Reality TV scandals aren’t just on the screen

Many reality shows draw viewers because of their dramatic cast members. Those on-screen personalities are, of course, heavily edited, with only the most interesting footage makes it to TV, fueling our expectation that those cast members really might be crazy.

Occasionally, the world is surprised by something a reality star does, like when news broke about the hunt for now-dead murder suspect Ryan Jenkins, who'd appeared on two VH1 competition shows before allegedly killing his model ex-wife and fleeing from police.

Usually, though, there's less shock, because viewers know these cast members are living real lives. Many TV watchers always suspected Jon and Kate weren't going to stay together, or that Ed on “The Bachelorette” was not being upfront about his off-camera life. While tabloid magazines and web sites will try to milk scandal out of any barely known person they can make up something about, it's still the biggest celebrities that fuel the biggest scandals, as Michael Jackson's death proved.

There are so many reality stars that the opposite happens: scandals elevate them, making their TV shows — and them — more popular, more loathed, or both.

"Jon & Kate Plus 8" catapulted from a popular TLC show to the single most-popular show on all of television one night in late June thanks to the stars' announcement that they were divorcing.

The "Jon & Kate Plus 8" stars announced they would end their marriage after Jon was repeatedly photographed with other women, fueling tabloids for months.

Paula bids farewell to ‘Idol’
While Jon and Kate's kids can't escape the reality show that has chronicled their lives, other stars have bailed on shows this summer, leading to increased attention. Ridiculous summer guilty pleasure "Big Brother" went from a boring season with a lame twist and lamer challenges to one that was generating national news and strong ratings thanks to contestant Chima Simone's freak-out, which led producers to expel her from the house.

Earlier this summer, Paula Abdul escaped from "American Idol," passing on a contract offer that was less than she thinks she's worth. That drama unfolded over several weeks and played out in the press and on Twitter. Fox executives have publicly said that negotiations have concluded, and Paula has moved on to Twittering and hosting VH1's "Divas" concert. It ended a season that started with the controversial addition of fourth judge Kara DioGuardi, thought by many to be planned as a replacement for Abdul.

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Whatever the reason for adding a fourth judge, the change certainly had the effect of bringing "American Idol" back into the public's consciousness after a lackluster seventh season. "American Idol" also gave viewers its usual off-camera drama, from rumors about Adam Lambert's not-so-secret sexual orientation to text-gate, when it was revealed after the season ended that AT&T reps taught Kris Allen fans how to power-text at viewing parties for the season-nine winner.

On another popular network series, the men of "The Bachelor" and "Bachelorette" proved they can generate just as many headlines as the ABC series' women have done previously. First, Jason Mesnick dumped Molly Malaney, proposed to Melissa Rycroft, and then dumped Melissa and picked Molly during the reunion, which crushed his good-guy reputation and led to allegations that the whole thing had been staged by producers, which they deny.

"The Bachelorette" ended with more scandal, from allegations that winner Ed was cheating on Jillian with two other women, to bachelor Wes claiming on-camera that he'd had a secret girlfriend all along. He later said producers fabricated his on-screen persona, which producers deny, and probably love, since this kind of drama has brought the aging franchise new life.

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