9 Biggest Reality TV Scandals of 2015

Published on December 1, 2015. Updated August 28, 2019

Cate

Reality TV thrives on scandals — and this year was no exception. Here are eight of the biggest reality TV scandals we got to witness this year:

9. Kaitlyn Bristowe Gets Intimate On Bachelorette

Former Bachelorette star, Kaitlyn Bristowe came suffered a lot of judgement from fans and the media when she was intimate with one of her suitors on the show. She received a huge amount of backlash and found herself having to defend her actions. Kaitlyn and her supporters argued there was a double standard because if she were a man she wouldn’t have suffered such scrutiny. It’s true, she’s not the first person to become intimate with a contender early on in the season, but she is the first one to be completely open about it and publicly admit it. Typically bachelors/bachelorettes’ aren’t intimate with their suitors until the final episodes in the Fantasy Suite.

Photo by KCR/REX Shutterstock

8. Scott Disick Cheating Scandal

In July, reality star Kourtney Kardashian broke up with Scott Disick, her longtime boyfriend and the father of her three young children: Mason, Penelope and Reign. Scott has long been a notorious partier, and this year, more and more rumors of his infidelity spread as Scott was seen with his former girlfriend Chloe Bartoli. He’s been in and out of rehab multiple times, including a stint at a rehab facility in Costa Rica in March. “He’s doing well, and you know, focusing on himself and working on himself,” Kourtney told E! News at the time. “He’s made a lot of progress, so I’m proud of him.” But ultimately it just wasn’t enough, since the couple called it quits around the Fourth of July. Soon after their breakup, Scott made headlines when he was found frolicking around with 18-year-old model Lindsay Vrckovnik.With the recent release of season 11 of KUWTK, Kourtney opened up about the demise of their relationship: “I’m literally on the verge of a mental breakdown. I can’t believe that this is where my life is at right now.” She said, “I’ve worked so hard to keep this family together, it just makes me sad for the kids. He’s not being a good partner to me. I could never rely on him, depend on him for one single thing and I don’t want to show my kids that that’s okay,” she says, while tearing up. We’ll see if it lasts.

7. Kim Richards Gets Arrested For Shoplifting

Former Hollywood actress and now reality star on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Kim Richards seems impossibly wealthy, or at least at some point she was — but that didn’t stop her from shoplifting at a Los Angeles-area Target store this past August. According to Entertainment Tonight, after getting three carts worth of items but only paying for some of them (Kim was suspected of stealing a shopping cart full toys and merchandise valued at $1,000), Kim was placed under citizen’s arrest and spent the night in jail. She was later booked and released after posting $5,000 bail. She’s been in and out of treatment for an alcohol addiction and was also arrested at the Beverly Hills Hotel for public intoxication when she relapsed.

Photo by Broadimage/REX

6. RHOC: Brooks Ayers Faked Cancer Reports

The Bravo series of real housewives is notorious for bringing the drama, but this year’s season of Real Housewives of Orange County was more than just a little bickering between ladies, a big scandal was uncovered involving veteran housewife Vicki Gunvalson and her now ex-boyfriend Brook Ayers. Throughout the season, Brook and Vicki publicly portrayed his apparent battle with stage-3 cancer. His diagnosis was questioned by the other women on the show, but the couple relentlessly disputed their claims and fought tooth and nail to prove his bad health. In an interview with the media, Brooks provided ‘proof’ in the form of medical documents for his treatment at cancer hospital City of Hope. But after more questioning from the media, Brooks eventually admitted he fabricated the medical documents. Vicki later revealed in a RHOC reunion special that she covered for Brooks a lot and isn’t even sure if he has cancer. Despite all of this, he continues to maintain he has cancer, but refuses to discuss it publicly.

Bravo

5. Jenelle Evans Gets Arrested

Trouble seems to follow Jenelle Evans, the star of MTV’s reality show Teen Mom 2. According to Us Weekly, in August, the 23 year-old reality star was arrested for allegedly assaulting ex-fiance Nathan Griffith’s new girlfriend when she and Nathan came to Jenelle’s house in Myrtle Beach to pick up some of Nathan’s things. “She was assaulted by her boyfriend’s ex, who threw a drinking glass at her head, causing injury,” the police report said. Jenelle, who has previously been arrested for domestic violence, was charged with third-degree assault. Jenelle and Nathan were formally engaged but split up in March, resulting in a fight that got so bad the police were called. They later got back together in June and then broke up again. The couple are parents to son Kaiser and Jenelle also has a 6 year-old son, Jace, from a previous relationship.

Source: Us Magazine

4. Teresa Giudice Goes To Prison

Long-time reality star of Real Housewives of New Jersey and cookbook author Teresa Giudice pleaded guilty to multiple counts of fraud alongside her husband, Joe Giudice in 2014. Teresa was originally known for her hot-headed temper and bickering attitude toward her brother Joe and his wife Melissa, but this she’s infamous for her time behind bars in a federal prison. Teresa began her sentence on Jan. 5 when she turned herself in to serve a 15-months. Her sentence has since then been reduced to 12-months for good behavior. She will be getting out a couple days before Christmas and later Joe is set to serve his 41-month sentence in March 2016. The reality stars are both parents to four girls, Gia, Gabriella, Milania and Audriana.

MediaPunch / Rex

3. Leah Messer Gets Treatment and Loses Custody of Kids

Leah Messer is an MTV reality star who began making headlines in 2015 after she checked into a 30-day stint at a treatment facility for anxiety and depression. After a new season of Teen Mom aired this summer, it became evident that Leah was on a downward spiral. She was suspected of having an addiction to prescription drugs after dozing off in the middle of conversations, speaking incoherently and in one episode she even kept her children up until the late hours of the night. Even after her rehab stint, rumors and odd behavior on the show she has never admitted to abusing drugs. More recently, Leah has been in the news for losing custody of her 5-year-old twins to former husband Corey Simms and his wife Miranda. She lost custody on Oct. 7 after Corey accused her of tardiness and not getting the girls to school on numerous occasions. The exes had always bickered on the show, but recently the arguments have become quite serious. Corey has alleged Leah abuses drugs, he’s voiced concerns for the safety of his children and battled over child support payments which he believes don’t always go toward his children. Leah has previously always had full-custody of her children. She also shares a 2-year-old girl, Adalynn with her ex-husband Jeremy Calvert. The two divorced this year after continuous bickering and her apparent ‘spending problem.’

Source: www.usmagazine.com

2. Josh Duggar Sexual Abuse Scandal Revealed

One of the biggest scandals to hit the news in 2015, revolved around reality star Josh Duggar, the eldest son of Michelle and Jim Bob on TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting. It was revealed that he sexually abused underage girls in 2002 and 2003, including four of his sisters. Josh’s father went to a state trooper to report this, but Josh was never arrested nor was a police report filed. “Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret,” Josh, now 27, said in a statement to People magazine. “I hurt others, including my family and close friends. I confessed this to my parents who took several steps to help me address the situation. We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing, and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling.” Josh’s wife Anna, who was expecting his fourth child at the time, stuck by his side. She said that he confessed the molestation to her before they got engaged. TLC decided to cancel 19 Kids and Counting after news of Josh’s past surfaced. After the child molestation scandal was revealed, we also found out that he had two paid accounts with Ashley Madison, the infidelity website that you can use to have an affair. He paid almost $1,000 to the site, including the amount required for an “affair guarantee.” In a statement on his family’s website, Josh called himself “the biggest hypocrite ever,” adding, “While espousing faith and family values, I have been unfaithful to my wife. I am so ashamed of the double life that I have been living and am grieved for the hurt, pain and disgrace my sin has caused my wife and family, and most of all Jesus and all those who profess faith in Him.”

1. Bruce Jenner Becomes Caitlyn Jenner

It might not really be a “scandal,” but Bruce Jenner’s transition to become a woman and redefining himself as Caitlyn Jenner is probably reality TV’s biggest news of the year. America’s greatest male athlete and Olympic champion transitioned into a woman. Bruce (now Caitlyn) revealed he has always identified as a woman, but it came as a shock to many people. Even people who had never seen an episode of E!’s Keeping Up With The Kardashians tuned into Caitlyn’s inspiring and revealing interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC News’ 20/20 in April. “I would say I’ve always been confused with my gender identity,” Caitlyn said. But when Diane asked, “Are you a woman,” Caitlyn responded, “Yes, for all intents and purposes, I am a woman.” The Olympian immediately became the face of the transgender community, and knew that her announcement would have a big impact. “I am going to change the world,” she declared. “My whole life has been getting me ready for this. It’s not just been the past few years as they’ve been treating me as a joke.” Caitlyn has now gone on to receive many awards and plenty of recognition for her work in the transgender community. After splitting from Kris, she left Keeping Up with the Kardashians and now has her own reality TV show called I Am Cait.

Source: Vanity Fair. Photo by: Annie Leibovitz