez’s “already limited” screen time. The source added that he will also be “minimized” in future promo materials.

Have any other Golden Bachelorette contestants faced similar allegations?

Not that we know of. And on behalf of Joan and an already-disgruntled Bachelor Nation, we hope it stays that way. 

Why are people bringing up Devin Strader?

He’s the other person in the Bachelor franchise who was recently linked to a protective order. On September 16, Reality Steve broke the news that a temporary restraining order against Strader had been granted to an ex-girlfriend after he broke into her apartment in 2017. Multiple outlets later obtained court docs confirming this.

Per Entertainment Weekly, the ex’s petition included allegations that Strader had put her in a “chokehold” and covered her mouth, “shattered” her bedroom window, spit on her, and thrown a drink on her at a sporting event. Strader denied in a statement that he had ever “inappropriately laid hands on another individual or treated my ex-girlfriend in any of the ways [he had] been depicted.” The Bachelorette winner also falsely claimed that the restraining order had never been granted, even though that is a matter of public record. His attorney later told EW that the temporary order was granted “based purely on unproven, written allegations” and “out of an abundance of caution.” The attorney added that Strader’s ex did not pursue a full restraining order, and that the pair mutually agreed to a stay-away order that expired after six months. Meanwhile, Strader’s statement claimed that the relationship eventually ended “on good terms” and that it was a “growing experience” for both of them.

Pointing to Strader’s inclusion, some fans have side-eyed the Bachelor franchise’s ability to identify and avoid potential red flags while casting. With regard to the order against Strader, a source close to production told EW, “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.”