Former The Bachelor contestant Melissa Rycroft Strickland has landed in legal trouble again after police arrested her on suspicion of driving while intoxicated (DWI) in Texas, just two months after she pleaded guilty to a previous DWI charge.
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Authorities arrested Rycroft, 43, in Southlake, Texas, on Sunday, November 1, according to Tarrant County jail records obtained by TMZ. The arrest followed an alleged hit-and-run involving a Southlake Fire Department ambulance the previous evening.
According to the Southlake Police Department, officers responded to the incident at approximately 5:50 p.m. local time on Saturday, October 31. Investigators said someone struck the ambulance while it sat at a stop sign before the driver left the scene.
Melissa Rycroft Identified By Police
Officers located the suspected driver a short time later and identified her as Rycroft Strickland. Following their investigation, authorities filed three charges: driving while intoxicated, second offense; driving while license invalid; and accident involving damage to a vehicle exceeding $200.
Police reported no injuries. Tarrant County jail records listed Rycroft’s combined bond at $9,000.
The latest arrest comes shortly after Rycroft resolved a previous DWI case. Police arrested her on September 23, 2025, after a single-vehicle crash in Southlake. According to police, officers found her black Cadillac Escalade after it struck a tree. Witnesses had reportedly observed the vehicle driving erratically before the collision.
Officers conducted a field sobriety assessment before taking her into custody.
Rycroft pleaded guilty to that DWI charge in September 2026. A judge sentenced her to 20 months of probation and ordered her to pay approximately $2,000 in fines and court costs.
Her sentencing conditions also required her to complete 36 hours of community service, attend a DWI education course, and undergo a substance abuse evaluation.
The judge further prohibited her from consuming alcohol or using illegal drugs during probation and ordered her to install a camera-equipped ignition interlock device in her vehicle. She must also submit to drug and alcohol testing.
Rycroft first rose to fame in 2009 when she competed on the 13th season of ABC’s The Bachelor.