10 Reality Stars With Shocking Pasts

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When it comes to reality stars, we have to be honest: the wilder the better, and we’re not too picky about what they’ve gotten up to in the past so long as they can entertain us now. The celebs on this list have done just that. They’ve amused us on-screen, and their shocking antics off screen have inspired tabloid headlines. This list countdowns those reality stars with shocking, mostly illegal, pasts.

10. Chris Soules

This Bachelor babe may not be the “prince farming” we originally thought. Since he’s “danced with the stars” certain truths have come to light about the Iowa native. He has been arrested and charged with numerous crimes throughout his life including measly speeding charges all the way up to operating a vehicle while intoxicated in 2006. Both Whitneys seemed to have dodged bullet.

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9. Steve-O

Steven Glover, better known by the nickname Steve-O, is the notorious Jackass star who has had his fair share of legal drama. In 2002, the prankster was arrested and charged for obscenity and assault and sentenced to one year of supervised probation. The following year he was arrested in Sweden for possession of marijuana and ecstasy. In 2008, he was charged once more with vandalism and possession of a controlled substance. Looks like the MTV series was aptly named.

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8. Fantasia Barrino

Fantasia may have won American Idol and some Grammys over the years, but this songstress shared the truth about her devastating past in her memoir, Life is Not a Fairy Tale. Fantasia recalls being raped in the ninth grade by her classmate. The incident proved to be too much and the young talent dropped out of high school before giving birth to her first child, Zion at age 17. The memoir has since been turned into a Lifetime original movie, in which Fantasia plays herself. There’s no better revenge than success.

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7. “Dog the Bounty Hunter”

Mr. Duane Chapman is famous for taking down criminals and then lifting their drug induced spirits with hope and motivational words. But regardless of the seemingly feigned bad-boy turned good-boy image, Dog’s persona is legit and his early years were actually spent in a biker gang wreaking havoc. Dog was a member of the outlaw motorcycle gang called the Devils Diciples (intentionally misspelled) and it is believed that he committed at least 18 armed robberies during his stint with the club. He was also charged and convicted of first-degree murder of a drug dealer in the 1970s. According to the Bounty Hunter, he was not responsible for the murder, but was waiting in a car for his friend to score some bud. Instead of paying, his friend murdered the dealer and Dog wound up serving 18 months for first degree murder.

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6. Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra

Teen Mom Catelynn Lowell and her boyfriend Tyler Baltierra released their deep dark secrets in a tell-all book, Conquering Chaos, which documents everything from their initial crushes on each other, to their unhealthy sexual exploits and drug use. Tyler reveals his unhealthy obsession with physical intimacy which stemmed from being molested by his sister’s friend when he was 9. Catelynn stated that she grew up in a home that was “all parties and drinking” and that her mother had many, sometimes abusive boyfriends. From what the couple recall, drugs were always a part of their lives, and they would get high all day. The couple have recently seemed to have turned their lives around. They have a daughter, Novalee and are vocal advocates for adoption.

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5. NeNe & Gregg Leakes

This couple seems to share a sordid past; how romantic! The Real Housewives of Atlanta star engaged in some pretty serious criminal activity for approximately three years in the early to mid-1990s. In 1992, NeNe was convicted for “Theft of Service” for defrauding a phone company and was arrested subsequently for probation violations. In 1995, the Dancing With the Stars celeb was arrested again for writing bad checks. Similarly, Gregg Leakes has also reportedly been arrested for writing bad checks, as well as shoplifting and receiving stolen property. A match made in heaven!

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4. Teresa Giudice

This Real Housewife saw her criminal actions come to light after being charged with 41 counts of federal fraud. Teresa and her husband Joe Giudice were accused of everything from conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud to defrauding banks and tax evasion. While both of them were found guilty, they had the luxury of taking turns serving their sentences. Joe received 41 months and Teresa is to serve 15 months. But this hasn’t slowed down their popularity. The Real Housewives of New Jersey has continued to cast Teresa and have even focused on her legal drama. Now that Teresa is serving her sentence, it is said that she hosts viewing parties with her fellow inmates. Living the dream…

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3. Danielle Staub

New Jersey seems like an interesting town. This Real Housewife’s past was exposed back on season one with Mrs. Giudice at the forefront. Like everyone in Miami in the ’80s, Staub was using cocaine and was arrested and prosecuted on charges of possession and an alleged extortion plot with her boyfriend at the time. Staub, who was then known as Beverly Merrill, pled guilty to one charge of extortion and was sentenced to five years’ probation. Years later, Staub’s ex-husband, Kevin Maher, published a book titled Cop Without A Badge, made popular by the Real Housewives of New Jersey, in which he accuses Staub of being an escort and a stripper. All of this was unveiled by the housewife detective team who finally opened a book and confronted Staub in the infamous finale of the show’s first season.

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2. June Shannon

Mama June makes our list not because she has the most sordid past out there, but because she keeps the most sordid company. The woman does have her own arrest record for unpaid child support and was sued by her own daughter Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Shannon for unpaid appearances on Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, but her longtime boyfriend Mike “Sugar Bear” Thompson served a prison sentence in 1994 for burglary and possession of a firearm in 1998. To make matters worse, when the couple split Mama June was photographed with convicted sex offender Mark McDaniel. McDaniel served a 10 year prison sentence for aggravated child molestation against June’s own daughter Anna Shannon. I don’t know where June finds these gems, but the father of two of Honey Boo Boo’s siblings happens to be another sex offender, Michael Anthony Ford, who was caught for the world to see on How to Catch a Predator. And that ends our lesson on what not to do in life. Suddenly you feel a bit better about yourself…don’t lie.

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1. Josh Duggar

You obviously knew this “Christian” catch would make the top of our list. While Josh was busy judging everyone and defending family values, his life unraveled after years of his victim’s silence. In 2015, reports emerged that Josh had molested multiple under-aged girls, including two of his sisters, when he was a teenager. 19 Kids and Counting was cancelled after learning that Josh’s proclivities were known to his parents who felt they had dealt with it appropriately. In the recent Ashley Madison scandal, Josh’s sacred ways were once again exposed, as his infidelity to his wife, who had just given birth to their fourth child, became public record. I think it’s fair to say that this man’s holier-than-thou persona has been forever vanquished to the depths of the underworld where it belongs.

Photo by Patsy Lynch/REX Shutterstock

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Jessica Bowden

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