Reality TV has seen its share of jaw-dropping events in 2023. From hiccups in people's love lives as shown in Vanderpump Rules to shocking returns like in Jersey Shore: Family Vacation to the occasional meltdown in competitions such as Claim to Fame season 2, the past 12 months have been full of gasps, laughs and more.
With all of that being said, I put together this list of the very best (well, entertaining) incidents in reality TV this year.
Without further ado, here are the top 10 reality TV moments of 2023.
10. The Real Housewives of Miami's Lisa and Lenny kick off their explosive divorce
It was hard to comb through all the various Housewife franchises to select moments worth making this top 10 list, but I settled on the Lisa and Lenny Hochstein divorce drama. During The Real Housewives of Miami season 5, their marriage was seen imploding when Lenny made cringeworthy statements heard in an infamous hot mic scene. He seemingly expressed not wanting to be with Lisa any longer and having a mistress. From there, things got worse as he told Lisa he wanted a divorce and things between the two became everything but amicable. Their hostile dynamic continues in The Real Housewives of Miami season 6.
9. Dick Van Dyke unmasked on The Masked Singer
When Dick Van Dyke was unmasked as the Gnome on The Masked Singer season 9, it garnered so much applause from Masked Singer viewers and Van Dyke fans, and for good reason. The four-time Emmy winner is a living legend that has made people laugh with The Dick Van Dyke Show and Mary Poppins and kept viewers on edge with Diagnosis Murder. What a treat to see him flex his vocal chops in The Masked Singer at a then 97 years old.
8. Tom Hanks' niece has a meltdown on Claim to Fame
Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks is easily one of the most likable and congenial people in Hollywood. This is why it came as a complete shocker to see his niece Carly throw an off-putting temper tantrum as she was being eliminated during the first week of Claim to Fame season 2. She yelled and hurled insults that left me almost speechless.
7. Sammi reunites with the castmates on Jersey Shore: Family Vacation
Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola appearing in Jersey Shore: Family Vacation season 6 was a huge deal this year, as she hadn't been seen on screen with her fellow Jersey Shore fist-pumpers since the original series wrapped in 2012. She previously expressed not wanting to be on the series as long as her ex Ronnie Ortiz-Magro was in the cast. Well, with Ronnie gone, she jumped right back in the mix, surprising fans.
Now the bigger surprise should come when Sammi and Ronnie have an onscreen conversation for the first time in nearly a decade, which is likely to happen in Jersey Shore: Family Vacation season 7. Both have been spotted filming the new episodes.
6. Omarosa returns to reality TV in House of Villains
It seems quite fitting that one of the most infamous personalities in the history of reality TV would make her return to the genre in the series House of Villains. Since first starring in The Apprentice, Omarosa has seemingly embraced her villainous role, which has carried her to various levels of success. In House of Villains, she stays true to form and does all the scheming and throws all the shade you’d imagine from her. Regardless of how one may feel about her antics, she's great TV.
5. Kim and Kourtney Kardashian feud again on The Kardashians
For some reason, it feels like the tensions between Kourtney and Kim got worse once they abandoned E!'s Keeping Up with the Kardashians and launched The Kardashians on Hulu/Disney Plus. Particularly, in The Kardashians season 3, the sisters went head-to-head over Kourtney's big wedding day and Kim's big deal with Dolce & Gabbana.
Long story short, their disagreement boiled down to who was copying whom, who was placing business over family and who was making a "big deal" out of nothing. While most people who aren't multi-millionaires and billionaires may not be able to relate to this special kind of sibling strife, fans of the series were certainly watching it all unfold.
The sisters appeared to reach some common ground in The Kardashians season 4.
4. Love Is Blind season 4 reunion is a fail
When Netflix teased the Love Is Blind season 4 reunion would be live, I had high hopes. Live reunions are the best as they don't allow for shocking moments to be left on the cutting room floor. Unfortunately, I joined millions of fans in being disappointed with the season 4 reunion as there was nothing live about it.
Due to technical issues, the streaming giant was unable to fulfill their promise of a live viewing and fans had to wait hours, in some cases the next day, to watch a recorded version of the episode. Netflix learned a valuable lesson by the time season 5 rolled around, and even poked fun at their snafu in season 5 promotional material.
3. Squid Game: The Challenge brings Squid Game to real life
From the very first game (Red Light, Green Light), I was fascinated by Squid Game: The Challenge's level of sheer drama. I don't mean fights or lovers' quarrels, but rather the added theatrics when people get eliminated.
For example, when competitors found themselves still moving during the aforementioned challenge, they waited to be shot with a paintball gun. Then, as they were hit, instead of just walking away from the area of play, most of them dropped to the ground and played dead.
While I've watched Squid Game and understand the challenges in the drama series are literally played under life-and-death circumstances, in the reality show, you ultimately just go home. It was the oddest thing to watch and even more odd to see the trend continue with each episode. However, by the end of the season, I had gotten used to the theatrics and hope to see them continue in Squid Game: The Challenge season 2.
2. Love Is Blind season 5's unprecedented love triangle with Aaliyah, Uche and Lydia
Love Is Blind season 5 may not have been my favorite season, but it certainly had the most jaw-dropping situation in the series' history. For the first time, two cast members stepped into the pods having known each other. Uche and Lydia had previously dated (the level of seriousness is still up for debate) and recognized each other's voices in the pods. Instead of coming clean to Aaliyah, Uche's number one love interest and Lydia's show friend, Uche and Lydia let the information remain a secret until Uche eventually came clean, releasing a massive ripple effect in the reality series.
Things got awkward and cringeworthy as Lydia repeatedly shared with Aaliyah about her time dating Uche outside of the pods. Not being able to take the uncomfortable situation, Aaliyah prematurely left the dating experiment and a feud ignited between Uche and Lydia that was on full display later when the duo came face to face at a group outing. Uche and Lydia's convo resulted in nothing less than fireworks.
1. Vanderpump Rules' Scandoval takes over pop culture
It should come as no surprise that Scandoval landed in the number one spot on the list. Even if you lived under a rock, you couldn't help but hear about the infamous cheating scandal on Vanderpump Rules involving stars Ariana Madix, Tom Sandoval and Rachel Leviss. Tom carrying out an affair with one of his girlfriend's "good" pals for months sparked a ground-swell of public outrage and interest. By the Vanderpump Rules season 10 reunion, both loyal and passing fans were glued to their screens as more information came to light about the whole ordeal.
Scandoval earned Vanderpump Rules its first Emmy nomination, a joke at the 2023 White House Correspondents' Dinner and members of the Vanderpump Rules cast spots on Dancing with the Stars season 32, Special Forces: World's Toughest Test season 2, Love Island Games and Stars on Mars.
I can't wait to see Vanderpump Rules season 11 when it debuts in early 2024.
