Reality TV is probably the cheapest form of escapism ever, and there are so many shows out there that there’s literally something for everyone.
There’s programs that follow baking competitions, pawn shops and even shows that follow the rich and beautiful. With so much choice, it’s not hard to find something that will tickle your fancy.
But as much as we love the juicy moments that reality TV provides, it is probably all scripted. Even the sappy, emotional moments.
From rigged competitions to disqualified drag queens, here are a bunch of shows that are reportedly fake.
PS, sorry if we ruin any of your faves.
Dance Moms
A definite game changer in the reality TV world, Dance Moms was a program that documented the lives of the mothers and dancers of the Abby Lee Dance Company.
The show featured a lot of fighting and drama. It also rewarded the internet with many memeable moments.
Dance Moms is also responsible for Maddie Ziegler and JoJo Siwa‘s fame.
In 2017, Maddie came clean about the production behind the show, admitting that a lot of the drama was fabricated by producers.
“It’s hard to do a reality show when there’s so much crying and drama. The producers set it up to make us all yell at each other,” Ziegler said in an interview with USA Today.
“All of the girls on the show, they’re my best friends.
“I have so much fun getting to work with my friends and my teachers and dance.”
With that being said, I wanna know who choreographed that iconic fight that lead to the birth of the Abby Lee Miller finger chomp meme.
Pawn Stars
Pawn Stars is like one of those shows that are super trashy, but it has its moments where it sucks you in with cool, shiny things… just like a real pawn shop!
In an article by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Pawn Star favourites Rick Harrison and Austin ‘Chumlee’ Russell were frequently seen at Gold & Silver Pawn signing autographs but they were rarely seen actually working the counter, despite being the main characters on the program.
The store’s general manager Travis Benton told the publication that was the only part of the show that was misleading, adding it was “never scripted.”
Vanderpump Rules
In early 2023, Vanderpump Rules became a huge subject for tabloids across the world due to its massive cheating scandal.
Well, it seems previous relationship drama on the show was exaggerated for the plot.
According to an article by Starcasm, Vanderpump Rules star Stassi Schroeder hinted that she was forced to fake a break up for the show.
“I hate that we have to keep so many things secret,” Schroeder said on the podcast Straight Up With Stassi. “They [the producers] made me say that me and Patrick Meagher were still broken up. Patrick’s not on the show. Why does it f**king matter? I don’t want to trick people.”
Selling Sunset
Selling Sunset is a ridiculously addictive and pervy look into the wildly luxe Los Angeles real estate world. The show’s villain Christine Quinn has spilled an endless amount of tea on the production of the show.
On Tuesday, Christine joined Savannah Chrisley‘s podcast Unlocked and she got super candid about how the producers moulded her into being Sunset’s baddie.
“They [the producers] were like, ‘You’re going to be a villain’ and I was like, I’m going to run with this because people are going to be smart enough to know that this is an act. Then they weren’t, and I was so disappointed,” Quinn said.
She also briefly touched on how they used edits to make it look like she was extra mean to her fellow reality TV co-stars.
“I would pretty much walk in and do entire scenes that would be edited down to an eye roll. I would show up knowing that,” she claimed. “It doesn’t matter what I said or did. I knew the outcome.”
It’s also worth mentioning that Quinn will not be returning for Selling Sunset‘s future seasons.
The Bachelor AU
During Jimmy Nicholson‘s snorefest Bachie season in 2021, former GoggleBox AU’s Symon Lovett noticed a huge edit fail that fed into the villain edit of one of the contestants.
The epic fail featured a recycled sound bite of Bachelor contestant Sierah Swepstone calling Tahnee Leeson “boring” and saying she’d “had better chats with a wooden spoon.”
The sound bite was used in two different scenes. The first one was used during a rose ceremony, where she is heard saying she had “better chats with a wooden spoon” when referring to Jimmy.
The sound was then used a second time. This time, the “better chats with a wooden spoon” comment was directed at Tahnee, and it was a completely separate episode.
Lovett posted the Bachie fail on IG. It’s super cringy.
View this post on Instagram
Real Housewives franchise
The Real Housewives franchise has blown up everywhere for its entertaining storylines, iconic one-liners and drama.
It’s so big that the show has multiple spin-offs, including two Down Under: The Real Housewives of Melbourne and The Real Housewives of Sydney.
According to an eyewitness who spoke with Radar Online, The Real Housewives of New York’s Carole Radziwill and Heather Thomson were spotted filming a staged scene for the show back in 2021.
Jezebel also reported that The Real Housewives of Atlanta’s Walter Jackson, who was on the show ‘cos he was dating RHOB Kenya Moore, admitted in a radio interview that the relationship was fake AF and they were only together to give her a storyline.
It certainly takes the “real” out of the show’s name.
Masterchef
Masterchef is probably one of the most popular cooking reality TV shows to ever exist.
Although it might seem more wholesome than your average Married At First Sight or Dance Moms, a previous contestant claimed the show is “not real”.
Ben Starr, who appeared on Season Two of the American version of Masterchef, wrote a lengthy blog post about his experience on the cooking show.
In the now deleted blog post, Starr wrote: “MasterChef is entertainment. First and foremost. It is not real. It is not a competition. It is highly engineered fiction… designed to keep you watching from episode to episode… There is NOTHING real about reality TV.”
In another blog post from November 2014, Starr said that his experience on the show was excellent and that he no longer wanted to be associated with the brand.
A Mystery Australian Show
Australia’s sweetheart Jessica Rowe spilled some MAJOR tea about a mystery Australian reality TV show on her podcast, The Jess Rowe Big Talk Show.
Earlier this year, Jessica claimed that an unnamed celeb told her that a certain competition show on the Australian television was rigged.
“I was talking to a celebrity recently that had been on a reality TV show and even though they knew things would be set up… the winner was decided even before the show began,” Jessica said.
“It actually turned out it was in a particular person’s contract that they would win and that was the only way this particular person would take part.”
Masked Singer? Maybe I’m A Celeb? Or even Big Brother VIP?
Fingers crossed it wasn’t Ready Steady Cook.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! Australia
Former I’m A Celeb contestant Ajay Rochester literally claimed this week that the reality TV competition is completely rigged.
Rochester blasted Channel Ten’s hit show in a TikTok saying, “In the contract, it says in tiny, little writing right at the end that Channel Ten can choose to elect a winner, regardless of votes.”
“It also says Channel Ten can decide when the contestants are eliminated with or without the voting,” the Aussie star added.
“There’s no prize money involved so they’re allowed to rig it,” Ajay said. “If it’s a competition, you can’t. It can’t be rigged, there are very strict rules. This is a competition but every celebrity is getting paid and raising money for a charity. They’re not doing it for charity, they’re doing it for money,” she continued.
@ajayrochester Replying to @kasleigh1975__ #imacelebrity #imacelebritygetmeoutofhere #tea #teatok #realitytvtea ♬ original sound – AjayRochester
Ajay was the first one eliminated in her season of I’m A Celeb, back in 2019. Former Today gossip king Richard Reid was the winner of that year.
It’s honestly so sad that we’re being blatantly duped by these reality TV shows, but you know what? The drama is just way too good.
A bunch of Redditors have previously exposed other reality TV shows and the goss in between the thread convos are completely WILD.
Here is a heap of reality TV tea from Reddit, all rounded up for your pleasure.
