Biggest reality TV scandals of 2016

Reality TV provides us with hours of entertainment every year, but occasionally, the drama boils over and creates a major scandal. From jailed reality stars to fractured families and more, Wonderwall.com is taking a look back at the wildest reality TV moments of 2016. First up, a scandal from a surprising source — HGTV. The stars of the hit HGTV show "Flip or Flop" found themselves in the headlines at the end of 2016 after they split, and the story grew more and more dramatic by the day. Though the couple split in May, they didn't go public with the news until December, when it was revealed that police were called to the family's home after an altercation that ended with Tarek running out with a gun. After they announced their split it came out that the two had been seeing other people, and that Tarek started dating their children's former nanny. Most recently it's been reported that despite all the drama, the couple are considering a reconciliation for the sake of their kids, 6-year-old daughter Taylor and 1-year-old son Brayden. We're sure this story will continue to develop into 2017! Keep reading to see the rest of the most scandalous reality television stories of 2016!

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The next major reality television scandal bled into another favorite American pasttime — football! JoJo Fletcher signed up to be the star of "The Bachelorette." Suitor Jordan Rodgers happened to have a very famous brother — Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. During the course of the season, it became apparent that there was bad blood between the brothers, resulting in a hometown date that centered around the family's fractured state. But it was more than a family estrangement that scandalized the eventual winner. Jordan's ex-girlfriend, trainer Brittany Farrar, took to social media to blast the former footballer, alleging Jordan had been unfaithful during their three-and-a-half-year relationship. Along with a lengthy Instagram post on the subject, Brittany provided now-deleted evidence of flowers being purchased for another woman and inappropriate texts sent to yet another when she and Jordan were together.

RELATED: Biggest celebrity breakups of 2016

LuAnn de Lesseps provided endless drama on the most recent season of "The Real Housewives of New York City," thanks to her rocky romance with new fiance Tom D'Agostino. The season came to a close with Bethenny Frankel informing LuAnn that Tom had been cheating on her, complete with photographic evidence. Surprisingly, instead of kicking Tom to the curb, LuAnn decided to stick with him. The reality star is still planning to wed Tom in front of 250 friends and family members in Palm Beach, Florida, on New Year's Eve. Someone who won't be in attendance? Bethenny.

RELATED: Celeb weddings of 2016

One reality TV veteran who seemed to always be in the news this year? "Teen Mom" star Farrah Abraham! The single mother came under fire for a lot of things in 2016, mostly involving her parenting style. Farrah made waves for posting bikini pics of her 7-year-old daughter Sophia on Instagram, and for allowing the tot to have a Snapchat account. The 25-year-old former adult video star made headlines for her personal life as well after she spoke out about being in search of a Christian man and made comments about possibly being paid for sex. She also came under fire on social media multiple times — ranging from a public Twitter feud with Nicki Minaj to giving her daughter $300 per tooth from the Tooth Fairy.

With "Kate Plus 8" set to hit television screens once again in January 2017, Kate Gosselin announced to the world in August that one of her eight kids wouldn't be appearing with the rest of the family. Kate opened up to People magazine about son Collin, one of her sextuplets, and his struggles with "special needs." She chose to send him away to live in a program that tends to those needs, and she told "Extra" in November that he was still receiving treatment. The story made headlines once more when Collin's father, Jon Gosselin, spoke out about not knowing his son's whereabouts. Jon also told "Entertainment Tonight" that Kate doesn't return his texts when he asks about their child.

Season 18 of "Big Brother" got underway in June 2016 and served up a whole lot of scandal throughout the summer — particularly when it came to the male houseguests. The men found themselves in hot water multiples times after many spoke horribly about women. Fan favorite Frank quickly lost his luster after making uncomfortable comments to the ladies that culminated in him slapping Da'Vonne on her rear end in a particularly awkward exchange, while Paulie went on an anti-women rant that offended many viewers. Even underdogs Paul and Victor got themselves in trouble for making rude comments about female houseguests, resulting in one of the more controversial seasons to date. Perhaps it's no surprise that a woman ended up taking home the top prize in the end — when Nicole garnered more votes than Paul on the finale.

Vicki Gunvalson thought she'd left the drama behind in 2015, but she was sorely mistaken. Though cancer-faking Brooks Ayers is now out of her life, she still managed to make headlines after being involved in a terrifying sand dune accident. Both Vicki and her "The Real Housewives of Orange County" co-star Tamra Judge were hospitalized in April 2016 after their off-road vehicle flipped in the desert, with Tamra taken away by ambulance and Vicki by helicopter. All of the scandal was caught on camera and was turned into a prominent storyline on the latest season of "RHOC."

Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna made headlines throughout 2016 — thanks to their whirlwind and roller coaster romance. They went public as a couple in January. By April, they were engaged, with Rob presenting Chyna with a 7-carat diamond ring. News broke that she would be going by Angela Kardashian after the wedding, and less than a month later, the couple announced they were expecting a child. Chyna's tenuous ties to the Kardashian-Jenner clan also inspired drama. Not only was Chyna formerly a close friend of Kim Kardashian West, but she also shares a child, King, with rapper Tyga — who's now dating Rob's little sister, Kylie Jenner. Talk about a tangled family tree! It's unclear how long the union will last, because despite launching their own reality show together, Rob and Chyna were plagued by breakup rumors even as they prepared for the birth of their daughter in November.

"The Real Housewives of New Jersey" alum Amber Marchese made a splash when she fessed up to an affair she'd been having on husband of 10 years Jim Marchese. Not only had she been seeing someone else and betraying her husband of a decade, but the object of her straying affection was actually a woman. The revelation came out in October when the couple returned to reality television looking to heal their marriage on "Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars."

Kim Zolciak-Biermann makes news all the time. The former "The Real Housewives of Atlanta"-turned-"Don't Be Tardy" star has been accused of photoshopping her bikini pics numerous times and has undergone several plastic surgery procedures. But the most shocking Kim news of the year came when her 19-year-old daughter Brielle Biermann offered to be her surrogate! It all went down on an episode of Kim's show after she revealed her desire to add another kid to her brood of six. When Kim said she wanted a son named Creed but had been told she can't bear any more children, Brielle replied, "Maybe I can be the one to carry it for you… to see if I like birth." Though there has been no more news on whether or not that's an actual possibility, the crazy offer made headlines in September 2016.

"Teen Mom 2" star Jenelle Evans is no stranger to scandal. From her arrests (which are in the double digits) to her infamous threat to skip jail to attend a Kesha concert, Jenelle is one of the "Teen Mom" crew's most infamous castmembers. In July 2016, news of Jenelle's third pregnancy was delivered in the most Jenelle way possible — via a police report. The MTV reality star got in a car accident in North Carolina that month and told cops she was 10 weeks pregnant and experiencing abdominal pain. The information made it into their report — and subsequently into headlines. A few months later, it was revealed that her latest baby daddy, boyfriend David Eason, would be jailed for 60 days, missing a significant portion of her pregnancy. Jenelle is due to deliver her third child in January 2017.

One of the original MTV reality shows, "The Hills," celebrated a big anniversary in 2016 when it turned 10. In August, MTV aired a special to commemorate the milestone — and old cast members reflected on whether or not the show was real or fake. Kristin Cavallari, who was no stranger to reality television when she signed on to "The Hills" — having starred on its predecessor, "Laguna Beach," while in high school — admitted that her first venture into reality TV "was definitely not as manufactured as 'The Hills' was for me." Kristin went on to expand on her alter ego: "In 'The Hills,' I knew sort of this character that they wanted me to play. When I decided to come on board, I made a decision and I was like, 'Okay, this is my job and I'm going to separate my 'Hills' life from my real life,'" the reality star explained — essentially admitting that "The Hills" was filled with fakery.

We touched on the drama JoJo Fletcher stepped into while starring on "The Bachelorette," but earlier in the year, Ben Higgins — who starred on the 20th season of "The Bachelor" — also found himself facing ample amounts of scandal. Though the business analyst didn't ruffle many feathers when he vied for Kaitlyn Bristowe's heart on the 11th season of "The Bachelorette," when it came time for Ben to find the love of his life as the star of his own season, he left a lot of broken hearts in his wake. He shocked die-hard "Bachelor" fans when he told both of his final ladies — JoJo Fletcher and Lauren Bushnell — that he loved them, which is unheard of on the show. This resulted in a pretty painful finale episode in which he harshly dumped JoJo and picked Lauren to be his bride. Ben later defended his actions, telling Us Weekly: "That was my feelings at the time — it was my feelings in this situation. I don't regret being honest." Ben and Lauren landed their own spinoff, Freeform's "Ben and Lauren: Happily Ever After," but despite his "Bachelor" season wrapping up in March, his time with the other woman on the show still haunts him. JoJo, who is now happily with Jordan Rodgers, threw major shade when asked about her ex's new venture into reality TV, saying she knew nothing about it. And on her show, Lauren admitted she's still "frustrated" by the "JoJo situation."

Joe Giudice goes to prison! After wife Teresa Giudice spent the majority of 2015 behind bars, it was her husband's turn: The star of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" checked himself in to the Federal Correctional Institution in Fort Dix, New Jersey, in March to start serving a 41-month sentence on federal fraud charges. In April, it was announced that Joe would be leaving five months early, which moves his release date up to March 2019. But despite getting that good news, Joe has not had an easy time in prison. While there, he's reportedly been depressed and miserable and has lost more than 30 pounds — and rumors of trouble in his marriage have yet to go away.

It's been a while since a contestant has ruffled as many feathers as Chad Johnson did on JoJo Fletcher's season of "The Bachelorette." The 29-year-old luxury real estate agent provided endless drama as he bullied the rest of the men vying for JoJo's heart, often while simultaneously stuffing his face with cold cuts. After being compared to Hitler, calling JoJo naggy to her face and announcing he wouldn't take part in group dates, Chad finally got the boot and found himself welcomed with open arms on "Bachelor in Paradise." His outrageous antics even garnered him one pretty famous celebrity fan: Justin Bieber.