Bachelorette Suitor Breaks Silence on Crash That Left Madison Cawthorn Paralyzed

File this under worlds colliding: a would-be Bachelorette contestant just dug into the car crash that paralyzed a future member of Congress. Brad Ledford, one of Taylor Frankie Pauls guys from the scuttled season, went on the franchises official podcast and laid out what happened, why he is talking about it now, and how he and Madison Cawthorn eventually made peace.

So why is this coming up now?

Ledford, 29, popped onto ABCs Bachelor Happy Hour on Tuesday, March 31, and addressed the 12-year-old accident that changed Cawthorns life. He was 17 then; Cawthorn was 18. Ledford said he is not thrilled the story keeps getting dredged up, but he also wanted to set the record straight in his own words.

What Ledford says happened

• The trip: Ledford and his childhood friend Madison Cawthorn were driving from Florida to North Carolina when Ledford briefly nodded off at the wheel.
• The moment: He woke up to find the car in the grass off the interstate, started slowing down, and then they hit a concrete Jersey barrier further up the road.
• The fire: At first, Ledford thought they were just shaken up. Then he checked on Cawthorn, who was unconscious, and felt heat on his arm. The backseat was on fire.
• The escape: Ledford says he got out through Cawthorns window, climbed back in, unbuckled Cawthorn, and pulled him out. A bystander who had seen the crash helped carry Cawthorn a couple hundred yards from the car.
• The aftermath: EMS arrived. Ledford went with Cawthorn to the hospital as the long recovery began. Cawthorn was ultimately paralyzed from the waist down.
• The politics: Ledford noted Cawthorn is now in the political world (Cawthorn is 30 now), and said he does not share Cawthorns views. He kept it simple: he wanted the best for his friend back then and supported him through surgeries and the adjustment to a new life.
• The rift: Years later, in a 2017 speech at Patrick Henry College, Cawthorn told a very different story about the rescue:

He runs to safety deep in the woods and just leaves me in a burning car as the flames start to lick my legs and curl up and burn my left side.

Ledford disputed that at the time, telling The Washington Post the claim was false. The two eventually reconciled. In 2021, Ledford told People they had been through a lot together, and that what mattered to him was what Cawthorn had said to him privately. According to Ledford, Cawthorn apologized multiple times and it felt genuine. For what it is worth, Cawthorn left Congress in January 2023 after losing the May 2022 Republican primary.

Why Bachelor Nation cares

Ledford was cast for season 22 of The Bachelorette, the season that ABC yanked last month after a newly surfaced video tied to a domestic dispute involving the lead and her ex, Dakota Mortensen. Disney Entertainment Television told outlets at the time that, given the video, they were not moving forward and were focusing on supporting the family. Ledford is one of the men now being introduced on the official podcasts in the wake of the cancellation. On the faith front, he has also said God has forgiven Taylor Frankie Paul.

The bottom line

It is a strange Venn diagram: Bachelor Nation meets a DC firebrand via a decade-old tragedy. Ledford says he pulled his friend from a burning car, stood by him through recovery, and later accepted his apology for telling a very different version in public. He would prefer the whole thing not be clickbait now, but if people are going to talk about it, he wants the details accurate.