Reality TV is all about the drama, but there have been a few times in reality TV history that the drama got a little too real and things went too far. From people faking a real life tragedy in order to get ahead on a competition show to a special episode that changed the way reality TV has functioned ever since, there are a few times in reality TV history where the standard level of reality TV drama was taken to a new level and things got serious.
To see 5 times that reality TV drama went way too far, keep reading.
1. Johnny Fairplay's "dead grandma" play (Survivor)
In 2003, Johnny Fairplay solidified himself in reality TV history. During the "loved ones" challenge in Survivor: Pearl Islands, Johnny Fairplay broke down in tears at the sight of his friend, Dan, walking onto the beach to greet him and then explained to the other players that his loved one visit would either be his grandmother or his friend. Since his friend came to see him, that meant that his grandmother had passed away while he was on the island. As it turned out, his grandmother was alive and well and lived for over two decades after he made this move to get some pity and get ahead in the game.
2. Taylor Armstrong's abusive marriage (RHOBH)
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills has never been short on drama, but things were taken to a new level early in the show when Taylor Armstrong's marriage to her late husband, Russell Armstrong, was made a major storyline on the show. the image of Taylor Armstrong being comforted by Kyle Richards during a fight has been memorialized as the "woman yelling at cat" meme on the internet now, but in the context of the show, her fight with Camille Grammer over the rumors of her abusive relationship was seriously dark.
3. Puck Rainey's eviction from the house (The Real World: San Fransisco)
In 1994, MTV aired the third season of their groundbreaking reality TV series The Real World. This season, The Real World: San Francisco, featured Pedro Zamora, an openly gay housemate and AIDs activist and David “Puck” Rainey. Throughout the season, Puck Rainey was often antagonistic toward Pedro Zamora to the point that the other housemates chose to vote to evict him, making Puck Rainey one of the first contestants to be removed from The Real World for bad behavior. Because Pedro Zamora passed away at the age of 22 just after the season finished airing, it added a particular stain to Puck Rainey's legacy as a Real World cast member.
4. Dan Gheesling's "funeral" (Big Brother)
Dan Gheesling appeared on Big Brother seasons 10 and 14 and during his second stint on the long-running reality TV series, Dan Gheesling decided to do something drastic to save himself from being evicted: staged a funeral for himself. Dan Gheesling's "funeral" has become an iconic moment in Big Brother history, but the fact that he used such a drastic and emotional tactic in order to manipulate his fellow houseguests in order to save his own presence in the game was too far.
5. Trista and Ryan's TV wedding (The Bachelorette)
Trista Rehn was the lead of the first season of The Bachelorette and at the end of her season, she chose to tie the knot with Ryan Sutter. Because this was the first Bachelorette, ABC made sure to capitalize on their nuptials, airing a special called Trista & Ryan's Wedding. Today, Trista and Ryan are still happily married, but they marked a major change in the future of reality TV as it started the trend of Bachelor franchise televised weddings and proved that there is a big market for commercialized, televised wedding events.