Reality TV can be an incredibly lucrative source of income. People like the Duggars and the Kardashian-Jenners saw spikes in their net worths after joining the reality TV market. Some celebrities whose careers were beginning to fade enjoyed a comeback thanks to reality shows like The Celebrity Apprentice or The Masked Singer.
However, several people who were once riding a high wave of financial success crashed hard under the weight of poor financial planning, divorces, and credit card debt. By the end of 2021, these reality TV stars either went broke or were already broke. Here are some reality TV favorites who are now struggling to pay the rent and keep the lights on.
10 Gary Busey
While he was a fairly successful actor before his foray into reality TV, Busey joined the cast of season four of The Celebrity Apprentice. He also had a short-lived show called “Gary Busey: Pet Judge” and appeared in Dancing With The Stars. Despite appearing in several shows, Busey still has over $500,000 in unsecured medical and credit card debt. Part of his financial problems date back to the tragic motorcycle accident he suffered in 1988, and his financial problems have only increased every year since then.
9 Stephen Baldwin
Like Busey, Baldwin had a fairly successful run in Hollywood, although not nearly as successful as his brother Alec. Baldwin found work in shows like Celebrity Big Brother, Celebrity Apprentice, and I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. But despite his best efforts, Baldwin has struggled to pay the piper. His home was foreclosed on in 2017 and he has owed upwards of $100,000 in back taxes. His net worth today barely hits $1 million, his daughter has more money than he does, and he is the only Baldwin brother to have declared bankruptcy so far.
8 Sonja Morgan
The Real Housewives of New York star broke the internet when she revealed she was almost $20 million in debt in 2020 and declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. While her new clothing line is helping her to get back on track, despite having married into a family worth $100 million, Morgan alone is now only worth $8 million.
7 Heidi And Spencer Pratt
To date, the former stars of The Hills are some of the most notorious financial flops in the history of reality television. Once riding high as the show's superstar power couple, throwing money away on $3,000 haircuts and earning upwards of $1 million a year, the two went from a combined net worth of $10 million to just $300,000 almost overnight. That money is still dwindling to this day because the two have not worked in years.
6 Janice Dickinson
The retired supermodel who worked as a judge on America’s Next Top Model declared bankruptcy in 2013 and she has never quite recovered from that financial pitfall. The year prior she had been evicted from her Los Angeles home and it was discovered she owed money to several of her employees. Even if you are under financial strain, withholding employee paychecks is a serious offense that can land you heavy fines and jail time. Today she still owes thousands in unpaid taxes that date back decades.
5 Jon Gosselin
The financial wave that the now-divorced Gosselin couple was riding in 2007 has come crashing down. When divorcing Kate in 2009, Gosselin lost most of his money in the divorce process, some of it going to Kate in the division of their estate and almost $2 million going to lawyers and legal fees. Today, Gosselin has a net worth of barely $50,000 and he remains estranged from his children.
4 Kate Gosselin
While she benefited from the divorce at first, the loss of their show and popularity has led Kate down a path much like her ex-husband's. The mother of eight recently put her $1.8 million home up for sale, allegedly to make up for her dwindling finances. Some sources have reported that because she has not had a show for years that she is now reentering the real-world job market.
3 Josh Duggar
Having been arrested and recently convicted of possession of child pornography, the Duggar son has racked up over $500,000 in legal fees and his family is on the verge of financial ruin as well. His father, Jim Bob Duggar, lost his $850,000 salary when TLC canceled the Duggars reality show Counting On. The family still sits on a combined net worth of $3.5 million, but that is likely to collapse without a new show. Not all Duggars are struggling though, as Joy-Anna Duggar is making a healthy living flipping houses and has distanced herself from her disgraced brother and parents.
2 Tori Spelling
Tori Spelling would be worth anywhere between $300-$600 million had her father, the late TV legend Arron Spelling, left her what people expected him to leave her. However, her coldblooded father left both Tori and her brother barely a million dollars each. Spelling kept herself afloat by joining the reality TV world and has a successful show with her husband called Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood. Despite her best efforts, her bank accounts were seized for money owed to American Express, and to date she is only worth $1.5 million.
1 Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino
While most of the Jersey Shore alumni sit on net worths ranging from $3 million to $4 million. The Situation has a tenth of that thanks to poor decisions. He went from $10 million to his name to a meager $300,000 when it was discovered how much he owed in back taxes and he was forced to do some jail time for tax evasion. Since his release, The Situation has yet to bounce back to a net worth of over $1 million and is still only worth $300,000.
