Former Bachelorette contestant Jarrod Woodgate in cafe stoush

Former Bachelorette contestant Jarrod Woodgate was left scarred and “embarrassed” by an incident involving his service dog.

Former Bachelorette runner-up Jarrod Woodgate has blasted a Darwin cafe after a stoush over his service dog.

The reality TV star, who served in the Australian Army for 12 years, was left “shaken” and “embarrassed” on Saturday after staff allegedly told him that he could not sit inside with his Border Collie Lily which assists with his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety.

“I’m feeling a bit better today and have had lots of advice from people that education is the key in this space,” Woodgate told Confidential on Sunday.

Woodgate with Lily.

Lily assists Woodgate with his PTSD and anxiety.

“I think there is a huge knowledge gap and I too have so much more to learn and it’s still new for me. I’m hoping to use my platform in the future to raise awareness on not only mental health but also physical disabilities and how we can make the community more accessible for everyone. I’m only just experiencing it for the first time but some people have been battling this their whole lives.”

Woodgate detailed the incident involving a cafe that can’t be named for legal reasons in a post shared on social media.

“Unfortunately had my first negative experience with Lily today. Went to my all time favourite cafe in Darwin to get a takeaway coffee and went inside with Lily to pay,” he wrote on Instagram.

“Half an hour later, I took Sam’s mum back to get a coffee and a cake and there were no tables outside, so we walked in. We were met with a staff member who asked if I could sit outside with Lily as a customer complained about me taking Lily inside earlier.

Jarrod rose to fame in 2017 on The Bachelorette with Sophie Monk. Channel 10.

“Instead of saying to the customer that I am legally allowed to have my dog with me, they chose to prioritise the other customer who doesn’t like dogs over the customer with a disability and a service dog. What a pity that some businesses are still so backwards that they don’t accept a mental disability the same as a physical disability.”

Woodgate said the incident left him scarred.

“Safe to say that [it’s] no longer my favourite cafe in Darwin. I feel embarrassed, ashamed and can’t stop shaking.”

On Sunday, a representative at the cafe told Confidential that the matter is being investigated.

“We’re looking into the matter. I was only just made aware of it this morning. No comment at this stage,” they said.

Woodgate said he has received dozens of messages of support from the public.

“I have had a bit more of a chance to read through the messages I’ve been sent and I realise that there are so many people out there who don’t have a lot of knowledge on support dogs and really want to learn more and have asked me to share more about PTSD, Heart Dogs NT, how to identify support dogs and also people sending through disability legislation and places to report discrimination,” he said.

Woodgate 36, appeared on Sophie Monk’s season of The Bachelorette in 2017.

Prior to appearing on the Channel 10 dating show, the former Vineyard manager was in the army and has openly struggled with his mental health for the past seven years.

After being discharged from the military, he struggled to transition back into civilian life and was eventually diagnosed with PTSD, depression, anxiety and adjustment disorder.

Last year, he revealed he was misdiagnosed with cancer while he was in the army which sparked his mental health issues.