Details from the backstory of Golden Bachelorette star Gil Ramirez, who received a rose from lead Joan Vasos on the Sept. 18 season premiere this week, were revealed on Friday.
The 60-year-old Mission Viejo, California educator was served with a temporary domestic violence restraining order three months ago from her ex-boyfriend for alleged stalking, People magazine reported. “He engaged in repeated unwanted contact with me, my family and friends,” the woman, who claims to have been in a relationship with Ramirez, said. “He would show up almost daily in places I frequent and confront me.”
People magazine noted that the court filing was dated June 11, but The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that this was just days before production was to begin on ABC’s hit reality dating competition, The Golden Bachelorette and The Golden Bachelor, which are senior spinoffs of flagship series The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.
As People magazine reports, a July 2 hearing was postponed due to failure to serve the complaint on Ramirez, presumably because he was already filming The Golden Bachelorette at the Bachelor Mansion in Agoura Hills, Calif. Then, at a July 24 hearing, the TRO was vacated and dismissed for “lack of prosecution due to lack of service of process.”
Because of the timing, a source close to the show’s production told THR that the allegations “arose in the short period between the completion of[the show’s]thorough background investigation and thorough vetting process and production starting.”
Now that this information has been revealed, sources say ABC and production company Warner Horizon will “further edit his already limited screen time and minimize his presence in future promotional assets.”
Vassos, who lost her husband of 32 years to cancer in 2021, appeared on the first season of The Golden Bachelor alongside Jerry Turner. She left that season early due to a family emergency, but returned as host for the first season of The Golden Bachelorette, making her debut last Wednesday. On the show’s first night, Vassos met with 24 contestants and handed out 18 roses, including Ramirez.
Ramirez’s ABC profile describes the father of two as “the perfect mix of romantic, kind and emotional” and an “educator who is ready to find love again and misses the feeling of being with the right person.”
On Tuesday, the day before the Golden Bachelorette premiered, it was also revealed that Devin Strader, the winner of the most recent season of The Bachelorette, was arrested by his ex-girlfriend several years before appearing on the reality dating show and had a restraining order against him.
THR reported that while the theft arrest affidavit was open to the public while Strader’s background was being investigated, the details of the restraining order were sealed when Bachelorette producers were conducting a background check. Strader, who ended his engagement to star Jenn Tran earlier this month between the pre-taped finale and the live After the Final Rose special, said of the allegations that emerged this week, “No restraining order was issued and it was dismissed outright. My ex-girlfriend from college and I eventually reconciled and ultimately ended our relationship amicably. It was the first time I’d ever fallen in love and we learned a lot from the relationship. It was a growth experience for both of us.”
Meanwhile, Tran is currently competing on Dancing with the Stars and said during this Tuesday’s season premiere that she’s “healing” and “refueling” herself while competing on the upcoming reality competition show after Strader’s allegations came to light.
