The 20 Biggest Reality TV Show Scandals That Were Almost Too Crazy to Be True

Dance Moms star Abby Lee Miller was sentenced to a year and a day in prison by the federal court in May 2017 for concealing assets from the bankruptcy court. She was also sentenced due to one count of failing to report an international currency transaction.

Aside from her prison sentence, attorney Soo C. Song also announced the imposition of two years of supervised release, a $40,000 fine, and a $120,000 money judgment during the ruling.

A few months later, she underwent an emergency surgery after experiencing an excruciating neck pain and weakness in her arm. Her doctors soon determined that her unusual infection was Burkitt lymphoma, a form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Fixer Upper stars Chip and Joanna Gaines are no longer strangers to legal battles as they faced issues several times in the past.

In one incident, Magnolia Realty co-founders John L. Lewis and Richard L. Clark sued the pair and accused Chip of defrauding them. Lewis and Clark said in the $1 million lawsuit that the reality star pressured them into selling their shares for only $2,500 in May 2013.

"At a time when only the defendants knew that 'Fixer Upper' had been fast-tracked for a one-hour premiere on HGTV and was on the verge of radically changing their lives and business enterprises, Chip Gaines conspired to eliminate his business partners — notwithstanding their longstanding friendship — to ensure that he alone would profit from Magnolia Realty's association with 'Fixer Upper,'" the lawsuit read, per USA Today.

After running for five seasons, the couple decided to end the show in April 2018 because of the stress it put on their family.

In February 2020, a judge dismissed the lawsuit and officially sealed the case records. The duo's representative, John Marsicano, told Waco Tribune-Herald they were thankful for the verdict on the "meritless" case.

On April 24, 2017, Chris Soules rear-ended a tractor being driven by Kenneth Mosher, a retired factory worker and farmer, while riding on his truck. Since the tractor did not have an enclosed cab, the victim ended up rolling into a ditch near the scene, where the Bachelor star performed CPR and called 911.

While he waited for the paramedics to arrive, he left the scene before he was able to give a statement to the police. Thus, it resulted in a violation of Iowa law that carries a sentence of up to five years in prison. He pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, which has two years of maximum imprisonment.

After two years, Judge Andrea Dryer sentenced him to a suspended prison sentence and probation for two years each. The court also ordered him to pay $2.5 million as part of the wrongful death lawsuit.

Following the tragic accident, he told People he would carry the memory forever.

"I'll live with [what happened] forever," he said. "But I will carry on, and as a result of the tragedy, do something bigger and better with my life."

In 2017, Bachelor in Paradise's run almost ended after the scandal between Corrine Olympios and Demario Jackson emerged. The former contestants reportedly had a sexual encounter while Olympios' judgment was impaired after consuming alcohol.

The show caught the incident on camera, leading ABC and producer Warner Horizon to conduct a probe and suspend the production.

After the controversy, Olympios clarified that her prescription medication caused her to blackout, and she was not blaming her costar for what happened. Meanwhile, Jackson insisted that everything was consensual between them.

Heidi Montag underwent extreme plastic surgeries in one day, leaving her fans in deep shock.

The reality TV star admitted to receiving ten procedures in one day in 2010; she was only 23 then. The surgeries include rhinoplasty revision, facial fat injections, chin reduction, otoplasty, a brow lift, and chest augmentation.

"I was also on TV where every perceived flaw is amplified," she told Cosmopolitan. "I think I looked in the mirror a little too much. I wish I had waited and not made a decision so young because I have long-term health complications."

Jon and Kate Gosselin denied rumors that they cheated on each other during their marriage, but they split following the shocking development.

The Jon & Kate Plus 8 stars shared their lives as a couple and parents to sextuplets and twins from 2007 to 2009. But after their divorce, they got embroiled in custody battles over their children.

As of press time, Jon has custody of Hannah and Colin, while Kate currently lives with Joe, Mady, Cara, Leah, Aaden, and Alexis.

19 Kids and Counting was canceled after 15 seasons after one of its stars, Josh Duggar, got involved in a damaging case related to child molestation. InTouch Weekly shared in May 2015 a police report showing that he had been investigated after molesting five underage girls.

Duggar's parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, told Fox News that their son also abused four of their daughters and a babysitter. The revelation led to the cancelation of the TLC reality show, though it was soon replaced with Counting On.

In May 2022, the embattled former reality TV star was convicted of receiving child pornography and was sentenced to 12 1/2 years in prison.

Juan Pablo Galavis lost his supporters when he offered anti-gay remarks during his interview with TheTVPage.com writer Sean Daly.

The interviewer asked him if it would be good to welcome a gay or bisexual bachelor to the series, to which he responded safely at first before stirring controversy.

"There's this thing about gay people," he continued. "It seems to me, you know, and I don't know if I'm mistaken or not. I have a lot of friends like that, but they're more pervert in a sense and to me the show will be too strong, too hard to watch on TV."

He issued an apology statement afterward, but he still earned the "worst Bachelor" nickname following the incident.

Two years after their wedding, Justin Hartley shocked Chrishell Stause when he filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.

Stause addressed their split in Season 3 of Selling Sunset, saying that her estranged husband blindsided and informed her about the divorce via text message.

Things worsened between Kenya Moore and Porscha Williams when The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 12 started.

Moore once explained that Williams accused her of lying, although their fight somewhat toned down while they embraced motherhood. However, their beef soon led to a legal battle after the pair got into a physical altercation in one of the series' episodes.

"She is charged with one misdemeanor count of simple battery stemming from an incident that occurred during the taping of the Real Housewives of Atlanta Reunion episode," a representative told E! News at that time. "Cast member Kenya Moore sought out the warrant and, although the claim is unfounded, Ms. Williams is fully cooperating with investigators and looks forward to clearing her name."

Southern Charm star Madison LeCroy became the center of attention after her costar, Danni Baird, revealed on the podcast "Reality Life With Kate Casey" that the reality TV star told her that she and Alex Rodriguez were "FaceTiming or something."

At that time, the athlete was still with Jennifer Lopez, but the then-couple called it off two months after the alleged affair broke.

LeCroy addressed the rumors in her appearance on Austen Kroll's "Pillows and Beer" podcast, saying that A-Rod established a connection with her in 2020 when he asked about gyms in her neighborhood.

"The dude who's dating [J Lo] is not in my DMs right now," she said. "I told [A-Rod], I said, 'If you're looking for a side chick,' which clearly he was, 'it wasn't gonna be me.' I'm wifey material."

Kroll supported her story and shared that Rodriguez kept on FaceTiming LeCroy around three to four times a day.

Meanwhile, a representative for the retired MLB player dismissed LeCroy's claims and blasted her over the false narratives.

Mama June's decision to date Mark McDaniel led to the cancelation of her show, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.

McDaniel is registered as a sex offender in Georgia after he was convicted of aggravated child molestation in 2004. He forced oral sex upon a then-8-year-old, later identified as the reality TV star's eldest daughter.

RadarOnline.com confirmed that Anna "Chickadee" Shannon told the police that the convicted molester forced her to perform an act on him. She then told Mama June about it but refused to believe her.

Following the dating buzz, TLC canceled Here Comes Honey Boo Boo but did not share the reason for the decision. However, part of its statement shared that "supporting the health and welfare of these remarkable children is our only priority. TLC is faithfully committed to the children's ongoing comfort and well-being."

Jersey Shore and Jersey Shore: Family Vacation star Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino served eight months in prison after getting indicted on tax evasion and concealing income charges.

His brother, Marc Sorrentino, was sentenced to two years in prison but was released early in September 2020.

Teen Mom OG let go of Farrah Abraham after the reality TV star performed a Halloween-themed explicit webcam show.

"It was all because of the porn," a source told Us Weekly. "They said it didn't fit with the brand. Farrah is upset."

Abraham confirmed the firing on Facebook, saying that MTV fired her due to her adult promotions and activities.

Blac Chyna could not keep up with the Kardashians while dating Rob Kardashian.

The ex-couple, who started dating in January 2016, got engaged in April before announcing they were expecting their first child together. The events prompted them to create their own show, Rob & Chyna, which was canceled after one season allegedly because of the Kardashians.

In response to the show's cancelation, the 35-year-old model sued the family and alleged she was a victim of battery, domestic violence and assault – though Rob denied all the claims.

After their breakup in 2017, Rob posted a private video of Chyna and was banned from Instagram afterward.

Vanderpump Rules always appears in headlines, but things got messier when Tom Schwartz's romance with Raquel Leviss became the highlight.

However, a report revealed on March 3 that James Kennedy's ex-fianceé was flirting with the other Tom on the show: Tom Sandoval. The scandal, which has since been dubbed as Scandoval, took a toll on Sandoval's almost decade-long romance with Ariana Madix.

A source told RadarOnline.com that Sandoval "folded like a suit" when Madix confronted him after seeing inappropriate text messages between him and Leviss.

"While no one fully knew it at the time, but the first signs that something fishy was happening emerged in July of last year," the source said. "Ariana feels completely blindsided by this. She didn't suspect anything. Others did though."

The Real Housewives of New Jersey stars Teresa and Joe Giudice filed for bankruptcy in October 2009 and claimed they owed creditors more than $10 million.

The pair, whose divorce filing was finalized in September 2020, admitted to hiding assets and submitting false loan applications to receive $5 million. Joe also confessed to failing to pay $200,000 in taxes.

Biggest Loser Jillian Michaels helped her team to lose weight by giving them caffeine supplements. However, it was revealed that she did it without a doctor's permission.

"I stand by my opinion, a caffeine supplement is significantly healthier than unlimited amounts of coffee," the celebrity trainer said. "My only regret is that my team, they're the ones suffering the consequences of my professional opinion."

Todd Chrisley and Julie Chrisley do not leave each other even after they were found guilty of tax evasion and defrauding community banks.

The prosecutors said the former Chrisley Knows Best stars declared bankruptcy but "flaunted their wealth and lifestyle to the American public."

They are both serving time at separate prisons.

Daily Mail reported that Tristan Thompson kissed an unidentified woman in New York City on April 7 while his then-partner, Khloé Kardashian, was pregnant with their daughter, True.

Page Six later confirmed that the woman in question was Lani Blair and that the pair spent four hours together at a nearby hotel while the Keeping Up With the Kardashians alum was preparing to deliver her child.

They went on to have an on-again, off-again relationship, and the Cleveland Cavaliers player continuously got involved in more cheating rumors over the past few years.