Reality Bombshell

Reality Bombshell

Investigating the not-true crimes of your guiltiest pleasures and examining reality TV through a true crime lens.

Episodes

July 9, 2025 44 mins

Taylor Frankie Paul built MomTok from nothing and then burned it to the ground with one TikTok Live. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives begins with a confession that turns Utah’s favorite influencer clique into a cautionary tale. What started as soft swinging spiraled into a divorce, a public scandal, and a domestic violence arrest.

In this episode, we step into the world of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, peeling back the curtain ...

Mark as Played

This week on Reality Bombshell, we’re going back to Breaking Amish Season 1. As a group of young Amish and Mennonite adults explored the world of the “English,” viewers were treated to a mess of cult indoctrination, emotional manipulation, and barely hidden producer interference.

At the center of it all are Jeremiah and Sabrina. They gaslit the cast, the crew, and the audience — concocting stories, drinking too much, and blowing up...

Mark as Played
This week, we dive into the emotional and high-stakes departure of David Archuleta from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Once the squeaky-clean, soft-spoken American Idol runner-up and a golden boy for Mormon ideals, David has since pulled back the curtain on what it really meant to be closeted, controlled, and conflicted within a belief system that often functions more like a high-gloss cult than a church.

We unpa...
Mark as Played

This summer, Reality Bombshell dives into all things cults in reality tv. But first, let's lay out some rules of cults.

Have a case or anything else reality TV related you want to hear us cover? Reach out to us at realitybombshell@gmail.com.

Follow us @realitybombshell on all social media platforms. Linktr.ee/realitybombshell

Mark as Played

Jen Shah had it all—an entourage of assistants, a house she named after herself, and a closet that deserved its own snowflake. She also had a habit of screaming at her friends and starting fights she couldn’t finish. But while she was spiraling on screen, something much bigger was unfolding off camera.

In this episode, we follow Jen’s Bravo arc exactly as it aired: the glam, the meltdowns, the high kicks in Meredith’s living room. ...

Mark as Played
June 18, 2025 53 mins

Before Scary Island, there was a fashion show, a charity meeting, and one incredibly tense drink. In this episode, we rewind to Kelly’s first season on The Real Housewives of New York City and unpack her early clash with Bethenny Frankel.

Bethenny’s quick wit had already made her a fan favorite. Kelly, newly introduced as Luann’s friend, brought horses, high fashion, and chaos. What followed was a confusing, condescending confronta...

Mark as Played
June 11, 2025 39 mins

This week on Reality Bombshell, Ben breaks down summer 2001's biggest reality hit- Big Brother Season 2. As the season continued into September, production was tasked with an impossible decision - leave the houseguests in the dark about the terrorist attacks, or  break protocol and enter the house to deliver the news?

We revisit the moment producers told Monica Bailey that her cousin was missing in the Twin Towers, Tamitha's fate, ...

Mark as Played
This week on a Reality Bombshell minisode, we’re not talking felony... we’re talking frosting.

The Kardashians have officially infiltrated Crumbl Cookie, and we have questions:
Who authorized this sugar-stacked collab? Is this just another snackable stunt from the marketing mastermind Kris Jenner, or the opening act of a hostile dessert industry takeover? And why does this feel less like a brand deal… and more like a calculated co...
Mark as Played
June 4, 2025 48 mins

This week on Reality Bombshell, we revisit Survivor: Game Changers and investigate the night that strategy crossed into scandal. It was supposed to be just another blindside. But when Jeff Varner turned to Zeke Smith at Tribal Council and revealed a secret Zeke hadn’t shared with anyone on the island (let alone on national television) it became something else entirely: a public outing, a moral violation, and one of the most chillin...

Mark as Played
June 1, 2025 33 secs

Welcome to Reality Bombshell - the podcast that investigates the not-true crimes of your guiltiest pleasures and examines reality TV through a true crime lens! Join Ben and Arielle as they dive into a new "case" every Wednesday, with bonus minisodes every other Friday.

Mark as Played
This week, we meet the first woman to be truly Jaxxed. Fresh off a Vegas scandal, Jax rebounds hard—with his dog sitter, aspiring actress and newly sober SUR server, Laura-Leigh. What starts with sex in a restaurant bathroom ends with a brutal breakup… at an AA meeting. As Stassi sharpens her mean girl claws and Laura-Leigh gets pulled deeper into Jax’s chaos, we break down the signs, the spiral, and the emotionally abusive fallout...
Mark as Played

Before The White Lotus became a cultural phenomenon — before the Emmys, the satire, the pineapples — Mike White was sweating through challenges and racing across continents on The Amazing Race and Survivor: David vs. Goliath. And in this episode, we’re tracing how those reality TV experiences didn’t just entertain us — they informed everything about how Mike White sees power, privilege, and performance.

Mark as Played

This week, we take a look at Survivor Season 48 through the lens of autism representation, focusing on contestant Eva Erickson, who shared her diagnosis with grace and clarity in a high-pressure, socially complex environment. This isn’t about controversy — it’s about care, context, and why telling stories like Eva’s matters, especially on shows that claim to reflect the world as it is.

Mark as Played
May 14, 2025 18 mins
This week, the case is reopened—and the truth is on the record. Frank gets fired from SUR the very morning he’s supposed to meet her parents. Meanwhile, Jax Taylor has spent an entire season denying everything: the cheating, the Vegas rumors, the porn star. But with therapy sessions, surprise bouquets, and one final heart-to-heart… do we finally get a confession? Or just another well-rehearsed lie?
Mark as Played

This week, Ben and Kels are officially introduced to West Hollywood’s hottest restaurant—SUR, where the drinks are strong, the storylines stronger, and everyone’s trying to get their SAG card.

At the center: Stassi and Jax, the co-dependent rulers of the SURfdom, in yet another messy breakup. What starts with a few shots ends with a fistfight in Vegas and Stassi alone in a parking lot while everyone else rides off in a limo.

Who’s ...

Mark as Played

This week, we revisit one of the darkest chapters in The Amazing Race’s history. Jonathan and Victoria weren’t just chasing a million-dollar prize — they were unraveling in real time, their marriage cracking under pressure and aggression with cameras rolling. What started as competitive tension quickly crossed the line, raising questions about production responsibility, audience complicity, and the fine line between reality TV and...

Mark as Played

He lasted just six days. When Mickey Rourke entered the Celebrity Big Brother house, producers were banking on eccentricity — what they got was something far less entertaining. In this emergency minisode, we investigate the unraveling of a Hollywood icon who brought more scandal than star power, leaving cast and viewers alike in stunned silence.

The real damage began with a series of vile, homophobic remarks directed at JoJo Siwa —...

Mark as Played
April 23, 2025 45 mins

This week, we peel back the layers of kangaroo sliders and marital power plays to reveal how a concept built on Aussie charm went down under.

Ashley Darby set out to prove she and her Aussie husband could have it all: love, legacy, and a restaurant with emu on the menu. But as the pressure to perform mounted, cracks in the foundation began to show—and Bravo’s cameras were there to catch every uncomfortable moment.

Mark as Played
April 16, 2025 49 mins

A ghostwriter. A socialite. A prosthetic leg.

When Aviva Drescher accuses Carole Radziwill of faking her memoir, what begins as a petty literary jab spirals into a full-blown character assassination. Tensions rise, asthma flares up, and one final dinner party ends not in reconciliation—but in Housewives infamy.

This is the story of a reputational takedown disguised as a book critique… and t...

Mark as Played

This week, we investigate The Baldwins, TLC’s newest reality swing at image rehab, featuring Alec, Hilaria, and their seven children. It’s part family docuseries, part PR damage control, and fully unhinged entertainment.

From Alec’s attempt to rewrite his public persona to Hilaria’s ongoing commitment to the bit, we unpack how chaos, content, and crisis collide in what might be the most bizarre rebrand reality TV has ever seen.

 

C...

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    Stuff You Should Know

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    24/7 News: The Latest

    The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.