Admit it: you’ve been had at some point in the past, haven’t you?
You thought what you were watching on reality television was 100% real, only to later learn the devastating truth.
We’ve all been there. And now we can all be here: relive the most shocking reality TV show hoaxes in history below…
Dance Moms
We’ll just let Maddie Ziegler, arguably the show’s top performer, lay it right out for you, courtesy of an interview with USA Today: “The producers set it up to make us all yell at each other. You know how I said that moms do fight? The moms have a fake fight sometimes. Afterward they just start talking and laugh about it.” Host Abby Lee Miller really does suck, however. that’s not fake.
House Hunters
Bobi Jensen blogged in 2012, on a site titled “Hooked on Houses,” that her experience on House Hunter was totally contrived. Turns out, the couple had selected its home prior to appearing on the show and producers even changed Jensen’s story over why she was moving.
Breaking Amish
Can we change the title of this TLC series to “Having Already Broken Amish?” After the very first episode aired, it came out that most participants had already left their Amish family for the bright lights of the big city.
Storage Wars
Dave Hester, a prominent presence on A&E’s Storage Wars, left production and sued the network over the phony aspects of the show. He said producers loaded units up with items to give each episode an artificial angle and that they even funneled money to teams to keep each episode’s bidding competitive.
Ghost Adventures
Ghost Adventures star Aaron Goodwin was fired in 2014 after he stopped by the podcast Are We Alone and explained how the network staged reactions, sound effects and other aspects of the program. He said it was “sickening” that he was part of such a “fraud.”
The Hills
Lauren Conrad, Brody Jenner and other cast members have come out and said pretty much everything you saw on this MTV reality show as scripted. Shocking, we know!
Dinner: Impossible
Robert Irvine was the star of Dinner: Impossible on the Food Network… until it came out that he lied about such life events as making a wedding cake for Prince Charles and Princess Di. He was pulled off the show, but later brought back by Food Network to take part in various programs.
Born Survivor: Bear Grylls
Man vs. Wild airs on Channel 4 in the UK and is called Born Survivor: Bear Grylls. It’s about this British military veteran being dropped into harsh landscapes and surviving on his own… except the network had to come out and admit Bear occasionally stayed on hotels overnight and got help from his crew.
Lizard Lick Towing
Lizard Lick Towing is a real show. It centers around a towing company down south. But Bobby Brantley, who played the “muscle” for Lizard Lick Towing & Recovery, later told a Virginia TV station that owner Ron Shirley asked him to fabricate altercations for producers.
The Pickup Artist
The Pickup Artist featured some dude named Mystery (seriously!) and depicted how he helped nerdy men try to pick up members of the opposite sex. But one ex-contestant told Jezebel that he was chosen through a talent agency and the producers barely even tried to act as if they weren’t shaping the outcome in favor of Mystery winning the grand prize.
Cribs
Well, one Crib in particular. When MTV took viewers inside the home of Ja Rule for this behind-the-scenes series, it turns out they were taking viewers behind the scenes of the rapper’s RENTED home.
Couples Therapy
Farrah Abraham tried to bring a fake boyfriend on to Couples Therapy. Irwin Entertainment, the production company behind the series, actually filed against Brian Dawe, the phony boyfriend, for misrepresenting his relationship.
Keeping Up with the Kardashians
Do we have proof that everything you see on Keeping Up with the Kardashians is as fake as Kylie Jenner’s lips? No. But come on, people! Open your eyes.