Reality TV may be entertaining, but it can also ruin people's lives. For this list, we’ll be looking at the most notable people whose lives suffered severe negative consequences following their appearances on reality shows.
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00:00 Reality star Teresa Giudice opening up about her life in prison in her new memoir,
00:04 "Turning the Tables" after spending 11 and a half months behind bars.
00:08 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at 10 reality shows that ruined people's lives.
00:13 You know, Anna has alleged that you have rifled her trust fund.
00:17 I've got a cashier's check I can show you that I sent her.
00:20 Which was a lie because Anna's never received it.
00:23 For this list, we'll be looking at the most notable people whose lives suffered severe negative consequences
00:28 following their appearances on reality shows.
00:30 What do you make of these tragic stories?
00:32 Let us know in the comments below.
00:35 Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, newlyweds Nick and Jessica.
00:39 Do you realize, Nick, all we watch is sports?
00:43 It's not true.
00:43 The 2000s were full of shows that just kind of followed celebrities around.
00:47 Hey, Instagram wasn't around yet, you know.
00:49 One of the most popular was MTV's newlyweds, Nick and Jessica,
00:53 which chronicled the personal lives of Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey.
00:56 The two married on October 26, 2002, and the show premiered less than a year later.
01:01 You always hear the first year of marriage is, you know, toughest.
01:04 And I think especially for people who haven't lived together prior to getting married,
01:08 you know, you have to go through all those adjustments.
01:10 While it started innocently enough, it soon became a public record of their diminishing love.
01:15 The show aired their problems and private discussions for millions to see,
01:18 and it likely put incredible stress on their relationship.
01:21 The two filed for divorce on December 16, 2005, just nine months after the final episode had aired.
01:27 I didn't know to have expectations going into marriage.
01:30 I just kind of thought it was the fairy tale.
01:32 You kiss your groom, you say, "I do," and you live happily ever after, and the shoe always fits.
01:38 Teresa Giudice, the Real Housewives of New Jersey.
01:41 Hey, f***ing asshole!
01:44 Coming to my trip!
01:46 I'm dying!
01:47 You f***ing b***h!
01:48 F***!
01:49 Teresa Giudice has been a regular on Bravo's The Real Housewives of New Jersey since its inception in 2009,
01:55 and it wreaked havoc on her life.
01:56 Giudice told Digital Spy that she has been judged differently since being on television,
02:01 and that fame ruined her family.
02:02 The incredible wealth that the Giudices have acquired has also landed them in some major legal hot water.
02:07 Over the better part of a decade, they were engaged in a scheme to defraud financial institutions and the IRS.
02:14 In 2014, after being hit with multiple fraud charges, Teresa and her husband Joe pled guilty to 41 criminal counts,
02:21 including bankruptcy and mail fraud.
02:23 They were both sent to federal prison, and Joe was subsequently deported back to Italy.
02:27 After being married for 21 years, the couple finalized their divorce in 2020.
02:31 You went from Teresa Giudice, the reality star, the wife, the mother, to an inmate number.
02:38 How did that feel?
02:39 It broke my heart.
02:41 Charles Omany, the Real Housewives of D.C.
02:44 I moved out to Washington to join my childhood sweetheart, Charles.
02:48 Perfect. Head up slightly, darling.
02:50 He's a well-known White House photographer.
02:53 The fifth installment in the Real Housewives franchise wasn't nearly as successful as the others,
02:57 running for just one season and 11 episodes in 2010.
03:00 One of the main characters is Kat Omany, who had a husband named Charles.
03:04 As a photojournalist, Charles required a certain skill at blending in for his job,
03:08 but his life on the show ruined that and made him a famous figure.
03:11 Okay, now I'm going to get you to look straight at me.
03:14 Great.
03:16 He also lost many friends as they were worried that their social interactions were going to be filmed.
03:21 The Omany's marriage collapsed, and Charles later told the New York Times
03:24 that starring on the show was the greatest regret of his life.
03:27 Do you know what I was doing yesterday?
03:29 Yes.
03:29 I flew to North Carolina.
03:31 And then you drove.
03:32 And then I drove back.
03:34 Every time I looked out the window, I could have sworn I saw someone playing a banjo.
03:38 Amber Portwood, Teen Mom
03:40 The star from MTV's reality show Teen Mom, faces felony domestic violence charges
03:45 after physically abusing her boyfriend both on camera and in front of their one-year-old child.
03:49 Amber Portwood of Indiana dropped out of Anderson High School after becoming pregnant
03:53 and had her first child at 18 with a man named Gary Shirley.
03:56 Because of their story, the couple ended up on the MTV show 16 and Pregnant and its spin-off Teen Mom.
04:02 One episode of the latter showed Portwood being physically violent towards Shirley.
04:06 The filmmakers did not intervene when this occurred and refused to report it to the authorities.
04:10 However, viewers complained about Portwood after the episode aired,
04:13 and she was investigated by the police.
04:15 She was found guilty of felony domestic battery and received probation.
04:18 Portwood later violated said probation, resulting in a prison sentence of five years.
04:23 The decision that I had was, it's either death or it's prison. Now which one's worse?
04:28 It was pretty equal then for me, so...
04:31 Stephen Fowler, Wife Swap
04:33 You read that so well. Congratulations.
04:36 I didn't know you could read.
04:37 ABC aired a reality show called Wife Swap, which shared two families swapping wives and mothers.
04:43 These ladies were often completely different in terms of temperament, class and lifestyle,
04:47 resulting in both comedy gold and social commentary.
04:49 One of the most infamous contestants was a man named Stephen Fowler,
04:53 who was rather unkind to his replacement wife.
04:55 Among other things, he repeatedly called her demeaning names.
04:58 I don't see how one could be offended by the term "podunk town" if you live in a podunk town.
05:03 I mean, by definition, it's a podunk town, right?
05:05 The Family of the Wife Swap
05:06 Fowler was viciously criticized online and his house was visited by irate fans,
05:11 forcing the production company to post security guards outside.
05:14 The family was eventually forced to move, and Fowler was also fired from his job.
05:18 He later told the No Way Valley Voice that he wouldn't recommend the experience to anyone.
05:22 I think she was out of her league. Not every day she's going to come across someone like me.
05:25 She's pretty happy about that.
05:29 Renee Alway, America's Next Top Model
05:33 Renee is definitely a pretty girl. She just doesn't look like the youngest, freshest face on the block.
05:37 Professional model Renee Alway had been working since the age of 13
05:41 and found fame after starring in the eighth season of America's Next Top Model.
05:45 She finished in third place behind Natasha Galkina and winner Jazlyn Gonzales.
05:49 Unfortunately, starring on the show completely ruined her life.
05:52 She wanted to be on top, but the pressure pushed her down.
05:56 We're bringing you a cautionary tale of an ex-model who found herself, not on the runway,
06:01 but locked up in a cell block.
06:03 Alway told ABC that she felt like a failure after the series
06:06 and that she couldn't handle the pressure of the fans.
06:08 She also had trouble finding work,
06:09 saying that it was just closed door after closed door following the show.
06:13 Alway soon struggled with substance use disorder,
06:15 lost her home, and received 12 years in prison after getting convicted of felony burglary.
06:20 I remember bits and pieces of it. I remember SWAT. I remember having guns.
06:24 I remember feeling like, well, come and get me.
06:27 Here comes Honey Boo Boo.
06:30 My feelings about Anna moving out of the house, it's kind of mixed.
06:33 I want to see her grow up and try to make her own mistakes,
06:37 but it's weird not having Kevin around and not having Anna around too.
06:41 This is one of the most notorious shows of the 2010s,
06:43 following the titular Honey Boo Boo, Alana Thompson, and her family.
06:46 This includes her older sister, Anna Cardwell, nicknamed Chickadee.
06:50 Unfortunately, the show has caused Cardwell to become estranged from her family.
06:54 She sued her mother, June Shannon,
06:56 claiming that she was owed nearly half a million dollars in royalties.
06:59 She said that she had sent Anna $15,000 of her money.
07:04 She is also not in contact with her sisters, telling E! News,
07:07 "I can give two craps about them."
07:09 While Cardwell is back on speaking terms with her mother,
07:11 and she even attended her wedding to Justin Stroud,
07:14 the relationship between the two is reportedly quite strained.
07:16 But you know what? Anna was very honest with me about the fact that she does not
07:20 have a good relationship with her sisters.
07:22 She feels the whole family got caught up in the Honey Boo Boo machine.
07:26 Chris Bukowski, The Bachelor Franchise
07:28 I mean, I don't know Chris, but he's done other shows, you know,
07:31 Bachelor and Bachelor Pad. I don't know his motives, but he's a great find.
07:36 I heard he's not a great guy.
07:38 Chris Bukowski was a regular in The Bachelor Franchise,
07:41 appearing in The Bachelorette, Bachelor Pad, and Bachelor in Paradise.
07:45 It may seem like he has a good relationship with the franchise,
07:47 but the reality is anything but.
07:49 Bukowski wrote an open letter on Rant Now,
07:51 saying that Bachelor Pad almost completely ruined him,
07:54 and that his obsession with television had completely taken over his life.
07:57 Do you have anything to say? No? Okay.
08:00 He developed a substance use disorder,
08:03 and his relationship with his parents,
08:04 who disagreed strongly with his on-camera behavior, became strained.
08:08 Bukowski proceeded to leave reality TV behind,
08:10 claiming that it wasn't good for his career, his relationships, or his mental health.
08:14 He's so in love with me or something on camera, but then I watched back and it was like,
08:19 we'll see how it goes.
08:22 D'Lise Williams, Extreme Makeover
08:25 I would just love to be able to look at myself and see a whole different person.
08:31 Honestly, the whole premise behind Extreme Makeover is kind of disturbing.
08:34 It sees regular-looking people who are unhappy with their appearance
08:37 undergoing plastic surgery in order to appear more conventionally beautiful.
08:41 One of the hardest-hit contestants was Texas woman D'Lise Williams.
08:45 Her appearance on the show was cancelled following a scheduling conflict.
08:48 However, her family had already taped horrific statements about Williams'
08:51 look at the behest of the producers,
08:53 and Williams was forced to hear them all before her makeover was cancelled.
08:56 If I'd been hit in the face and the stomach as many times as she had,
09:01 I can't tell you that I'd keep fighting the way she does.
09:04 The most guilt-ridden of all was Williams' sister Kelly McGee,
09:07 who eventually took her own life.
09:09 Williams sued the network for personal damages,
09:11 claiming that the experience left her humiliated and contributed to her sister's death.
09:15 She is getting her opportunity to be normal.
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09:35 Gia Alamon - The Bachelor Franchise
09:40 We return to The Bachelor for the tragic story of Gia Alamon.
09:50 Alamon was cast in the 14th season of the show, subtitled "On the Wings of Love."
09:55 She finished third and later appeared on the spin-off "Bachelor Pat."
09:58 Unfortunately, Alamon attempted to take her own life on the night of August 12, 2013.
10:02 She was found by her boyfriend, with whom she had been arguing,
10:12 and died two days later in the hospital.
10:14 The argument was Alamon's catalyst, but her friends assert that she had been struggling
10:18 for some time. They attest that she had many personal demons and insecurities that she
10:22 attempted to cure on The Bachelor. Her publicist also claimed that she had grappled with the
10:26 pressures of fame.
10:27 I really hope that today's show is a lesson and reminder to us all that sometimes people we love
10:34 get in dark places.
10:38 [music]