When it comes to everlasting drama, no show does it better than Lifetime’s scripted series UnREAL, which delves into the inner-workings of a fictional dating competition and the chaos that goes on behind the scenes. But before viewers dive headfirst back into this addictive world of manipulation and mind games, here’s a helpful refresher of all the mayhem that went down throughout Season 1. After all, history has a funny way of repeating itself…
Fired to Hired
After having a complete breakdown on camera during last season’s finale, the Everlasting crew was shocked to find Rachel (Shiri Appleby) rehired by their no-nonsense executive producer Quinn (Constance Zimmer) in time for the new season. And while Rachel initially tries not to fall back into old habits of manipulating the contestants and just generally making unwise life choices, she can’t help but give into her darker qualities that make her such an incredible producer.
Hook-Ups and Break-Ups
If you thought Everlasting would be the main source of all the dating drama, that’s nothing compared to what was going on off-screen. Not only did Rachel rekindle her relationship with her ex-boyfriend/current coworker Jeremy (Josh Kelly) — who was engaged to someone else at the time — but she also ended up falling for the charms of the show’s handsome Suitor, Adam (Freddie Stroma). Talk about mixing business with pleasure! (Spoiler alert: neither of these romances ended well.)
Speaking of doomed relationships, Quinn and Chet (Craig Bierko) continue their affair throughout the season. And even though Chet eventually divorced his wife in order to propose to Quinn, she ended up catching him cheating on her with a production assistant. She decided to call things off and ended up humiliating him in front of the entire network during the Everlasting finale. (Who run the world?)
Mary’s Fall From Grace
During one of the worst one-on-one dates in reality dating history, Mary (Ashley Scott), one of the contestants, was forced to reunite with her abusive ex-husband on camera. And considering that Shia (Aline Elasmar) had already seriously messed with Mary’s mood-stabilizing pills in order for her to “let loose,” this stressful interaction resulted in her committing suicide on that very same day.
Runaway Bride
After Adam backed out of their plan to run away together, Rachel devised a plan to create the most memorable finale ever — and also embarrass Adam a ton in the process. She convinced him to propose to Anna (Johanna Braddy) in time for a live wedding special in London, but then arranged it so that Anna would stand him up at the altar with only his own humiliation to keep him warm.
Mother May I?
Upon finding out that Rachel cheated on him with Adam, Jeremy not only humiliated her in front of the entire cast and crew, but he also did the most unforgivable thing imaginable… he contacted Rachel’s mother, telling her that Rachel is sick and they have to do something about it. He knows Rachel’s mother and her overbearing therapy are red-button issues for her, so this was definitely done out of malice rather than concern. But where will things escalate from here? You’ll just have to wait and find out.
UnREAL Season 2 premieres on June 6 at 10 p.m. ET on Lifetime.
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