Melissa Rycroft has pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated nearly one year after her arrest — but she won’t do any jail time.
Us can exclusively confirm that Rycroft, 43, was sentenced on August 6 with a judge signing off on her plea deal on Monday, August 10.
The Bachelor alum agreed to 20 months of probation instead of 280 days in jail, per court docs obtained by Us on Wednesday, August 12.
Rycroft was also ordered to pay a $2,000 fine following her DWI arrest in September 2025 during which her blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level was reported as .26 percent, which is three times the legal limit in her home state of Texas.
With her additional court fees, including a “trauma fine,” Rycroft owes the state $2,087.
The judge ordered the former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader to complete 36 hours of community service, which Rycroft must fulfill within 120 days.
Melissa Rycroft. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
Under her plea deal, Rycroft must subsequently complete a DWI education program and is not allowed to drive without a “camera equipped ignition interlock device.”
Rycroft, who fans first met on season 13 of The Bachelor, agreed to submit to a substance abuse screening/evaluation.
According to the docs, Rycroft signed off on paying for “non-dilute urine samples for testing for controlled substances and cannabis as directed by the court.”
Melissa Rycroft’s 2025 mugshot. Southlake Police Department via Getty Images
She also agreed to commit no offense and “abstain from illegal use, possession, or sale of controlled substances, marijuana or cannabinoids,” following her DWI. Rycroft can’t “consume or possess any alcoholic beverages” in agreement with the deal.
The Dancing With the Stars champion must complete counseling, education or treatment as recommended by the judge.
Bachelor Nation’s Melissa Rycroft is soaking up time with her family after her DWI arrest. In a Sunday, October 12, Instagram post, Rycroft, 42, shared a series of photos of her three children taking on a water park. (Rycroft welcomed daughter Ava, son Beckett and son Cayson in 2011, 2014 and 2016, respectively, with husband […]
Additionally, Rycroft has to check in with the Community Supervision and Corrections Department (CSCD) in Texas on a monthly basis.
She must allow the supervision officer to visit her home or at another location “at any time” and provide proof of employment.
Should Rycroft’s employment status change or she and husband Tye Strickland move, she has to inform her supervisor immediately.
Tye Strickland and Melissa Rycroft. Courtesy of Melissa Rycroft/Instagram
The plea deal also stipulates that Rycroft “cannot refuse a breath, blood, urine or field sobriety test as requested by a peace officer or supervision.”
Because Rycroft was given a plea deal, she has no right to appeal the stipulations outlined in the court docs.
Days before she agreed to the terms, Us learned that the criminal district attorney’s office filed their expert witness list and argued Rycroft “has a reputation in the community for not being a law-abiding citizen.”
Us has reached out to Rycroft for comment.
Rycroft’s sentencing comes nearly one year after she was arrested in Tarrant County, Texas, in September 2025.
Us reported at the time that Rycroft spent eight hours behind bars after being taken into custody for a DWI.
“Life really sucks right now and I’m struggling, but I’m trying to march forward,” Rycroft wrote via an Instagram statement in September 2025, breaking her silence after the arrest.
The following month, Us confirmed that Rycroft was charged with a misdemeanor for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and for having an alcohol concentration level of “0.15 or more at the time” when her blood analysis was performed.
