Bad behavior makes for great reality TV. But for these couples, the drama got a little
too real. So was it the lying? The cheating? The murderous threats? These stars show the
love in all the worst ways.
David Eason and Jenelle Evans might be responsible for one of the most turbulent relationships
we've ever seen on TV. "Teen Mom 2" star Jenelle brought David into the spotlight. But MTV
was quick to let him go after he posted homophobic content on social media.
Then, in 2019, Us Weekly reported that David had killed Jenelle's dog, Nugget. Allegedly,
the dog had lurched at their daughter. But rather than rehome the pup, David grabbed
a gun.
"I loved the dog. I still think about her every day."
Following the incident, the network also dropped Jenelle. And that October, she filed for divorce.
A month later, Jenelle secured a restraining order, claiming David was abusive. After he
allegedly assaulted Jenelle's friend James Spivey, in June 2020, Page Six reported,
"He was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. […] He also allegedly shouted 'I
will blow your f—ing brains out' at Spivey."
But despite the split and jaw-dropping allegations, Jenelle and David soon got back together.
Now sharing their family life on their YouTube channel, Jenelle continues to defend David
despite pushback from fans.
Fans of "Temptation Island" know just what went down between Evan Smith and Kaci Campbell.
Ready to test out their bond with each other, the couple of ten years joined the reality
show for its first season. And apparently Evan quickly succumbed to the temptation part.
"No matter how much I love you, I've opened my heart up to someone else."
On the show, he met Morgan Lolar, and by the end of the season, he proposed to her. But
this relationship was no fairy tale either. Morgan later told Us Weekly that Evan was
both unfaithful and broke. Claiming that he didn't work while he lived with her for nearly
18 months, she said,
"I supported him financially and his excuse for abruptly leaving two days before we were
supposed to move to L.A. was that he needed to go 'work' to be able to pay me back."
Morgan then reached out to Kaci, to commiserate. She explained,
"I thought back on 'Temptation Island' and how Kaci and he ended, and I'm like, 'Oh my
God, he's saying the exact same things to me that he's saying to her.'"
In happier news, Kaci responded well and the two ladies became close over their shared
— if not terrible — experiences with Evan.
"It's such a blessing and I'm very glad he's gone. He stole ten years of my life."
Tristan Thompson conjured both fan and family wrath for fully disrespecting Khloe Kardashian.
The two first went public in August 2016. Khloe told ES Magazine in April 2017 that
she was in love and ready to say yes to marriage. Then in December that year, Khloe announced
their pregnancy on Instagram, writing,
"Thank you for making me feel beautiful at all stages! Tristan, most of all, Thank you
for making me a MOMMY!!! You have made this experience even more magical than I could
have envisioned!"
But just two days before their daughter True was born in April 2018, Tristan was spotted
kissing other women, according to just about every outlet. Still, the pair reconciled.
But by February 2019, they were broken up again. According to People, Tristan had gotten
way too close to the lips of Kylie Jenner's best friend, Jordyn Woods.
"Right now I don't feel much of anything. I'm so — it's like I'm in shock. It's — a
lot is happening."
But despite the drummed-up drama for the show, co-parenting was seemingly working for the
pair, with sources claiming they were moving in together, and the couple teasing more kids
on the show. But the duo split for good in June 2021. And that December, fitness model
Maralee Nichols announced that Tristan had gotten her pregnant back in March of that
year. Yikes.
"Teen Mom 2" star Javi Marroquin landed in the spotlight with then-wife, Kailyn Lowry.
But the couple split in 2016. A year later, Javi got together with Lauren Comeau. They
soon split up, and Javi hooked up with Briana DeJesus, then Kailyn again, then back to Lauren
in March 2018.
While he was still with Brianna, Javi told In Touch in 2017,
"I never believed in love at first sight, but when I saw Lauren I definitely did. I'm
hoping Lauren and I can figure this out because she made me the happiest I've ever been."
But things then got really serious when Javi announced that he and Lauren were expecting.
The couple welcomed son Eli in November 2018. It was then that the situation began to change
for the new family. In August 2019, Ashley's Reality Roundup reported on a police call
at their home after Javi and Lauren got into a fight. Radar Online later claimed that Lauren
allegedly caught Javi with another woman in their home. Then, in 2020, Kailyn claimed
Javi tried to hook up with her while he was still with Lauren.
"I came here with Javi with no intentions of getting back together."
"Geez."
Kris and Caitlyn Jenner got married in 1991 in what appeared to be a match made in heaven.
They each had four kids, they were both divorced, and were happy to "Brady Bunch" it up for
the cameras.
But over a whopping 20 seasons of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," Kris and Caitlyn's
relationship became a point of contention. In 2013, Kris announced the pair had separated,
telling USA Today,
"There is no animosity. We are united and committed to our family. [...] We ended a
marriage, but that's not the end of our friendship."
They divorced in 2014. A year later, Caitlyn announced that she was transitioning.
"But the greatest beauty is inner peace of mind about who you are as a person."
Still, despite those claims of friendship, things got rocky when Caitlyn dropped her
tell-all memoir, "Secrets of My Life," in 2017. She wrote,
"I tell Kris about my gender issues before I make love to her. This will always be a
subject of dispute between Kris and me as to how much she could intuit about my gender
issues."
"All through the book; 'Kris knew. Kris knew before I even made love to her.'"
Caitlyn also claimed that Kris controlled everyone's finances. The very public diss
was heartbreaking to Kris. And it all played out on the show.
"Why does everything have to be that Kris is such a b— and an a–hole?"
Claiming that she confronted Caitlyn about the accusations, and that Caitlyn brushed
her off, Kris was completely blindsided by the claims that she somehow knew Caitlyn's
true identity the whole time.
"I've never been so angry and disappointed in somebody in my whole life. I'm done."
Season 10 "Bachelorette" Andi Dorfman gave her final rose to Josh Murray. But while fans
hoped they would last forever, they were quickly proven wrong. As Andi recalled in her memoir
"It's Not OK,"
"I was 100 percent sure I'd spend my life with him. [It was] the most volatile and f—ed
up relationship of my life."
In typical form for "The Bachelor" franchise, Andi enjoyed a night with Nick Viall in the
fantasy suites before picking Josh. And when Andi later admitted to initially lying to
Josh about it, Josh reportedly became furious and verbally abusive. Andi wrote,
"Several more apologies later, it became clear the issue was about my having sex with someone
else. That one sexual escapade would become a power play used by my fiancé to justify
his mistrust in me. It would be an excuse to call me a w—. And it would eventually
lead to the demise of my engagement."
"You just have to take it by the horns and deal with it."
In response to the allegations, Josh said in a statement to Us Weekly:
"It saddens me and is very unfortunate that Andi has chosen to characterize me in such
a negative way. I pray she finds peace."
To that, Andi clapped back on Twitter:
"I speak two languages ... English and Truth."
O.G. "Teen Mom" star Amber Portwood and her then-boyfriend, Andrew Glennon, endured a
very rocky relationship. The couple welcomed their son James in 2018, but by July 2019,
Amber was arrested on domestic battery charges. As TMZ reported, Andrew locked himself in
a room with their son while Amber hacked at the door with a machete — some of which
was caught on security camera.
The couple split in 2019, and immediately launched into a highly contentious custody
battle. According to The Sun, Andrew is the primary custodian. But that hasn't stopped
the drama. In one instance, when Amber texted Andrew a picture of a sore on James' lip,
Andrew posted it to Instagram Stories, allegedly writing:
"You hit your baby boy?... Really?!"
According to the outlet, Amber's legal team called the comments "false and defamatory."
"This has all been hell."
In October 2021, Andrew demanded that Amber provide a drug test. In court papers, he claimed
that he had:
"Witnessed Amber under the influence of illegal drugs previously, specifically methamphetamine."
For her part, Amber continues to deny the claims.
"19 Kids and Counting" followed the wholesome lives of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, and
their many children. But when it came to their oldest son, Josh, things took a very dark
turn. According to The Sun, in 2015, news broke on allegations that he had molested
several girls when he was still a teen, including some of his sisters.
Josh married Anna Dugger in 2008 and the pair went on to welcome seven children together.
But in August 2015, reports aired that Josh had been using Ashley Madison, a website for
married people looking for affairs. He wrote on the family blog at the time,
"I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, I have
secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and this
became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife."
"I was just like, I'm gonna wake up and everything's gonna be ok, and this really — this can't
be true."
Anna stuck by his side and they enrolled in marriage counseling. Then, in April 2021,
Josh was arrested only days after announcing that Anna was pregnant with baby number 7.
According to People, that December, Josh was found guilty of possessing underage explicit
material. As of early 2022, he awaits sentencing.
Season 15 "Bachelorette" fans watched as Hannah Brown fell for musician Jed Wyatt. But it
was Hannah's parents who saw the red flags, suspecting that Jed wasn't financially secure
and was also not pursuing Hannah for the right reasons. Jed said on the show,
"It seems like they were mainly concerned with the financial aspect of our relationship.
They don't think I'm adequate or something."
"I thought it was gonna be one story and it's ended up being a completely different story."
As we know now, the parents were onto something. Shortly after Jed proposed in Greece, People
broke the news that he had a girlfriend, Haley Stevens, all along. Speaking for herself,
Haley told the outlet,
"He said, 'It’s probably not going to happen, but it’s a huge opportunity. I’m only
doing this for my music.' He only did it for his career."
For the record, Jed did kind of reveal to Hannah that he saw the show as a chance for
exposure, but then explained his change of heart, adding,
"I came in with that mindset, but every moment that we've had has taken that away and shown
me that now more than anything I want to be with you."
But Haley's story poked giant holes in the romantic facade Jed had constructed. On the
show, Hannah revealed that Jed had claimed he broke off his relationship seven days earlier.
But after the real story came to light, Hannah called the whole thing off.
"I'm gonna be like, 'Oh! OK. Oh, that thing? Oh, that time I cried, like, every other day?
Oh. This was totally worth it.'"
When Season 22 "Bachelor" Arie Luyendyk Jr. proposed to Becca Kufrin, everyone thought
it was meant to be. Except Arie. And two months later, he revealed his brutal change of mind,
telling Becca on camera that it was over. As Becca's heart broke in front of millions
of fans, Arie revealed he wanted to give things a shot with runner-up, Lauren Burnham.
Fan backlash was fast and intense, with most claiming Arie had been careless with Becca's
feelings. At the time, she told him,
"I feel like my future was ripped away."
Arie later apologized to Becca in front of a live audience — a gesture she graciously
accepted. But despite the crushing heartbreak, there's a happy ending for both Arie and Becca…
just not with each other.
"Also, there's, like, a lot more, I think, that I didn't ever know about that went down,
so it's like, at this part — point in my life, I'm like whatever."
Lauren and Arie are now happily married and are raising three children together. And Becca
went on to become "The Bachelorette" for Season 14, and chose Garrett. But when that ended,
she signed on for "Bachelor in Paradise" in 2021 and finally found forever love with Thomas
Jacobs. Well, at least it's lasted for more than two months.
Jon and Kate Gosselin became household names thanks to "Jon & Kate Plus Eight." The series
was a runaway hit, following the lives of two tired, bickering parents and their sets
of twins and sextuplets.
Then in 2009, Jon was photographed leaving a bar with 23-year-old Deanna Hummel. Deanna's
brother alleged that they had been having an ongoing affair. Jon denied the claims but
still admitted it was bad form to be out late with another woman.
But the airing of the photos prompted Kate to admit that they had been going through
a rough patch. She revealed to People in May 2009,
"I don't know that we're in the same place anymore, that we want the same thing."
After ten years of marriage, Jon and Kate announced that they were divorcing the following
month. That September, Jon hit the talk show circuit, alleging to "Good Morning America"
that Kate had verbally belittled him throughout their marriage.
"I took a lot of abuse from her."
The two went back and forth in the press, with Jon claiming Kate was keeping the kids
away from him. But older daughter Mady finally set things straight, telling People in 2016,
"He makes it seem like we're being kept from him, which is insane. He should maybe spend
some time thinking about why we don't want to see him [...] talking about us on TV is
not the way to make that happen."
Meghan King and Jim Edmonds appeared on Bravo's "Real Housewives of Orange County," where
fans watched them endure all the ups and downs. The couple faced fertility issues but were
finally able to conceive through IVF. And together they welcomed a daughter and twin
boys.
But during Meghan's pregnancy with the twins in June 2019, allegations regarding Jim's
infidelity hit the press. According to Us Weekly, he reportedly sent out explicit photos
and videos on the same day that Meghan was in labor. Jim denied the accusations, claiming,
"Regrettably, I had a lapse in judgment. I engaged in an inappropriate conversation with
this person. At no time was there any type of relationship or physical contact. I never
had any sort of a physical relationship outside of my marriage with her or anyone else."
"I can't even say what has happened when I'm not there."
But in October 2019, Jim filed for divorce. Meghan accused him of having an affair with
their 22-year-old nanny. In a blog post, Meghan explained,
"To be clear, I don't know if Jim slept with our babysitter or whether they were just being
exceedingly inappropriate by hanging out socially without either of them telling me (and Jim
expressly lying to me about it). […] I am broken for my family. I am buried in despair."
Clare Crawley has truly been unlucky in love on the "Bachelor" franchise. The stylist first
appeared on Season 18 of "The Bachelor," where Juan Pablo Galavis invited her to share the
fantasy suite.
But while things appeared to be going well between the couple, Juan Pablo said something
privately to her during one of their dates that didn't go over well. Clare recalled on
the show,
"What I thought was going to be sweet, kind, loving words was not what came out of his
mouth, and I'm shocked. He chose to tell me something that no woman wants to hear. That
he doesn't know me, and some sexual thing, I don't even want to repeat it. It was insulting,
it was offensive, and it just made me feel awful."
Ultimately, Juan Pablo proposed to Clare's closest competition, Nikki Ferrell. And when
he told Clare, she gave him such a shakedown that it became part of the fabric of Bachelor
Nation. She said,
"I thought I knew what kind of man you were. I lost respect for you. What you just made
me go through? I would never want my children having a father like you."
"At the end of the day, I listened to my gut, I followed my gut, and it didn't lead me astray."
And — just to top off the trainwreck of a season — things didn't work out between
Juan Pablo and Nikki, either.
Kendra Wilkinson is no stranger to reality TV. The blonde bombshell made her debut with
E!'s "Girls Next Door" in 2005, offering fans a glimpse at life inside the Playboy mansion.
"People assume that we are all s—ks."
After the show, Kendra moved on from Hef with NFL star Hank Baskett. The two got married
at the mansion in June 2009, and with that, the sporty reality star became the familiar
face of her very own brand new reality series, "Kendra," which featured her daily life with
Hank and their growing family.
But things got difficult for the couple in 2010, when an explicit tape was leaked of
the former Girl Next Door long before she knew Hank. She said on an episode of their
show,
"It's hard on him because it involves another guy, of course, and it's hard on him because
of our son and everything."
But Hank wasn't a completely innocent party in the relationship. In July 2014, news broke
that he had cheated on a very pregnant Kendra with model Ava Sabrina London, according to
Us Weekly. Denying that anything actually went on between himself and Sabrina, Hank
also admitted to People at the time,
"I messed up. I put myself in a bad situation. And everything through me brought pain upon
this family. […] This person came to me and touched me."
"I mean, what can I do? What am I supposed to do?"
For her part, Kendra forgave her hubby after the incident. But in February 2015, during
her stint on "I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here," she kissed her co-star Jimmy Bullard.
Three years later, in 2018, Kendra and Hank ultimately announced that they were splitting
for good. The pair have since remained civilized co-parents to their two children.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National
Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources,
and support at their website.