Reality television stars might seem to bare it all for the cameras, since complete exposure
is the very fabric of their fame.
But there are some TV families who've got some deep, dark secrets stashed up their sleeves.
Here's what you might not know about those reality stars whose family feuds made them
ratings sensations.
The Giudices
Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice's secrets were far darker and deeper
than the mystery that is her amazing hairline.
She and husband Joe Giudice were accused of hiding their fortunes in a bankruptcy filing,
as well as not filing two years of taxes.
The couple initially maintained their innocence, but later changed their pleas.
However, it didn't end there: the pair allegedly kept their finances secret by leaving glaring
omissions in their probation reports, which were supposed to have complete transparency
of where and how their money was earned and allocated.
The judge presiding over their case believed that the Giudices didn't make errors on their
probation reports, but that they deliberately tried hiding money from the government, and
told them in court,
"In the eye of the law, it doesn't matter who you are.
There are consequences to pay."
Those consequences included some jail time for both Giudices.
"41 months… eh, 41 months."
They've since been doing their best to get back on their feet.
"Restitution paid off.
My house is not in foreclosure anymore, thank god, and everything is good."
The Roloffs
Jacob Roloff, the 18-year-old son of Little People, Big World stars Amy and Matt Roloff,
claims that his child stardom came at the expense of his actual childhood—and even
some of his earnings from the series.
Jacob appears to now be estranged from his family, except for his similarly camera-shy
sister Molly, and has aired his grievances on Twitter about allegedly not receiving payment
for his previous nine seasons on the show.
The Siegels
Queen of Versailles chronicled the life of billionaire couple David and Jackie Siegel.
Other than their relatively low-key reality special, the Siegels kept a pretty low profile.
Unfortunately, they were forced to come up from under the radar when their 18-year-old
daughter, Victoria Siegel, passed away from a drug overdose in June 2015.
"We really weren't aware."
"Yeah."
Sources close to the Siegels told TMZ that Victoria battled with an addiction to Xanax
but seemed to have been recovering well since going to rehab.
Page Six reports that the family nanny said Victoria had grown distant from her parents
in the days leading up to her passing, including skipping out on a family vacation.
Victoria left rehab a mere two weeks before her untimely death, leaving the family devastated.
Sources later claimed that Victoria may have suffered cyberbullying at the hands of a cruel
ex-boyfriend, leading some to believe that her overdose may not have been accidental.
The Chrisleys
Patriarch Todd Chrisley of USA Network's Chrisley Knows Best may not have known best when it
came to raising his son, Kyle.
As Kyle's legal guardian, Todd entered Kyle into a rehabilitation center for substance
abuse in January 2011.
Kyle reportedly stayed for three months, but Todd didn't pay the facilities for Kyle's
second and third months of his stay.
Todd filed for bankruptcy soon after.
In 2013, Kyle's troubles continued when he was arrested for battery of a woman in April.
He was placed on probation and after six months of good behavior, the case was dismissed.
That wasn't the end of Kyle's courtroom woes, however, because his attorney sued Todd for
unpaid fees in March, 2014.
"Did you really just do that?"
Kyle also became a father out of wedlock around January 2013, and he and ex-flame Angela Victoria
Johnson received mutual restraining orders against one another in October 2013 for undisclosed
reasons.
However, the pair appeared to have buried the hatchet at least somewhat: The Chrisleys
filed a legitimation claim to establish child support and visitation rights for Kyle and
were allowed to film with Chloe on the series.
The Eastwoods
When Clint Eastwood isn't yelling at empty chairs about foreign and domestic policies,
the screen legend is pretty scandal-free—and his family generally stayed under the radar
until 2012, when Mrs. Eastwood and Company debuted on E!.
The show focused on Eastwood's wife, Dina, and their daughters, Morgan and Francesca.
What it didn't focus on was Dina and Clint's marital woes.
People reports that the Eastwood marriage was a happy one until the show aired, at which
point the super-private Clint became uncomfortable.
What happened next could make for the weirdest episode of Wife Swap ever: Dina began leaning
on her childhood friend, Scott Fisher, when her marriage to Clint got ugly.
Then Clint became wary of Dina's interactions with Fisher…and reached out to Fisher's
wife, Erica.
"I don't think you can call it infidelity or cheating or anything like that when we're
already leaving separately, same house, but you're living separately—estranged."
Scott Fisher filed for divorce from Erica, who then began dating Clint.
When Dina heard the news of Erica and Clint's relationship, she had a breakdown and went
to rehab.
Basically, everything that would have made for amazing ratings never even made it onto
the show.
The Neiers
The pilot for E!'s Pretty Wild had already been filmed when cast member Alexis Neiers
was arrested for her role in the notorious Bling Ring, a group of burglars who allegedly
stole from the homes of Rachel Bilson, Paris Hilton, and others in 2009.
E! could easily have scrapped the series, but the network instead capitalized on the
hype and covered Neiers' trial in the series.
That wasn't the big, potentially damaging secret Neiers' family kept close to their
chests, though: it was Neiers' alleged drug addiction.
"Xanax I was maybe in seventh grade.
Eighth grade was the first time I tried cocaine."
Neiers revealed she became addicted to heroin, as well as prescription drugs, and that all
of her issues stemmed from sexual abuse she suffered as a child.
She's since gone to rehab and become a drug counselor.
Thanks for watching!
Click the Nicki Swift icon to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Plus check out all this cool stuff we know you'll love, too!