After getting her second DWI arrest following an alleged Halloween hit-and-run accident, Melissa Rycroft is speaking out.
The former ‘Bachelor’ and ‘Dancing with the Stars’ star was arrested on October 31 in Southlake, Texas, for driving while intoxicated (DWI), as well as driving with an invalid license, and causing an accident involving damage over $200. According to the Southlake Police Department’s press release, officers responded following a hit-and-run accident with an ambulance.
“On Saturday, October 31st at approximately 5:50pm, Southlake Police responded to a hit-and-run collision involving a Southlake Fire Department ambulance,” the press release reads. “The ambulance was stopped at a stop sign when another vehicle struck it and left the scene. No injuries were reported.”
After identifying Melissa as the alleged hit-and-run driver, she was arrested, booked, and processed at the Keller Regional Detention Facility. For her three charges, her bail was set at $9,000 total: $7,500 for the DWI, $1,000 for the accident involving damage, and $500 for driving with an invalid license. Southlake PD reports that the accident is still under investigation.
On Tuesday, presumably after posting her bail, Melissa released a statement on Instagram addressing the incident and opening up about what’s been going on with her lately.
View this post on Instagram
“First, please know how deeply ashamed and embarrassed I am, especially knowing how much this has affected my friends and family,” she wrote. “I want to share something personal, and to be honest, I am very ashamed to share it, but I can’t hide it anymore.
“I’ve been struggling with my mental health for quite some time now. It has completely overwhelmed me. I’ve tried to hide what I’ve been going through by putting on a smile, but behind the scenes, things have been much harder than anyone realized or that I have let on, even to my family.”
The former ‘Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making The Team’ star stated that she’s “admitting [she needs] help” and is “getting professional care.”
“This is hard to say and the shame is still very much there, but I’m ready to feel like myself again, for me and for my family,” she continued. “They have stood by me through all of this and they deserve honesty. They deserve me at my best. That’s what I’m working toward for all of us.”
View this post on Instagram
She ended her statement by asking for grace and privacy as she navigates her mental health journey.
This is Melissa’s second DWI arrest in Southlake in the last two years. In September 2025, she was arrested after crashing her Cadillac Escalade into a tree and was released on $1,000 bond. This August, Melissa pleaded guilty to DWI and was ordered to serve 20 months of probation and pay $2,087 in fines.
Melissa first appeared on ‘The Bachelor’ Season 13 in 2009 and was proposed to by Jason Mesnick before ultimately breaking it off. She married insurance broker Tye Strickland shortly after breaking up with Jason and they now share three children. They starred in their own CMT show, ‘Melissa and Tye: A New Reality,’ which only ran for one season in 2012. She has also appeared on ‘Bachelor Pad’ and ‘Redneck Island.’
(Photos: Southlake County Sheriff’s Office; ABC;
