Reality Stars: Where are They now?
After the Show is even Harder than on Set
Shows like Survivor and Big Brother put the contestants through an emotional ride, to say the least.
Have you ever wondered just how those appearing on the shows are affected later on, after the money has been given out, and the so-called "reality stars" return to their regular lives?
We all hear the positive news of course. Trista and Ryan from the Bachelorette have just had their first child together and are busy living happily ever after.
Nicole Richie is now pregnant after the fifth season of The Simple Life has been cancelled.
But what of the seemingly devasted people who have left before winning?
Real World
Many Real World-ers have gone on to find lucrative careers in acting, or at least, hope to.
Reality Blurred, a noted reality show news web site reported that the Real World Chicago's Tonya Cooley is now appearing in a soft-core porn film on Cinemax.
Not really a surprise, since she had appeared in Playboy magazine before going on the show.
At least one member of the Real World Chicago is making a difference in lives, however.
The show's Chris Beckman has written a book about his experiences with alcoholism as a child and teen in Clean: A New Generation in Recovery Speaks Out.
Pure Hell
What about the tortured souls who have gone through hell in Hell's Kitchen, the show where the host seems to try his best to beat down the contestants' self esteem to the point of breaking?
Well for one winner, Heather West, the winner of season three, her future hasn't quite panned out the way the show promised.
According to the restaurant Terra Rossa in the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, while West was promised the position of Executive Chef, she's simply a Senior Chef "working under the leadership of Executive Room Chef Renato DePirro." That's a direct quotation from the resort's official web site.
America's Next Top Nude?
America's Next Top Model, one of the most watched shows in North America is also one of the shows where it's pretty easy to picture the eliminated girls sliding into a deep depression.
One of the most contentious girls to appear on the show was Jael Strauss, in season eight. If you remember, she had a breakdown mid-show because a friend from home overdosed and died.
And she was constantly acting either extremely giddy and happy or severely depressed.
Well she's just entered a messy lawsuit with her former talent agent, according to reports by E Online.
Apparently, before going on the show, some nude pictures of Strauss were published in a book, and she says she did not authorize them.
"Strauss, who finished fifth earlier this year on Top Model's eighth cycle after Tyra & Co. decided that her looks couldn't compensate for her brash personality, alleges that her ex-agent, Christopher Donahue, allowed fellow plaintiff Baptiste to take erotic photos of the then-teenager and then signed off on the book without asking for permission from Strauss' parents," reported E Online.
While there are certainly many more reality stars who may have questionable lifestyles, you really have to wonder what effect the shows have had on them, or if it's simply the fact that they were already at risk for odd behaviour and are now just under the public microscope a little more.
Watch for more articles like this one on the other thousands of people who have been subject to the nation's discretion on Reality TV and what happened to them.
Sources www.realityblurred.com
www.redrocklasvegas.com
www.eonline.com
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