Devin Strader falsely claims ex did not have restraining order against him

In a statement posted to Instagram, the disgraced "Bachelorette" contestant says the restraining order was "never granted." (It was.)

Devin Strader, the 28-year-old freight company owner who appeared on season 21 of The Bachelorette, is speaking out about recent reports that an ex-girlfriend took out a restraining order against him in 2017.

In a statement on his Instagram account and issued to press via email, Strader said he wanted to address the "many stories and misrepresentations put out in the media" after his appearance on The Bachelorette. In addition to apologizing for the (now-deleted) 13-minute video he posted after the Bachelorette finale — in which his former fiancée, Jenn Tran, revealed that Strader broke up with her shortly after their engagement in Hawaii — Strader also addressed what he called a "low point" in his past.

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"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. That restraining order was never granted, and fully dismissed. My college ex-girlfriend and I ended up reconciling and eventually ended our relationship on good terms. This was the first time I ever fell in love and I learned a lot from our relationship. It was a growing experience for both of us," Strader wrote.

In reality, however, Strader's ex-girlfriend did have a restraining order taken out against him. Two, in fact: Strader's ex was issued a temporary restraining order against him — dated March 22, 2017, and signed by a judge of the East Baton Rouge Family Court — and an extension of that order on April 11, 2017. (Entertainment Weekly has obtained copies of both orders, which are in the public record.) He was also arrested on suspicion of breaking into his ex-girlfriend's apartment, and ultimately pleaded guilty to charges of criminal trespass and simple criminal damage to property of less than $500, and received one year of unsupervised probation.

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Strader's ex did later dismiss the protective order, without prejudice, and according to minutes from the East Baton Rouge Parish court, "both parties agreed to a Title 3601 stay away order."

An attorney for Strader, Rhett Spano, said in a statement to EW that "the petitioner filed a petition for protection with the court based purely on unproven, written allegations in the affidavit and nothing more. The Judge, out of an abundance of caution, granted a temporary restraining order until Devin was served the allegations and could respond at a court hearing. On the date of the hearing, the petitioner had the option of having a full hearing before the Judge, but instead decided not to pursue a full restraining order and agreed to a mutual stay-away order, in which both parties agreed to not contact one another for a period of time — this expired after 6 months. It was also agreed upon that each party would pay half of the court costs."

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In her initial Petition for Protection From Abuse filed on March 22, 2017, Strader's ex wrote that he subjected her to abusive treatment, including "put me in a chokehold covering my mouth," "shattered my bedroom window," and "spit on me and threw his drink on me at Pelicans game in front of everyone in the stands."

ABC and Warner Bros., the studio that produces the Bachelor franchise, had no comment, but 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."

[This article has been updated with a statement from Strader's attorney.]

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.