35 Behind-the-Scenes Stories from People Who Were on Reality Shows

‘They were filling empty vodka bottles with water’
35 Behind-the-Scenes Stories from People Who Were on Reality Shows

As we’ve collectively come to discover, reality shows are far from real. But it takes stories from people who were on the programs to explain exactly how not real they are. For instance, we all know that Ghost Hunters is fake, mainly because ghosts would never want to be on television. But it’s still shocking to find out that a disembodied voice saying “Get out!” was actually a property manager who was yelling at homeless people. It’s perhaps more shocking to find out how staged Jerry Springer was, because all of us know at least one person who could’ve gone on that show without any kind of embellishment. 

Regardless, Redditors have crawled out of the woodwork to explain the fakest parts of their reality-show careers, and if you’ve ever considered going on a home renovation show, these tales will make you change your mind.

ridemyscooter 9y ago My friend was on RuPauls drag race and he told me that the reason reality TV shows have so much backstabbing and drama is because the producers go around and spread as many rumors about everybody as they can and gossip to the contestants about what other contestants said, even if that's not the case, just to increase the drama and backstabbing which is a major reason a lot of people watch Reality TV shows. 5 ...
simpledave 11y ago The Kardashians film at a restaurant I used to work at. There's no reality to it whatsoever. Their film crew gets there 4 hours early, and they make everyone sign waivers consenting to be on camera. They mic up the immediate wait staff, set up their equipment (boom mics, multiple cameras, lighting, etc.), and post security at the entrances. After that, the stars show up, usually about 2-3 hours late, order some food that they don't eat, and then leave 30 minutes later. It's all coordinated days to weeks in advance with the owner and the GM.
body_talk 9y ago I had a small part on 90 Day Fiance last season. You wouldn't believe how much of the show is faked. The producers have an agenda for how you will be portrayed. The magic happens in editing. Splice together a shot of someone saying something with a few reaction shots (often shot on a different day), add some dramatic music and voila....DRAMA!!! 3 ...
9y ago I had a friend who worked on toddlers and tiaras. Не said they didn't do much in the shooting, if anything the people there tended to overact and play to the camera too much. The only thing he admitted to doing was when people asked what time it was, they would tell them they had 30 ,I mutes more than reality, so that people were constantly rushing,
elixanator 9y ago My dad was on some quiz show and you come back every week until you lose, but instead they just make you bring 7+ outfits and change between weeks and keep filming. 8 ...
kkkilla 9y ago My boss was on an episode of Millionaire Match Maker and said that most, if not all, the girls they had brought for him to interact with were already in committed relationships and were just there to be on television 10 ...
donkey-rapper . 9y ago Once on holiday I bumped into the cast of geordie shore ا ج (god awful show ) - filming. They were filling empty vodka bottles with water and then pretended to get drunk on camera. 9 ...
my_Favorite_post 9y ago Obligatory not me but... My cousin was on the B-team of the Apprentice ages ago. Before challenges go on the air, there's a B-team who runs them to check they are achievable goals. I've never seen the show, but I'd imagine it would be something like Open a business with $30 and the B-team would try to run the challenge to ensure it is possible. If not, they'd go back to the drawing board. 12 ...
9y ago I was on one of those new-home-renovation shows. What they don't tell you is that if it doesn't show on camera then they haven't done it; my bookcases wound up having crown molding on only two sides because the back side would never be seen on by the camera. 16 ...
7y ago I was on Miami Ink. The only parts that were staged were the entrances and exits to the shop. I had to do them a few times because the crowds surrounding the shop. I had to wear the same clothes twice too look like I did the tattoo in two session but the reality it was three eight hour sessions. Otherwise it was a really cool experience. Everyone in the shop was the same as in tv. Maybe a little forced drama for tv's sake but great experience. The work was great and behind the scenes staff
Demderdemden 7y ago Had a friend on an MTV show where one person goes on a date with two different people at the same time and they try and create conflict between the two daters and make them fight for the one person. Не said that it took forever to shoot because they were told to be themselves but they both absolutely hated the girl and kept making fun of her so there was very little conflict so they finally had to script things in for them to say. My friend won the Real date with the girl and she
Socialeprechaun 7y ago I'm a little late by my family was on World's Strictest Parents. We hosted two rebellious teenagers in our allegedly really strict home. No clue why they picked us bc we aren't psychos like most of the families I've seen on they show. Anyways, the producers were bummed bc the kids actually liked us and we got along with them, so the producers had to go up to the kids and convince them to get angry for no reason and cause drama. It was kind of pathetic. We're still close with the two teenagers and talk to
jontargaryenthefirst . 7y ago I worked with this guy who was on a TV show in England. Не said the show producers would tell him he would get more airtime if he was cheating on his partner instead of just being happy with his girlfriend. They just love the drama and don't care what it costs. 183 ...
CypressBreeze 7y ago . Edited 7y ago My boss was on as a guest judge. In the episode, one of the contestants sprained got injured. My boss was nice and all concerned, but they edited in a shot of her laughing, that was actually laughing at someone's joke from earlier. The filming session for that scene was 10 hours long. They edited it down to about 5 minutes. With that much footage, you can edit it into just about anything you want.
IIVIlatterz- 7y ago Edited 7y ago Obligatory not me but my cousin: She was on Hell's Kitchen and said that they would film for over 10 hours on a day, then would go to sleep around 11pm only to get woken up at 2am to film again to make them more irritable. The producers would purposely bring up topics to create drama within the chefs. They re-tapped when they answered the door in the beginning a couple times to make them seem more surprised. They portrayed my cousin as the classic hot blonde. It was certainly more of a reality
VAEllis804 7y ago I was on an episode of Wife Swap. One of the wives was a burlesque dancer, so her new husband had to MC a variety show of which she was the headliner. I was the juggler in that act. Full disclosure, I'm pretty sure all tape with me on it is on the cutting room floor. Anywho, pretty darn fake. The people are real, and lots of their interactions are real. But a TON of scenarios are staged. Ok, now we're going to plan the show, but make sure Wally (new husband) takes over. He'd never done
Lordidude 7y ago I was on a European version of Survivor where we went to an island and had to survive for 2 weeks. Whatever was seen on camera was what actually happening. The only fake thing is that we got some food to maintain a somewhat healthy diet. 15K ...
7y ago My uncle was on Pawn Stars attempting to sell something. The item wasn't even his. Не knew a guy who worked on the show. 8.3K ...
melizard89 7y ago Edited 7y ago Not me, but my best friend was on 16 & Pregnant. Now I don't know if this is always the case, but none of the drama on her episode was fabricated. However at one point, they did ask her to reenact a conversation that she had had with her mother off camera. The funny part is, they had her reenact it about a week after giving birth so she was no longer pregnant. To hide that, she wore a big sweatshirt and held a teddy bear in front of her tummy so you couldn't
mipster97 7y ago 0 Edited 7y ago My mate was on tattoo fixers if you don't know what it is, basically they get people in with tattoos they regret and make a design they don't tell them about, tattoo it on and cover the old one up and surprise them at the end. Не filmed the big surprise reveal like 5 times because he wasn't surprised enough. 19K ...
JurassicBasset 7y ago My cousin was involved in filming for the bachelor (not a contestant) and said they film many scenes in several different ways. For example they might film them cuddling while walking and then walking while looking annoyed and so on. Not that fake but yeah... 3.6K ...
elpajaroquemamais 7y ago Worked on love it or list it. The reactions at the time of the reveal of the house were meant to be real and they actually sign a contract saying they won't go in the house before renovations are complete. 99% of the work isn't done by the people shown doing the work on tv. It's done by subcontractors. The entire staff works until 1 or 2 am the night before filming to get the house ready. Most of the stuff they put in for design purposes was taken back after the shoot because it wasn't part
zombjosh . 11y ago A friends dad went to storage wars episode, they stage stuff in the storage lockers. 137 ...
frankicesca 7y ago I was on this morning when I was about 7 and they did a big makeover for me and my siblings. The premise they created was that we were a nightmare and my poor mum just wanted us to look smart for an upcoming christening. The main part I remember was them telling us to jump in the mud and shout no when our mum asked us to stop. Normally we wouldn't have dared so I remember that being fun! Oh and my sister ruined her hair three times before going on stage so they made us
bludgeonedd 11y ago I was on the show Trading Spaces Family on TLC. If you haven't seen it, basically you switch houses with a neighbor for a couple days and remodel one of the rooms in their house with a $1,000 budget, a designer, and a shared carpenter. On screen, they show just the families working, but behind the scenes there's like 6-10 other people that come in the room to expedite the process (i.e. Painting). Also, the catering was delicious and delivered right to the kitchen. And I was a fat little kid. 102 ...
silence1545 11y ago My cousin went on Judge Judy once (sued her ex-bf for something or other), and the producers told her things like, Make sure you tell her right away if the other person is lying, don't wait until she asks you and Don't make eye contact with her, it makes her mad. Having seen the show, she knew better and ignored everything they said. She won, but not after being berated by Judge Judy for being a liar even though she had all the evidence needed. 191 ...
Runeon12 11y ago I have a friend who used to frequently see filming of Jersey Shore live because he was from Jersey. Не says that they have scripts hanging above the camera and it's not really real. 667 ...
thewhits 4y ago I have a friend who worked as an editor for reality shows a few years back. The thing I remember him telling me is that because they shoot so much footage, he can make any storyline the producers want with it. 256 ...
scoreoneforme 11y ago A friend of mine was on that old MTV show Next. One guy, four girls. She was the first date off the bus. She's really pretty, and a super cool girl. She and the guy hit it off, and he offered her the second date or whatever. She accepted. But then the producers asked her to get back on the bus because they didn't get a good shot of her coming out of the bus originally. She went back on, waited for action. When she came off the second time, the guy yelled NEXT!! 690 ...
igottahavemypops 7y ago I was on Jerry Springer. The episode never aired but the entire thing was fake. They even asked me to find friends to complete the storyline of a double love triangle. Coolest part of it all was when they literally asked me if I wanted a fake doctors note or a fake death certificate made out in a fake family members name in order to get me out of work. They literally had a guy on staff whos only job was to get people out of work so they could attend filming. 7.5K ...
hopeuci - 11y ago Met someone on a plane once who was on House Hunters. After she purchased her new house, the show came and taped her viewing that house. Then they took her to two other houses to make it seem like she was going to pick between the three. In reality, she had bought a house before they even taped the show. 1.1K ...
Sallymoustacheride 11y ago I worked for a bakery that was on, and won, CupCake Wars. The premise of the show is to surprise the bakers with a few, more often than not, odd ingredients and see what they're really made of. In reality, we found out the ingredients a few months before the show. Had we not known, there's no doubt we'd have lost. There are definitely people who thrive under pressure, both in performance and creativity, and they have better things to do with their time than crank out cupcakes for Food Network. Tell an unprepared contestant they have
otisanek 7y ago My ex was scheduled to appear on Jerry Springer once. His girlfriend at the time was a topless dancer, and their show recruiters went to the club she was dancing at to pick up girls for upcoming episodes. She agreed to film, and managed to get a deal where my ex would get to appear on the show with her. Behind the scenes negotiations involved coming up with a storyline and light scripting (the plot would be that he was appearing on the show to propose to his stripper girlfriend, and she would reveal that she was
BosskHogg 7y ago I was on set for a filming go Ghost Hunters in Buffalo. On the show, they are investigating an upper level of the Buffalo Central Terminal when they hear a disembodied voice say Get out! It was the property manager on a lower level yelling at some homeless people to clear out. Everyone knew it was him, but it somehow made it in the show as an unexplained event. 24K ...
BearCubDan . 9y ago The producers of Intervention make it their mission to make every interviewee cry. 3 ...

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