While on ‘The Bachelorette,' Grant Ellis Revealed That His Father Struggled With Addiction

According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, "in an average year from 2015–2019, more than 21 million children lived with a parent who used illicit substances , and more than 2 million lived with a parent who had an illicit substance use disorder." Children raised in this environment often grow up with emotional disorders that typically lead to difficulties in forming healthy relationships as adults.

All this to say, it's interesting to see someone on a popular reality television show who came from a troubled background and is willing to talk about it. Grant Ellis was first introduced to Bachelor Nation on Jenn Tran's season of The Bachelorette. That's when he opened up a bit about his parents and in particular his father, who struggled with addiction. After he became the titular Bachelor, we learned a bit more. Here's what we know about both his parents.

In an August 2024 promo video for The Bachelor, Grant called his mother to give her some exciting news. "Hey mom, how ya doin'? Ya doin' good," he asked while barely able to contain a smile. "I'm doing awesome," replied. That's when Grant shared the life-changing news that he was selected to be the next Bachelor. She gasped and said, "No way. Are you kidding me?" She went on to say she was both happy and proud of her son.

Grant's journey as the Bachelor is coming to a close. He told People that his family was very happy for him. He said, "They're happy for this whole experience, and I think that they're happy to see me healing from things that happened in my life and doing it in a way where maybe it'll inspire some people.” This makes sense as Grant's mother was the one who originally signed him up to be on The Bachelorette. But, what about his dad?

In a conversation with Jenn while filming The Bachelorette, Grant told her that his father struggled with addiction for 30 years. "Addiction is a hard thing because, you know, growing up, my pops was everything, like, he was my superhero," he said while explaining that there were times he had no idea his dad was drunk.

After checking into a substance abuse rehabilitation facility, Grant's dad said that this was probably the first time he would get to know the real him. Grant told Jenn he was really leaning into that. "So now, he’s, like, a little under two months sober, so, you know, I hope he holds strong," he said. "And it’s his first time living, too."

After it was announced that Grant would be the next Bachelor, he went on The Viall Files where he talked about his father a bit more. Grant said he loves his father and understands he did the best he could. And while he doesn't want to bash him, this is Grant's story too and he has earned the right to tell it. He went on to say that his relationship with his dad is great and that he's really proud of his progress. It wasn't always that way, but he's trying to let some things go.