“Bachelor” alum Melissa Rycroft spoke out about her mental health struggles after she was arrested for her second DWI in 13 months.
“First, please know how deeply ashamed and embarrassed I am, especially knowing how much this has affected my friends and family,” she wrote on Instagram Tuesday.
“I want to share something personal, and to be honest, I am very ashamed to share it, but I can’t hide it anymore,” Rycroft added.
“I’ve been struggling with my mental health for quite some time now. It has completely overwhelmed me.”
The “Dancing With the Stars” alum said she has “tried to hide” what she’s 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,” she penned.
“No excuses at all, but I’m finally admitting that I need help. I’ve fought this for a long time on my own, and it’s time to admit that I can’t do it anymore,” Rycroft shared.
The former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader said she is now getting “professional care.”
“This is so 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. They have stood by me through all of this, and they deserve honesty. They deserve me at my best,” she wrote.
Rycroft concluded her statement by asking her fans to give her some “grace” as she focuses on “trying to get healthy.”
The former “Melissa & Tye” star, 43, was first arrested in September 2025 after crashing her Cadillac Escalade into a tree in Southlake, Texas.
In August, she pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 months of probation.
Then, last week, Rycroft was arrested once again by Southlake police after she allegedly fled the scene after colliding with a stopped ambulance on Halloween night.
Rycroft was charged with driving while intoxicated, an accident involving damage of more than $200 and driving with an invalid license.
The mom of three rose to fame starring on the 13th season of “The Bachelor” in 2009. Though she accepted bachelor Jason Mesnick’s proposal, he later ended the engagement after realizing he had stronger feelings for his now-wife, runner-up Molly Malaney.
Later that year, Rycroft competed on “Dancing with the Stars.” In 2012, she returned to the ABC dance competition show to win the all-star season.
Rycroft and her husband, Tye Strickland, share three kids.
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