How often do couples stay together after they have their own reality television show?

Not often. I think the cameras and editing tend to highlight the negative.

Splits: Jon and Kate, Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler, Carmen Electra and Dave Navarro, Hulk Hogan and Linda, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro and Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola from Jersey Shore’s, 13 or the 14 Bachelor couples, Jesse James and Kat Von D, The Girls Next Door and Hugh Hefner, 7 divorces from The Real Housewives, Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, Kathy Griffin and Matt Moline, Danny and Gretchen Bonaduce, Bam Margea and Missy, Jenni Pulos and Chris Elwood from Flipping Out,

Hits: Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne

I’m proud to say I don’t have a clue.

Reality show are my guilty pleasure. Like reading the National Enquirer.

@bkcunningham You never mentioned the Duggars. Don’t tell me THEY split? Who got stuck with the 19 or so kids? Did they split them?

More reality show successes:
Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich
Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca
Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed

Failures:
Flavor Flav and everybody
Brett Michaels and everybody

I think the Duggars are still together. I forgot about the Roloffs, too. Are they still together? @Blueroses, your Flavor Flav and Brett Michaels comments are too funny.

Don’t know since the media only focuses on the ones that break up.

Excellent point, Simone.

There are plenty of stable marriages which fly well below the radar even tho reality TV was a part of their lives.

Whether or not reality TV will have an effect upon a marriage depends upon how stable the marriage (and the people in it) isare far more than anything else.

When was the last time you heard anything about Judd Winnick and Pam (Real World) or Sean and Rachel Campos Duffy (Real World and (almost) the View for her) ?

That’s because they have lives that revolve around important things (like kids, real jobs and doing the relationship work necessary to maintain their original marriage vows) rather than fleeting TV notoriety.

Contrast that with a lot of the fame whores comprising so much of reality TV these days and you have the beginnings of an answer to your fairly generalized Q.

For example, contrast Pam and Judd with another castmate from the same season, namely Puck (David Rainey)

His primary descriptor even now is “Reality TV personality” at age 42 as he basically makes appearances around milking it for all it’s worth and drifting from one part time job to another in between his various stints in jail.

The most recent one being for domestic violence (and that not for the first time). The only reason he’s still “married” is because his wife still puts up with his crap. It’s a marriage but not much of one and divorce would be a godsend.

Reality TV may shine a spotlight, but if the marriage and the partners in it have a solid foundation, TV isn’t able to split them apart.

The Osbournes have certainly been through hell and high water (addiction and rehab for 2 kids, Sharon’s cancer, Ozzie’s own addictions and near fatal ATV crash) and a lot of it in front of the cameras but it’s clear they’re in it for the long haul, come what may.

If anything, all of it has strengthened them as a couple and as a family. In spite of all the fame and showbiz crap they started with a strong foundation built on love beneath it all.

It’s similar to the whole issue of child stars ending up as wrecks. Those with strong loving parents providing stability and ethical structure thrived. Those who were not so fortunate to have that frequently ended up as train wrecks.

Just to give one example out of many, contrast Ron Howard and Danny Bonaduce. A closer look at their parents and family life explains much about the directions their lives took.

It’s far too easy to scapegoat TV and fame. An inner strength, which comes from that old fashioned word known as “character” is not swayed by the illusory fame provided by a TV camera. This applies equally to marriages and the people in them.

If people are stable and grounded to begin with, fame and cameras don’t change that. Same goes for marriages (which are, after all, made up of the people in them.)

The Roloffs are still together as are the Duggars.

Two successes from MTV’s Real World are Pam Ling/Judd Winick and Sean Duffy/Rachel Campos.

Aren’t Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed still together? So are Bill Klein and Jen Arnold from The Little Couple. I think old Kody from
Sister Wives is still with all
four of his ladies.

Oops, didn’t read @Buttonstc‘s post carefully enough.

No prob. They were flying SO low under the radar that listing them twice certainly doesn’t hurt :)

And I think that, generally speaking, in the first few years (at least 3 or 4) RW tended not to attract the extreme showboating types willing to do anything for fame; the notable exception being Puck. But he was a jackass (and inordinately proud of it) long before he ever set foot in the RW house.

Because of Pedro’s life and death, that 3rd season became known worldwide and was in major news outlets. That put RW firmly on the cultural map to stay because so many people were touched by his story.

But that fame also tended to disproportionately attract far more weirdos and camera whores for subsequent seasons.

There were more stable sensible people with their feet on the ground in that season and the previous two than there ever have been nowadays.

Mohammed Bilal was cool. Corey was fine. Puck was the only jackass in that bunch. I believe Rachel was also in that house but didn’t meet Sean until after his season.

After that you can count on your fingers the number of stable, sensible and reasonably mature people in any of the future casts. Sure there were a few but too darn few.

It used to be that the f-ups were the ones standing out from the rest. Nowadays it’s the reverse. The sensible ones are the standouts I remember. Most of the rest are the typical assortment of publicity-hound caricatures willing to debase themselves to whatever level necessary for notoriety. They haven’t grasped the simple fact that notoriety is not accomplishment.

I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve even wanted to watch RW, much less made an effort to do so. It’s really a shame. It began as a good show with an interesting basic premise. Now it’s pretty much a sleazefest and showcase for dysfunction constantly.

The Las Vegas season was the beginning of the end for me at least. After that it became a drunken orgy of the absolutely ridiculous.

In the first few seasons there were no concentrated efforts by the directors/producers to get them all liquored up as often as possible. Now it’s de rigeuer from the minute they walk into the house.

Brain cells are constantly being killed off or atrophied on BOTH sides of the cameras. The audience watching and the actors participating.

I think I’ve just dropped some brain cells even writing this so I’ll quit while I’m ahead :)

BTW. I’ll just mention one more non-exploitative happy marriage. Bill Rancic (The (original) Apprentice and Giuliana de Pandi (ET).

He said that from the get go they just refused any suggestions for them to amp up conflict or create drama or being anything other than their authentic selves.

If that wasn’t good enough they weren’t going to do a show. Period.