Biggest Feuds in Reality TV History

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Biggest Feuds in Reality TV History

Ever since reality TV began, one of the biggest draws has been the drama — specifically, the fighting that breaks out while the cameras are rolling. Through the years — from Laguna Beach and The Hills to the Real Housewives and beyond, the claws come out when action is called. Although Lauren Conrad butted heads with Kristin Cavallari during Laguna Beach, her feud with Heidi Montag on The Hills was even more next-level. Shortly after the women moved to Los Angeles together in the 2006 first season, Heidi began dating Spencer Pratt, who Lauren did not trust. However, it turned into something more when Lauren believed that Spencer started a rumor that she had made a sex tape. "I would say that the entire story line of Heidi becoming involved with Spencer, and Lauren feeling really betrayed by Heidi, that was what created the monster success of the show. That’s just a classic story," producer Sean Travis told Refinery29 in 2016. [jwplayer V9lB2Ulr-zhNYySv2] He added: "We were thinking of this as stages that Lauren was going through — your best friend, the big dream, and then betrayal, and ultimately, attempted reconciliation. We dealt with these themes intentionally over multiple episodes, and then eventually acceptance, and then attempting at forgiveness but never quite getting there." Their feud came to a head at the start of season 3, when the famous "You know what you did" scene took place. “Lauren would forever say, ‘I’m not mentioning Heidi’s name,’ or, ‘I’m not doing the show if she’s on the show.’ We were so sympathetic to that, but at the same time, you had Heidi wanting to make up with Lauren, still wanting to be a part of the show," the producer continued. "And [you had] the sex tape rumors that Lauren didn’t want to talk about, yet that was a betrayal that was so important and such a big elephant in the room that we just had to work with Lauren and say, ‘Alright, so what are we going to do? We are going to have to access this somehow.’ It’s always a discussion." Over the years, many feuds have played out in similar manners in front of the camera. Scroll through the gallery below for more memorable moments. [podcast_block]

Credit: NBC (3)

Madison LeCroy vs Olivia Flowers — Southern Charm

The hairstylist threw shade at Bravo newbie Flowers in June 2022 after the season 8 Southern Charm premiere. During the show, Austen Kroll was thrown off when his ex-girlfriend LeCroy arrived at their pal’s Great Katsby bash while he was on a date with Flowers. While Kroll insisted that he didn’t “care” that LeCroy showed up, it appeared to annoy Flowers that he couldn’t stop talking about her.

“We shouldn’t be going on our first date and talking about homegirl,” Flowers confessed during her confessional interview, which aired on June 23. LeCroy seemingly took issue with Flowers’ use of “homegirl,” slamming her on Instagram two days later.

The Greenville, South Carolina, native captioned a sexy vacation snap, “I’d rather be a homegirl than a homely girl 😎,” referring to Flowers’ comment. The photographer fired back by sharing her own snap from Charleston. “Homely? More like homebody,” Flowers wrote alongside a pic of her in a robe and eating chips.

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Crystal Hefner, Holly Madison, Kendra Wilkinson and Bridget Marquardt — The Girls Next Door

The relationship between Holly Madison, Kendra Wilkinson and Bridget Marquardt was rocky while they both lived in the Playboy mansion during their individual relationships with the late Hugh Hefner. However they appeared close while filming The Girls Next Door, which premiered on E! in 2005.

Crystal Hefner was then added into the mix when she started dating the Playboy founder in 2009.

After The Girls Next Door wrapped, the leads began drifting apart though Madison and Marquardt were bridesmaids at the California native's wedding to Hank Baskett in 2009, Wilkinson said she was “never even really friends” with the duo during an interview with CNN in 2012.

In April 2021, the author of Down the Rabbit Hole reignited the drama when she claimed that Wilkinson was lying about moving in with the late Hefner before having sex with him — something Wilkinson said during her time on I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! in 2014.

"I'm not trying to slut-shame anybody or anything, but nobody ever got asked to move in unless they had slept with him," Madison said during an episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast.

The Kendra on Top alum didn't want to rehash the past and Crystal stepped in at the time to take Wilkinson's side about moving on. Hefner's widow did mention that she felt like Madison and Marquardt disliked her for no reason.

"We filmed season six of The Girls Next Door, which I was just thrown into. I was like 21 or 22, we got paid nothing and we had to film on camera with these girls. I remember Bridget showing up to the mansion and … she wouldn't even look at me. She wouldn't even speak to me," she told Us Weekly exclusively in April. "And it's like, I'm sorry, you chose to leave. She chose. So, I'm just here and then as soon as the camera started rolling, then she would speak to me. And then as soon as the camera shut off, she would go back to not speaking to me."

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Brandi Glanville vs Denise Richards — RHOBH

During season 10 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Brandi Glanville returned with a bombshell claim that she and Denise Richards had slept together. Denise adamantly denied the claims.

"I’m bisexual, everyone knows that. My kids know that,” Brandi said during a July 2020 episode. "I was uncomfortable. The kids were downstairs and we were in the loft and there was no door. And I just couldn’t get into it. The next day, Denise said to me, ‘No matter what you do, you just can’t tell Aaron [Phypers]. He will kill me.’ And I’m like, ‘What the f—k is happening right now?'"

In turn, Denise reportedly sent her costar a cease and desist letter to slam the allegations.

Credit: Bravo

Kathryn Dennis vs Ashley Jacobs — Southern Charm

These two exes of former Southern Charm star Thomas Ravenel traded barbs throughout the Bravo reality show’s fifth season, with Jacobs calling Dennis “just an egg donor” for welcoming two children with Ravenel. Jacobs later apologized, but Dennis later alleged in divorce court documents that her ex encouraged Jacobs to “verbally assault and attack” her and that Jacobs approached the former politician “with the intent to become his girlfriend so that she could get on the show.”

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Jeff Lewis vs Jenni Pulos — Flipping Out

The costars hit their first bump in 2012 after Jeff sued his assistant because he learned Jenni’s memoir was titled Hang in There, Baby — What One of the World’s Most Difficult Bosses Taught Me About Life, Work and Love. At the time, Jeff claimed she breached their confidentiality agreement. The lawsuit was eventually dropped and Jenni’s book was released in 2014 and retitled to Grin and Bear It: How to Be Happy No Matter What Reality Throws Your Way.

Jenni claimed that the Bravo duo were “closer than ever” during a 2017 appearance on Watch What Happens Live, but a year later, Us confirmed that they parted ways as business partners. Later that month, Jeff claimed Jenni filed an abuse claim against him, which she denied. 

During the November 2018 season 11 finale of Flipping Out, Jeff and Jenni got into a heated argument after she accused him of not supporting her acting career. The house flipper admitted on his SiriusXM radio show, Jeff Lewis Live, that November that the fight was not “worth losing a friendship over.” 

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Ashley Mitchell vs Hunter Barfield — The Challenge: The Final Reckoning

After Ashley and Hunter won the final challenge during season 32, host T.J. Lavin revealed that Ashley earned the most points during the final, so she could choose if she wanted to keep the $1 million for herself or split it with Hunter. Without hesitation, she took the money and accused Hunter of threatening her during the season. “This guy’s belittled me, put me down, slut-shamed me and also threatened my life and my family’s lives. I’m keeping the money,” she said. “This is nothing compared to what I went through all season. Walking through hell? I lived through hell.” 

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Lisa Vanderpump vs Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Cast

Lisa Rinna sparked speculation that Vanderpump was feuding with her castmates in September 2018. "Rumor has it that one of the cast members won’t shoot with us. They won’t do a group shot with us. So we’re sequestered in a room," she said during an Instagram Live at the time. The following month, multiple sources told Us Weekly that Vanderpump was no longer on speaking terms with the women. She also didn't attend Camille Grammer's wedding in Hawaii. "There is beef between Dorit [Kemsley] and LVP, and LVP and Teddi Mellencamp," a source explained. 

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Lauren Conrad vs Heidi Montag — The Hills

After being BFFS who moved to Los Angeles together, Heidi and Lauren’s friendship fell apart when Heidi started dating her now-husband, Spencer Pratt. The fight came to a head on the season 3 premiere of The Hills when Lauren heard that Spencer started a rumor about her making a sex tape and that Heidi was involved.

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Porsha Williams vs Kenya Moore — Real Housewives of Atlanta

During the season 6 reunion, Kenya accused Porsha of cheating on her ex-husband Kordell Stewart and what started in bickering ended in actual blows and hair pulling. In fact, Porsha dragged Kenya by her hair and security had to carry Porsha out after Kenya yelled at her and called her “a dumb ho.”

Credit: MTV

CT vs Adam — The Challenge: The Duel II

Former Real World: Paris costars Chris “CT” Tamburello and Adam King got into one of the scariest fights on reality TV during The Duel: II. CT lunged at Adam and punched him then proceeded to chase him around the house, saying he wanted to “smash his head in.” Both were sent home from the show.

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Omarosa vs Ereka Vetrini — The Apprentice

During season 1 of The Apprentice, Omarosa Manigault-Newman came for Ereka Vetrini, accusing her of racism after Ereka said, “the pot calling the kettle black.”

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Sarah Rice vs Johnny Bananas — The Challenge: Rivals III

In one of the most shocking endings in reality TV history, Johnny “Johnny Bananas” Devenzio completely turned on partner Sarah Rice after they won Rivals III. When given the option to steal all the money, he – unlike all the other teams – decided to take all of the $275,000, leaving Sarah speechless.

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Stassi Schroeder vs Kristen Doute — Vanderpump Rules

During season 2 of the bravo show, Stassi slapped Kristen during a night out after learning that Kristen had hooked up with Stassi’s on-off boyfriend, Jax Taylor. It all went down while Tom Sandoval – who was with Kristen at the time – was sleeping in the other room.

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Teresa Giudice vs Danielle Staub — Real Housewives of New Jersey

On the season 1 finale, Teresa famously screamed at Danielle that she was a “prostitution whore” and a “f—king stupid bitch,” but it was what came next that made history. Teresa actually flipped the table between them over, creating one of the franchise’s most memorable moments.