Melissa Rycroft Pleads Guilty After DWI Arrest, Avoids Jail Time | Just Jared - Celebrity News and Gossip

Melissa Rycroft has pleaded guilty following her arrest last year.

The 43-year-old The Bachelor alum was arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI) in September 2025 in the Dallas/Forth Worth area in Texas.

Nearly a year later, Melissa pleaded guilty to the DWI charge and was sentenced on August 6, according to court documents obtained by Us Weekly. The judge signed off on her plea deal on Monday, August 10.

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Melissa has agreed to 20 months of probation instead of serving 280 days in jail. She was also ordered to pay roughly $2,000 in fines and additional court fees. The judge ordered the former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader to complete 36 hours of community service, which she must fulfill within 120 days.

Additionally, Melissa has to take a DWI education course and undergo a substance abuse evaluation. She’s also only allowed to drive if her vehicle is equipped with a camera-enabled ignition interlock device.

She agreed to commit no offense and “abstain from illegal use, possession, or sale of controlled substances, marijuana or cannabinoids,” following her DWI. She can’t “consume or possess any alcoholic beverages” in agreement with the deal.

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She also has to check in with the Community Supervision and Corrections Department (CSCD) in Texas on a monthly basis and must allow the supervision officer to visit her home or at another location “at any time” and provide proof of employment.

Should her employment status change or she and husband Tye Strickland move, Melissa has to inform her supervisor immediately.

Since Melissa was given a plea deal, she has no right to appeal the stipulations outlined in the court docs.

Shortly after her arrest, Melissa released a message about how she’s “struggling.”

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