Reality Shows Kill Romance

There may be no better way to end your marriage in Hollywood than to appear on a reality show. Just look at Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey ("Newlyweds"), Britney Spears and Kevin Federline ("Britney and Kevin: Chaotic"), and Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler ("Meet the Barkers").

Reports of two new splits hit the media today. Hulk Hogan's wife, Linda Hogan, reportedly filed for divorce from her husband, one of her co-stars on their reality show "Hogan Knows Best." According to an Associated Press report posted on Yahoo!News, Hulk Hogan and his wife had been attending marital counseling and were reconciled prior to the divorce filing.

In a separate news report from the Associated Press on Yahoo!News, former "The Bachelor" contestant Mary Delgado was arrested just after midnight on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Delgado had appeared on "The Bachelor: After the Final Rose" a few days earlier with her beau, fisherman Byron Velvick. The pair was touted by "The Bachelor" as one of its two success stories over its 11-season run.

What exactly leads to the demise of these happy Hollywood couples who appear bound for happily ever after until their reality shows kill their romance? Ironically, it may simply be that none of these fairy tale romances were built on the firm ground of reality.

Take our "Bachelor" couple, for instance. The premise of "The Bachelor" is that a lucky but lonely bachelor gets to choose among 25 contestants vying for his affection. Over the course of six weeks, the contestants and their bachelor get to canoodle in every fantasy situation imaginable, from luxury suites to helicopter rides. Once the contestants are sufficiently starry-eyed and "in love," the bachelor picks out a gigantic rock and is supposed to proposed to the winning lady love in his life.

Unfortunately, the reality of "The Bachelor" scenario is that none of it is really real, as in real life. The contestants and the bachelor are playing a game, not dating or getting to know one another in real life situations that us normal folks have to sludge through. "The Bachelor" is an elaborately constructed fantasy land for grown ups who still believe in fairy tales and desperately want to win the game and get the proposal and the big, shiny diamond ring.

As for our unlucky reality show celebrities, it is not far fetched to say that their reality shows depicted characters rather than real personalities. Grand romantic gestures, luxury surprise getaways, and fabulous sex adventures make for dramatic television and exciting lives. But sustaining such drama for any length of time is impossible. Once again, real reality, not reality show reality, is far more difficult. When the cameras stop rolling on these famous couples, the fantasy seems to end as well.

Sources:

Yahoo!News, "Report: Hulk Hogan's Wife Seeks Divorce," Associated Press.

Yahoo!News, "Former Bachelor Contestant Arrested," Associated Press.