The Bachelor's Victoria Fuller Was Arrested for DWI in 2017
Victoria Fuller, one of three remaining women on Peter Weber‘s season of The Bachelor, was arrested for DWI two and a half years ago.
A spokesperson for the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office tells PEOPLE that Fuller, who was 23 at the time, was in their custody on a charge of first conviction DWI (a misdemeanor) for a few hours on the morning of Aug. 25, 2017. The offense date is also Aug. 25, 2017, according to the spokesperson.
The Sun first reported the news. According to court documents obtained by Page Six and Entertainment Tonight, Fuller, 26, was found guilty and sentenced to one year in jail, both outlets reported, but the sentence was suspended and she received 24 months of unsupervised probation.
Her driver’s license was restricted for a year, according to the reported court documents, and the medical sales rep was ordered to pay $471 in fines and court costs.
This is not the first controversy involving Fuller that has resurfaced during this season of The Bachelor.
She recently came under fire for her involvement in a past photoshoot that was part of a marine conservation effort that featured the phrases “White Lives Matter” and “Blue Lives Matter.” The modeling gig was highlighted by Cosmopolitan‘s editor-in-chief Jessica Pels after announcing that the magazine would not be releasing Fuller’s digital cover, which was promised after she won a Bachelor group date in Costa Rica.
On Feb. 15, Fuller shared a statement on her Instagram Story and apologized for her involvement in the campaign.
“I would like to sincerely apologize for my involvement with We Love Marlins,” Fuller began. “My intention was only to support an endangered species. I want to say that I unequivocally reject the beliefs of the white lives matter movement or any propaganda that supports racism of any kind. I would like to specifically apologize to people of color that are affected by racism daily. It was never my intention to add fuel to the racial fire in this country.”
“This has truly been an educational moment for me and I hope to be a voice against racism moving forward,” she added. “I hope I can be shown grace as I navigate through this process.”
Prior to her Cosmo cover being pulled, Fuller had apologized for her actions in the comments section of a post shared by the Instagram account BachelorClues. After commenters criticized Fuller for her connection to the slogan, the Virginia native defended herself and elaborated on her involvement in the campaign.
“Hello bachelor clues followers!” she began. “It would be nice for you to gather all facts before jumping to bash someone. The company ‘We Love Marlins’ is in support of catching white, blue, and black marlins & releasing them back into the wild. In regards to a sensitive topic, I come from a VERY large fishing town where Marlin tournaments are held every year! Glad to clear this up….”
However, when one user advised Fuller to apologize, she added, “I definitely see how this could be offensive. I apologize immensely it was never my intention to lessen this matter.”
Controversy surrounding Fuller continued on Monday night’s episode of The Bachelor when an ex of Peter’s — who has since been identified as Merissa Pence, though her face was blurred on the show — warned the pilot to be careful of Fuller, claiming that she’s “broken up many relationships.”
After Weber confronted Fuller about Pence’s warnings, the two argued and Weber never met her family for hometowns. Still, the two talked things out at his hotel room the next day, and Weber ultimately gave Fuller a rose to progress her into the final three.
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