Former Bachelorette Contestant Meredith Phillips Claims She Was Sexually Assaulted by a Masseuse During the Show

Meredith Phillips, who starred in Season 2 of The Bachelorette in 2004 claims she was drugged and sexually assaulted by the show’s female masseuse during the filming of her season. She shared the details of the alleged incident in an interview with popular franchise blogger Reality Steve. With ABC’s show’s new season just about to launch, the former star is making shocking revelations about her time on the show.

“She was hired to give me a massage and she said, ‘I’m going to give you’re a pill’,” Phillips said. “I just assumed it was an aspirin or something to loosen up my back or a Tylenol or something, and it wasn’t that, that’s for sure.” She continued, “The last thing I remember is she got naked and she was in the tub with me rubbing my back and rubbing areas that probably she shouldn’t have. Then I was put in bed. I woke up naked. Don’t remember much. I wasn’t even drinking.”

The former reality star said the incident occurred inside the Los Angeles-area ‘Bachelor Mansion’ where the filming takes place. Phillips admitted that she considered exiting the show at the time but didn’t report the alleged assault out of fear of jeopardising the show’s future. “I didn’t speak of it until later,” she explained, “because I felt weird about it and I felt violated, so I didn’t know what to say or how to say it.”

ABC and production company Warner Bros. had no comment on the allegations when reached out for a response. Last summer, Bachelor in Paradise investigated sexual misconduct allegations, but producers found no evidence of misconduct and resumed filming weeks later. Meredith was engaged to Ian McKee at the end of her season, but it ended a year later. As of 2013, Phillips was married to her high school sweetheart Michael Broady.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 25, 2018 12:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).