Note: This post contains mentions of domestic violence.
I know I am. The more and more I watch, however, the more and more it has me thinking about just how wild reality TV can get...
But how many of these moments have been warped by production? We all love the juicy "reality" of reality TV, but when cameras are on, true reality is damn near impossible to achieve.
Luckily, many former contestants have shared their perspectives. Here are their stories:
Love Island
1.
Season 6 sweetheart Leah Kateb alleged that a producer tried to interfere with her relationship with Miguel Harichi.
When discussing the things producers said to her on the I’ve Never Said This Before podcast, she claimed "...They do check-ins. And during those check-ins, they would be like, 'Oh, Miguel told me that he doesn't see a future with you outside of this,' and like, 'But you know, other people did.'"
When the interviewer asked if that was a lie, she alleged, "Yes. Because after that, and when I told Miguel, he was like, 'I literally never said that.' Because they were trying to shove me in a different direction, away from Miguel, because I know they thought that would be like the craziest reality TV moment, but I'm a human being with feelings."
2.
Miguel also explained on a podcast that he wanted to leave the Villa early with Leah due to the drama.
He stated, "...There was a point where I was really getting agitated, and I said to her, 'Look, I like you a lot, and I know that I'm going to speak to you outside of here, so do you want to dip? Because I'm feeling a dip,' and it was a producer that was like, 'Miguel, just run it through, like just stay to the end. There's no point cutting out now.'"
Miguel and Leah are still together today.
3.
Chelley Bissainthe gave her perspective on what actually happened during the heated "Stand on Business" challenge in Season 7 of Love Island.
In this challenge, islanders got to be brutally honest about their opinions on each other. This led to a lot of tears and dramatic moments.
In the Baby, this is Keke Palmer podcast, Chelley gave more context as to how the challenge went down and just how longggg it was. She stated, "You guys got one hour of a six, seven-hour night... At least in the Villa, we were all on the same page about how we felt." She then said, "So, the internet, you're getting whatever message that is being put out to you, but we know what happened in there."
Temptation Island
4.
Season 2 contestant Erin Carter (AKA just "Carter") revealed that her and Jack Mason's "first" kiss in the dark was actually their second kiss.
Carter was a "Temptress" on the show, which means Jack cheated on his actual girlfriend with her.
On the Positively Uncensored podcast, she stated, "I'm about to drop some tea. That was actually our second kiss... I think this was like night two or something. And I lean back, and I'm like, 'Wait a minute, like think about what you're doing right now. Like, think about this.' And he was like, 'No, I know.' And I was like, 'Cool.' So he leans back in, and we kiss..."
She proceeded to claim, "I guess somehow the mic, the cameras, no one picked up on it."
5.
Fellow Season 2 contestant Scarlett Bentley claimed that what we saw for her partner's bonfire clips is NOT what she saw.
At the "bonfires," contestants are shown the brutal clips of what their partners are doing without them. But according to Scarlett, "A lot of the clips that you see on those bonfires, that's not what I actually saw." She proceeds to explain on the Reality Steve Podcast that "...I'm seeing the bare minimum. I'm seeing that he doesn't even want to be there. That he doesn't want to participate."
Even though Scarlett left the island alone, she and Cole are back together.
Love is Blind
6.
Season 2 star Natalie Lee claimed that Love is Blind: After the Altar cut out a clip of her showing the DMs of her ex cheating.
In After the Alter, she stated that she found "flirtatious messages" between her partner, Shayne Jansen, and fellow contestant Shaina Hurley. What makes this extra juicy is that Natalie said these DMs took place while Shaina was in a relationship with Christos Lardakis. And she still is years later (married, even).
Shane and Shaina refuted these claims, with Shaina stating, “We’ve always been appropriate,” and that the most inappropriate thing she sent to him was calling him “sweet baby.”
However, in an Entertainment Tonight interview after the show, Natalie discussed how part of her story was missing: "I understand, in terms of how much you can really show in these three 45-minute-long episodes, but what I do have is, again, text messages and emails with Shane, talking about him unsending Instagram messages, deleting messages, and those DMs with Shaina, so that's something that I talked about that didn't make the cut that I think kind of would have helped with the story."
7.
Season 10 contestant Emma Betsinger noticed that her scars seemed to be smoothed over in promotional photos.
She stated, “I was definitely really surprised, especially because it’s a part of my body and a part of who I am, but yeah, I'm not sure if there was a why or a reason based off of just production, photos, all of that stuff.”
8.
On the legal side, Stephen Richardson from Season 7 filed a class-action lawsuit against Netflix and the show's production companies.
He alleges that producers wrongfully classified contestants to pay them less. The lawsuit also alleges that producers exercised "complete domination over [contestants'] time, schedule, and their ability to eat, drink, and sleep, and communicate with the outside world during the period of employment” and that the conditions were "unsafe and inhumane."
BuzzFeed reached out to Netflix and Kinetic Content for a statement, but hasn't received a response. Delirium TV could not be reached.
9.
Renee Poche from Season 5 also sued the show. However, she claims the production company, Delirium TV, sued her first for $4 million.
She alleges that Delirium TV believes she violated her NDA by speaking out about her negative experience on the show. Renee then filed her lawsuit in response. She claimed, "I felt like a prisoner and had no support when I let Delirium know that I didn't feel safe. I tried to deal with these emotions over time and eventually felt like I needed to share what had happened. I felt it was only right to let others know the truth of what all of the castmates had to endure."
She also provided more details about her relationship with fellow contestant, Carter Wall. Court documents stated, "Little did Poche know that she would be matched with a walking red flag: an individual named Carter Wall, who was unemployed with a negative balance in his bank account, homeless, violent, estranged from his family, and actively addicted to drugs and alcohol."
She alleged that production "was well aware of Wall’s mental instability," and that she was told that she "would subject herself to legal action if she were to discontinue her participation in the Program or otherwise refuse to move forward with the engagement."
When Judge Iwasaki ruled in Delirium's favor, Delirium’s attorneys, Larry Iser and Allen Secretov, gave a statement that reads, “We are very pleased with the results of today’s hearing, which confirms that Delirium acted properly in filing its arbitration against Ms. Poche in response to her violations of her confidentiality and publicity obligations."
BuzzFeed attempted to contact a representative for Delirium, but did not receive a response.
The Bachelorette
10.
Lastly, here's everything that's going on with Taylor Frankie Paul's canceled season of The Bachelorette.
Due to a leaked 2023 video showing Taylor appearing to be in a physical altercation with her ex, Dakota Mortensen, Disney Entertainment Television decided not to move forward with her season of The Bachelorette, which was set to air this past March 22.
What I'm here to talk about, however, is the fact that Taylor allegedly slept with Dakota right before she left for the show. On The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Dakota ended up staying with Taylor the night before she left for The Bachelorette. He says in a confessional that "There's part of me that obviously, I want to go over there because she's leaving and I'm not going to talk to her for, I think, two months. So yeah, I'd be lying if I didn't think there was a piece of me that just kind of wanted to go see her, be with her, possibly for the last time."
Costar Layla Taylor also chimed in, saying, "I'm definitely disappointed in Taylor. I don't think this was a smart move to do right before The Bachelorette. To be frank, if I were one of these guys and I found out that she f'ed her baby daddy the day before meeting me, I would be extremely upset and pissed."
As of now, we still don't know what really happened during Taylor Frankie Paul's canceled season. However, we might know that she allegedly chose contestant Doug Mason at the end of the season due to her social media interactions with him after filming.
To add even more drama, she also allegedly slept with Dakota RIGHT AFTER she got home from filming The Bachelorette. Taylor appeared to address this while replying to a TikTok comment that stated, “same day u got engaged is crazy,” by responding, “No the day after.”
BuzzFeed reached out to Taylor's and Dakota's teams to comment, but received no response.
Taylor and Dakota are currently involved in legal proceedings related to their domestic dispute.
Sigh... Reality TV works in mysterious ways. All I know is that I'm team Brinity right now.
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