Amanda Johnson 
Reality television is a part of life. It has slowly trickled in and become the majority of what you see on the air these days. From car shops, to moonshiners to competitions for cooking and singing, you can find almost anything in this genre. There are people famous for seemingly silly things, such as simply existing. I’m looking at you, Kardashians.
Whether you love it or hate it, you cannot escape it. Even if you don’t watch on a regular basis, it can suck you in when you’re flipping channels, just like a car wreck that you can’t look away from.
I won’t lie, I love reality TV. Not all of it, but a good amount. On any given night you can find me watching a cooking or singing reality show. I also tune in to the Kardashians on a regular basis, and I love the Teen Mom franchise. They are my guilty pleasure shows, and I don’t take any of them too seriously. Well, except American Idol. I can’t tell you the level of excitement I feel about its return to TV next year!
Reality TV shows have launched the careers of so many people. There are A list celebrities who started out on reality shows, but not everyone has been so lucky! Here are stories of 12 people whose lives definitely didn’t turn golden after appearing on a reality series or competition show.
1. Carmen Electra
Anybody who was alive in the 90s probably remembers Carmen Electra. She started out as a gorgeous playboy playmate, and moved on to hosting on MTV for a while. One of the most notable things about her is that she married Dennis Rodman, eccentric NBA star, at one point. She was already famous before her reality shows. She started dating Dave Navarro, who was a founding member of Jane’s Addiction, and also a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. She was approached by MTV to star in a show called Carmen and Dave: A Love Story. After they married, a second show was ordered, Til Death Do us Part: Carmen and Dave. Let’s just say that the show, and the marriage, both failed pretty quickly. Dave was later quoted as saying that the cameras added to the demise of the marriage. He insisted that you cannot be real with cameras recording your every move. I’d say I would have to agree with him. I cannot imagine being able to live my life with cameras around. I haven’t heard much about her lately, and I hope she is happy living her life off-camera.
2. Jenelle Evans
I have already admitted my love for Teen Mom. The next reality star on the list is from Teen Mom 2. Janelle Evans is one of the most controversial stars of all of the Teen Mom shows. She has amassed a laundry list of poor choices from before and since becoming a teen mother in the show 16 and Pregnant. She has had drug problems, she’s been arrested on several occasions for several reasons such as breaking and entering, possession and assault. She’s also had trouble finding decent men to share her life with. She’s been in relationships that were abusive mentally and physically and one boyfriend, Keifer, even introduced her to heroin. Her relationship with her mother is also very volatile and sad to watch. The fight over custody of Janelle’s oldest son has been ongoing for years. Poor little Jace is just caught in the middle of it all.
It certainly seems that she was already on a bad path before the cameras ever showed up, but I wonder if the added pressure of being a young mom in front of the world really pushed her to the wrong side of the tracks? She’s no longer on drugs, but she just married her youngest child’s father, and he seems very controlling and harsh with her son, Kaiser. I sincerely wish her all the best and I hope her life turns out well for her sake and the kids.
3. Teresa Guidice
One reality series that I never got into was that of the Real Housewives. They are wildly popular and have been airing for years on Bravo. Teresa Guidice is a cast member from the New Jersey version. She and her husband, Joe, were indicted on close to 40 counts of providing false statements, conspiracy to commit fraud by mail and wire, and also bank fraud. While the show certainly cannot be blamed for the crimes they committed, it seemingly didn’t help when it came to their sentencing. Apparently the judge was none too happy about the brouhaha caused by having the famous couple in his courtroom. They would have likely gotten lesser sentences if they weren’t reality show stars. I say the sentences could have been non existent had they just not broken the law!
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