Southlake, Texas: Melissa Rycroft Arrested on Second DWI After Police Say She Hit an Ambulance

Melissa Rycroft Strickland, the former Bachelor star and Dancing with the Stars winner, has been arrested in Southlake on suspicion of driving while intoxicated for the second time in just over a year, according to a Southlake Police Department news release carried by USA Today and Oxygen.

Police say the crash happened at about 5:50 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31. An ambulance was stopped at a stop sign at an intersection in Southlake when another vehicle struck it and left the scene, officers said. No injuries were reported. Officers located the driver a short time later and identified her as Rycroft Strickland, 43.

The charges

She now faces three charges: driving while intoxicated, second offense; accident involving damage of more than $200; and driving while her license was invalid, police said. Tarrant County jail records listed her in custody on Monday morning on a combined bond of $9,000, according to USA Today and Oxygen. Oxygen reported that it contacted her attorney, Bret Martin, and did not receive an immediate reply.

A case still on probation

The arrest comes two months after Rycroft Strickland resolved her first Southlake DWI case. Southlake police arrested her on Sept. 23, 2025, after officers responded to a single vehicle crash at about 12:05 p.m. and found a black Cadillac Escalade that had struck a tree. Police said witnesses had seen the Escalade driving erratically before the crash, and officers took her into custody at the scene after a field sobriety test. No other vehicles were involved and no injuries were reported.

In August 2026 she pleaded guilty in that case. A Tarrant County district clerk spokesperson confirmed to Oxygen that she was sentenced to probation in August. Entertainment Weekly reported the plea brought 20 months of probation, 36 hours of community service and a $2,000 fine, and let her avoid a possible 280 days in jail. US Weekly reported her probation conditions included a DWI education course, a substance abuse evaluation, and a ban on drugs and alcohol with testing.

A familiar face from reality TV

Rycroft Strickland first reached a national audience on Season 13 of The Bachelor in 2009, when Jason Mesnick proposed to her in the finale and then ended the engagement at the reunion show to pursue runner up Molly Malaney. She later competed on Dancing with the Stars in 2009 and returned in 2012 to win the show's first all star season with partner Tony Dovolani. Before reality television, she performed as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.

Police have not released blood test results in the new case, and the charges are allegations. The case will move through the Tarrant County courts, where the new arrest could also affect the probation she is still serving from the 2025 case.