Taylor could have Frankie Ball at center Bachelorette Drama at the moment, but one of her suitors had his own drama a few years ago.
Brad Ledford, a 29-year-old cowboy and entrepreneur from Newport Beach, California, was one of 22 men vying for Paul’s heart on her season of the ABC reality dating series. However, viewers are unlikely to witness how their story unfolded with the network pulling the season days before the premiere following reports of an alleged domestic violence incident involving the show’s lead and her ex-husband Dakota Mortensen, with whom she has a son.
In a new video he posted to his Instagram Story on Monday, Ledford said he “won’t delve into my full opinion in general.” Bachelorette situation,” but he knows that God “has already forgiven Taylor.”
“I’m not going to delve into my full opinion in general Bachelorette Attitude. Obviously there are a lot of questions about this topic. I will say that I don’t care much about a TV show that isn’t on the air right now. There are real children, real family, and I want what’s best for them. I want what’s best for Taylor’s children. He added, “I want what’s best for Taylor. God’s love knows no bounds. It knows no bounds. He has forgiven me for so many things, and he has forgiven Taylor already. I want Taylor to find that piece and I want her children to have that peace in the future more than anything else, and I think they can, you know, be there for them if they want it.”
Bachelorette Fans got a taste of who Ledford is when the cast was revealed last month. His bio reads, “Love for love’s sake! If Taylor is looking for a handsome California cowboy, she doesn’t have to look any further than Brad. His best friend is his horse, Gus, with whom he shares all his cowboy jobs. When he’s not at the ranch, Brad enjoys swing dancing, hanging out at the beach and listening to Adele. This spunky romantic is ready to start a family and prides himself on being a generous and loving partner. We can’t wait to see if he can make his way into the heart of our bachelorette.”
But there’s actually more information about Ledford’s backstory. When he was 17, he was involved in a 2014 car accident that paralyzed former North Carolina Congressman Madison Cawthorn, who was 18 at the time.
In a 2017 lawsuit, Ledford said he and Cawthorn were returning to North Carolina after a spring break trip to Florida when Ledford fell asleep at the wheel and the car crashed into a concrete construction barrier. At the time of the accident, Ledford said Cawthorn’s foot was resting on the dashboard.
the Bachelorette The rider also testified that after he got out of the car through the window, he “unbuckled Madison and proceeded to pull him out while a passerby came in and helped me.” The Washington Post I mentioned previously.
But during a 2017 church speech, Cawthorn gave different details about the accident that left him partially paralyzed and dependent on a wheelchair. “He was my brother, my best friend. He left me in a car to die in a flaming grave. He ran to safety deep in the woods and left me in a burning car as the flames began to lick my legs, twist and burn my left side,” the former congressman said, adding that he was “declared dead at the scene.”
Ledford later said The Washington Post That Cawthorne’s statements were “false.” He said: “It hurt me deeply that he would say such a false thing. That’s not what happened at all. I got him out of the car the minute I was able to get out of the car.” Florida Highway Patrol accident records also indicated that Cawthorn was incapacitated and in critical condition after the crash, but he was not declared dead.
The pair ended up reconciling a few years later, and Ledford said that once they reconnected, Cawthorn told him he “didn’t believe this stuff anymore” regarding the accident claims.
Cawthorn served in Congress from 2021 to 2023, but lost his re-election bid in the 2022 Republican primary.
Elsewhere in his video shared on social media on Monday, Ledford said he felt “ABC made the right decision at this time” in suspending Season 22 of the series. Bachelorette.
“I think the biggest problem is that some of these people on the show were great,” he added. “They have amazing stories, really good testimonials, some things that I think a lot of Americans could benefit from hearing. And I hope you can all hear that in some way, shape or form. Maybe it’s on their own publications and their own platforms or on a program that they do in the future or something like that, but there are some great players in the season.”
The network eventually decided to pull the next season TMZ He also released a video of what led to Paul’s arrest in 2023 for another domestic violence incident involving Mortensen. She pleaded guilty to aggravated assault at the time and the incident was detailed on Paul’s other reality series, Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
A Disney Television Entertainment spokesperson said THR Last week, “In light of the newly released video that surfaced today, we have made the decision not to move forward with a new season of Bachelorette At this time, our focus is on supporting the family.”
