Reality TV Villains: Where Are They Now?
Kate Gosselin
What reality television giveth, reality television cruelly taketh away. In honor of Kate Gosselin's 40th birthday on March 28, 2015, we're finding out what happened to the real-life TV villains you love (and love to hate) once their moment in the spotlight was over, starting with Kate herself. In 2004, the Pennsylvania nurse and her IT nerd husband welcomed sextuplets into their family, which already included twin girls, and "Jon & Kate Plus 8" was born. They pair divorced, and her show was canceled in 2011. But Kate never gave up, and fought to stay relevant and get her family back on TV. In 2014, she trotted out her two teenage daughters on the "Today" show, where she demanded that her suddenly sullen girls "Spit it out!" when they wouldn't speak. She then showed up on "Celebrity Apprentice." Finally, TLC made her dreams come true when the network greenlit a new incarnation of her show "Kate Plus 8" in early 2015.
Jon Gosselin
After quitting his family's reality show and divorcing Kate Gosselin, Jon Gosselin briefly discovered that single women were willing to forget that he had eight children and no job. He seems to have settled of late: He recently worked as a waiter at two restaurants in Pennsylvania, with dreams of hitting the big time as maitre d', but was last seen performing a DJ set in a New Jersey bowling alley in early March 2015.
Simon Cowell
In 2004 and 2010, the former "American Idol" and "The X Factor" guru was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people, but in 2013, he made headlines for impregnating his friend's wife. Now he's a doting dad to son Eric, 1, with girlfriend Lauren Silverman.
Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth
Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth took the first season of "The Apprentice" by storm in 2004, often making universal blowhard Donald Trump look genteel in comparison. She quickly became the "woman America loved to hate," although she would later argue that the show's producers manipulated footage to make her look like a villain. Omarosa tragically lost her boyfriend, actor Michael Clarke Duncan, to a sudden heart attack in 2012, and is now -- inexplicably -- an ordained Baptist minister whom you can book for "preaching engagements" through her website.
Puck (David Rainey)
One of the originals, and truly -- thankfully -- they don't make them like this one anymore. Puck -- aka David Rainey -- came to us courtesy of 1994's "The Real World: San Francisco," where he spent most of his time famously berating and mocking housemate Pedro Zamora, an HIV-positive AIDS educator. The loutish bike messenger with highly questionable hygiene was eventually evicted, but through the years, would pop up at any opportunity to cling to his dwindling fame until he finally settled on a career in getting arrested -- once in 2003, then in 2009, and again in 2012. Currently, Puck is on felony probation and forbidden to leave Los Angeles County.
Jon Dalton AKA Jonny Fairplay
Called "completely despicable" by "Survivor" host Jeff Probst, Jonny Fairplay -- aka Jon Dalton -- used one of the great lies in reality TV history to advance his cause on the way to a third place finish on "Survivor: Pearl Islands." While faking the death of his grandmother didn't give him the win, Jonny was invited back to compete on "Survivor: Micronesia" but effectively quit when he asked his tribe to vote him off first so that he could return to then-pregnant girlfriend Michelle Deighton. The two had a daughter, married, and then separated in 2011, with Jonny moving on to "manage" WCWC professional wrestler Ashton Vuitton, most assuredly making his grandmother proud.
Angelina Pivarnick
With the bar for acceptable behavior already set so precipitously low, how boorish and obnoxious must you be to not only get kicked off the first season of "Jersey Shore," but then return only to get kicked off the second season? The answer to that age-old query can be summed up with two wildly spray-tanned words: Angelina Pivarnick. After making the likes of Snooki and The Situation look positively refined, the onetime bartender/dental assistant -- not at the same time -- tried her hand in the music industry, where she reached a modicum of success with her 2011 dance single "Gotta Get Out." These days, according to her Twitter feed, Angelina augments her income by selling personalized video messages to her fans.
Jake Pavelka and Vienna Girardi
Jake Pavelka parlayed his stint as the sacrificial lamb on the 14th Season of "The Bachelor" into a string of reality-show appearances, a soap opera guest appearance, and even a brief romance with Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth. Currently Jake's official website is under its second month of reconstruction, and Vienna is a fitness and bikini model who recently tweeted a picture of herself in the arms of an unidentified man with the caption, "I traveled the world looking for love when Love was in my back yard the whole time."
Danielle Staub
Where does one begin? Danielle Staub lasted for two seasons among the table-flipping, McMansions and frozen-faced crocodile tears that make up "The Real Housewives of New Jersey." After being asked not to return, Danielle embarked on a downward spiral that hit rock bottom when, in 2011, the then 48-year-old mother of two signed a three-year deal with Scores Gentleman's Club as a fully nude stripper and agreed to star in adult online content. Danielle -- mercifully -- reneged on the deal, was sued, then entered rehab. These days, at least according to her Twitter feed, Danielle spends her days taking selfie after selfie after selfie.
Richard Hatch
Richard Hatch was that odious, naked fellow whose refusal to wear clothing on "Survivor: Borneo" helped him outlast the rest of the field on his way to a million-dollar purse ... which, ironically enough, led to him being convicted of tax evasion in 2006, after which he served 51 months in a federal prison -- a place where they really encourage you to wear clothing. Fun fact: Richard has recently admitted that long before "Survivor," he put food on the table by earning money as a sperm donor, and if his math is right, he easily could be the father of 200 children
Juan Pablo Galavis
Universally known as quite simply the worst bachelor ever, Juan Pablo Galavis went into the 18th season of "The Bachelor" with the deck stacked in his favor. He was a sexy Latino single father with an athlete's chiseled build but then he had to go and open his mouth, continually inserting his leather loafers into the offending orifice. His "relationship" with Nikki Ferrell only lasted a couple months after the show ended, and Juan Pablo has returned to his work as a "sports and music consultant," though nobody really knows what that means.
Spencer Pratt
Spencer elbowed his way into the social consciousness by dating Heidi Montag while she was a cast member on "The Hills". After the show ended and the couple's collective "Speidi" star started to rapidly fade, Spencer used his Svengali-like control over Heidi to help convince her that it was a great idea to get 10 plastic surgeries in one sitting. The two filed for a fake divorce in order to resurrect their flagging careers, and in 2010 Spencer was arrested and jailed in Costa Rica after attempting to board an aircraft with hunting weapons. Spencer and Heidi, who ended up broke and living with his parents after blowing through roughly $10 million, can be seen on the new season of "Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars."
Tiffany Pollard
Tiffany Pollard, better known as "New York," came to us thanks to VH1's "Flavor of Love," which then launched her spinoff, "I Love New York," which sadly was not a local cable access program about the hidden gems of the Big Apple. The self-proclaimed HBIC -- head b---- in charge -- became the reigning queen of screaming matches, one-liners and ample ... personality. The lady who once famously promised to "Whoop Pumkin's a--" spent a few years attempting to establish herself as an actress in Hollywood but found that reality was, well, less forgiving than reality TV. Tiffany is now reportedly eyeing a return to the small screen in a reality venture alongside her mother, Sister Patterson.
Dick Donato
Sometimes you just get a name right. "Evel" Dick Donato was the season eight winner of "Big Brother" who returned for season 13 only to leave the show on the sixth day of shooting, citing "personal reasons." It was later revealed on season five of VH1's "Couples Therapy" that Dick had learned from the "BB" medical staff that he was HIV positive, which the reality star attributed to a drink-fueled dalliance with a Las Vegas stripper. Nowadays, according to his Twitter feed, Mr. Evel Dick spends most of his time critiquing Ryan Gosling movies and squirting his neighbor's dog with a garden hose so that it barks through the night.
Santino Rice
The second season of Bravo's "Project Runway" gave us Santino Rice. Sanction parlayed a mixture of villainy and personality into a modicum of celebrity, Santino was most recently a member of the judging panel on "RuPaul's Drag Race." Lately though, Santino seems to spend much of his time announcing yet another "hater" blocked from his social media, and tweeting ironic gems such as, "I'm living my dreams, while others are spending their time sending me hate-mail. Why wouldn't they focus on themselves & their dreams?"
Farrah Abraham
After appearing in the first season of MTV's "16 and Pregnant," Farrah Abraham was then cast in the spin-off series "Teen Mom," where she must have fallen in love with the idea of entertaining because she soon released the adult film "Farrah Superstar: Backdoor Teen Mom," a delightfully witty cinematic romp that has nothing at all to do with doors. In August of 2013, she signed a contract with Polazio's Gentleman's Club in Austin, Tex., for $544,000 to have a residency there until New Year's Eve, and -- shudder -- was recently asked by MTV to return to the reunion season of "Teen Mom OG."
Jason Wahler
Jason Wahler was the bad boy beau who broke Lauren Conrad's heart on "Laguna Beach," then later became more famous for his reasonably handsome mugshots. After multiple arrests, a few visits to rehab and a stint on "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew," it seems as if the one-time reality star has righted his wayward ship. Jason, who boasts in his Twitter profile that he is "clean and sober," married girlfriend Ashley Slack in October 2013.
