These reality shows have been accused of being staged

Vanderpump Rules had been accused of being staged long before Scandoval happened, but many critics accused Tom Sandoval and Ariana Maddix of faking their infamous breakup for the cameras. The two, particularly Maddix, have denied the allegations, saying that no one would put themselves through that kind of trauma for a reality show. 

So much about The Hills was questioned back when it was on MTV. Storylines, sets, and relationships between the cast have all come under fire at some point. The show’s creator, Adam DiVello, hasn’t maintained the best reputation among reality show buffs. 

Selling Sunset was accused of being staged from the minute fans saw who created the show. Adam DiVello is responsible for creating both The Hills and Selling Sunset, so the latter didn’t have a chance of being believed as genuine with his name attached. 

We’ve got to be honest. It’s easy to see why audiences would accuse Bridezillas of being staged. Are there actually that many women willing to behave so horrendously in front of a camera? No Bridezillas star gained widespread fame from the show, which makes the brides’ actions even more confounding. 

Critics of the Kardashians say everything about their lives is fake. Why wouldn’t they go after the family’s reality show, too? Staged or not, we’ve gained plenty of entertainment and loads of cultural touchstones from the show, and that’s enough to make it a good reality series as far as we’re concerned. 

Just about every Real Housewives city has been accused of being staged. There’s always one storyline that makes fans wonder how genuine the show is. Many a new Housewife has said that the most surprising part of joining the show was learning just how real it is, so do with that information what you will. 

Parts of Dance Moms might have been staged, but what’s genuine is the love the dancers have for each other. Even to this day, the girls are friends with each other, and they’ve supported one another as they’ve pursued careers beyond the Abby Lee Dance Company. 

We hope and pray that Catfish: The TV Show is staged because it’s hard to stomach that there are so many predators alive and well on the internet. The world is scary enough as it is. We don’t need any more people faking their identities. 

Show creators will always deny allegations that their series is staged, but the Love Is Blind creator so ardently believes the show is genuine that he shared that he and other producers feared there’d be no engagement in the first season. Staged or not, the show is super popular and has plenty of award nominations to show for itself. 

House Hunters might be staged, but if it is, we don’t care. It doesn’t matter. No one watches House Hunters for the drama of which house the couple might pick. They watch it to see the houses and to criticize the couple for having an absurd list of wants on a far too low budget. 

It’s obvious why there are skeptics of Long Island Medium, right? Hundreds of millions of people — perhaps more — doubt that mediums are real and claim they’ve all learned how to dupe susceptible people with specific tactics. If she’s making it up, the Long Island Medium is laughing all the way to the bank because that show has made her lots of money. 

According to some sources, three of the four sister wives from Sister Wives haven’t been in a relationship with Kody Brown since as early as 2016. If that’s the case, the show certainly isn’t staged anymore because those three wives are now either publicly divorced from Brown or publicly single. 

If Bravo had a dollar for every time someone accused the network of faking a show, it’d have millions of dollars, but it’d still be making more in ad revenue. Suffice it to say, the Bravoholics’ smallest concern is whether the storylines are fake. They care far more about who Shep and Austen are hooking up with. 

Contestants of Naked and Afraid have said that it’s staged, which gives lots of life to the theory that it’s a fake reality show. If one part of it is genuine, it’s the show’s title. Most people would be very afraid if they were naked on national television. 

Many reality shows have been accused of being staged, but only the most dramatic ones are accused of being scripted. Basketball Wives falls into the latter category, and a former cast member, Tanya Young, has gone so far as to confirm that the show is scripted. 

If any of these shows are staged, we’re most okay with it being The Voice. At the very least, the people on the show are talented, and that counts for something. 

Every reality show, to an extent, is staged. It couldn’t be filmed without some forethought and planning. Undercover Boss has been accused of being staged, but many who’ve participated in the show have vouched for its authenticity, noting that very little of the show is contrived. 

One staged aspect of Pawn Stars is the people who bring their treasures to the store to be pawned. The show doesn’t let just anyone walk in and be filmed. Those people have to be approved by the network. What happens after they’re approved, though, is totally genuine. 

If you think The Bachelor is fake, maybe you’re just not a romantic. Or maybe you’re dead on. Who’s to say, really? We do agree that many of the contestants are there for the wrong reasons. Signing up for The Bachelor or The Bachelorette is now just a step on the way to a lucrative career in influencing. 

The Biggest Loser has been criticized so much — whether people think it's fake is likely the least of its worries. Many an internal investigation of the show has been ordered, and it’s honestly remarkable it ran for as long as it did.