Failed Reality TV Romances Over the Years

It’s not easy to keep the flame alive with the cameras around. Dozens of reality TV couples have proven just that, as their romances came to an end after filming a show together.

Kate and Jon Gosselin tied the knot in 1999 and welcomed twins in 2000. In 2004, they had sextuplets. Their journey as parents of eight played out on TLC’s Jon & Kate Plus 8, which aired for five seasons.

In 2009, the pair announced they were ending their 10-year marriage after allegations of infidelity and the show ended. In 2010, TLC retitled the series as Kate Plus 8, and it ran for six more seasons, wrapping for good in 2017.

The pair are one of many whose relationships came to an end after being featured on reality TV. Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler documented their on-off relationship on Meet the Barkers, which aired for two seasons between April 2005 and February 2006. The drummer, who shares two children with the model, filed for divorce in 2007. Though they briefly reconciled, they split for good in 2009.

In 2021, Barker began dating Kourtney Kardashian, who also had a famous relationship play out on reality TV, after their kids became friends. Kardashian and Scott Disick, who share three children, dated on and off from 2006 to 2015. Their ups and downs have been documented over all 20 seasons of E!’s Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

“I think they’ve been friends for a really long time,” Moakler told Us exclusively in March 2021. “My kids seem to really like her, and they all seem [to be] in a good place, and I’m in a good place, so it’s good. … As long as she’s great to my kids and they’re both happy, I’m happy for them. I absolutely am super happy for them. I have no ill will toward anybody.”

In October 2021, Barker and Kardashian got engaged following a whirlwind romance. They tied the knot with multiple ceremonies less than one year later.

The Poosh founder later teased that viewers might get to see her exchange vows with the musician during season 2 of The Kardashians. “We don’t know yet. I have hours and hours and hours of footage. I don’t know if we’re going to keep it for home video or share it with the world,” she shared with WSJ Magazine in September 2022.

Scroll through the gallery below for more failed reality TV romances: