The Troubled Children Of Famous Reality TV Stars

It's tough to grow up in the spotlight. Just ask child actors, or kids who happen to be born to iconic Hollywood stars. But when you add the element of reality television, you have a group of children who grew up with cameras in their homes filming their every move, which takes things to a whole new level. 

After nearly three decades of reality television being mainstream entertainment, we have a generation of young adults who have matured in front of our eyes. Some have turned out all right and even landed reality shows of their own, like the children of Bravo celebrities who are now starring on "Next Gen: NYC." Ariana Biermann, whose mother starred on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" and her own spinoff, "Don't Be Tardy," told Bustle that she actually felt weird once the cameras stopped rolling, explaining, "A part of my life was missing [not being on TV]. I've done this for so long!" 

Sadly, some children of reality television stars don't find living in front of the camera quite as easy. From the children of "Real Housewives" to kids whose families were so interesting they landed their own show like "Chrisley Knows Best" and "19 Kids and Counting," we're taking a look at troubled kids from the reality TV world.

Mary Cosby is a fan favorite on "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City," largely due to her humorous one-liners. She's also been very transparent on the Bravo series — opening up about marrying her grandfather and sharing her son Robert Cosby Jr.'s battle with addiction. Robert Jr. was accused of driving under the influence both in 2020 and 2022, with The U.S. Sun reporting that during the latter incident, he was pursued by the police after throwing beer cans in a dumpster, failing to follow various road rules, and not staying in one lane. He later told police he did not have a driver's license and reportedly blew "triple zeros" during a breathalyzer test.

Just one year later, Robert Jr. was still on probation when he once again found himself in trouble with the law. This time, The U.S. Sun reported that he allegedly broke into an apartment, gave police officers a fake ID, and jumped off a balcony while wearing an ankle monitor on his leg due to still being on house arrest. After spending some time in rehab in 2024, it appeared Robert Jr. was making progress. Unfortunately, he got into more legal trouble in the fall of 2025, with a lengthy list of 14 charges that included felony property damage, assault on a peace officer, criminal trespassing, and misdemeanor assault. His wife, Alexiana Smokoff, filed for divorce in November 2025 after he violated a restraining order she had against him.

"19 Kids and Counting" first hit television screens in 2008, inviting viewers into the chaotic home of the conservative Christian Duggar family in Arkansas. The show was renewed year after year until a scandal broke in 2015. That year, In Touch broke the news that the oldest son, Josh Duggar, allegedly molested five underage girls in his teens, and four of them were his sisters. The outlet uncovered a 2006 report on the incidents and revealed that parents Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar didn't immediately go to the police, resulting in TLC canceling the series.

Things continued to get worse for Josh. A few months later, it was discovered that he was a subscriber on Ashley Madison, a dating site for married individuals. He put out a statement that read, "I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife" (via CNN).

Unfortunately, an even darker secret was unveiled in 2019. That year, an investigation by Homeland Security allegedly uncovered child pornography downloaded on Josh's computer, with The Wrap reporting that agent Gerald Faulkner described the findings as being "in the top five of the worst of the worst that I've ever had to examine." He was arrested in 2021 and sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison the following year. Once released, he will be prohibited from unsupervised contact with minors — including his own seven children with wife Anna Duggar.

Lauri Peterson was an OG cast member of "The Real Housewives of Orange County," the first franchise in the popular Bravo reality staple. The Southern California-based show depicted the luxurious lifestyle in the OC, but Peterson was a perfect example of looks being deceiving. She left the show after season four to help her son, Josh Waring, fight his drug addiction. Peterson told The Orange County Register at the time, "Josh was arrested [for heroin possession and being under the influence] just hours after I finished my first day of filming... for me, I needed to really pull back, concentrate on my emotional well-being and deal with the aftermath of the arrest."

Sadly, leaving the show wasn't enough to help Waring. He was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in 2016 and spent years in prison before making a plea deal in 2020. Just a few months later, he was arrested again and charged with possession of fentanyl and drug paraphernalia. In 2021, he was arrested once more when he was driving in a vehicle in which fentanyl and methamphetamine were found. 

In 2024, Waring was arrested for allegedly assaulting a security guard. Tragically, a few days after being released from jail after that incident, he died of an overdose. Entertainment Weekly reported that the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Department told the outlet that Waring died from "combined effects of fentanyl, methamphetamine and olanzapine."

"The Real Housewives of New York City" legend Luann de Lesseps made headlines when she was arrested for a DUI in Palm Beach in December 2017. Fans of the show were used to seeing de Lesseps drink heavily, but the arrest was made even more shocking when she was also charged with battery on an officer, resisting arrest with violence, and threatening a public servant, according to People.

But the glamorous housewife wasn't the first one in her family that year to be arrested for driving under the influence. Her daughter, Victoria de Lesseps, who was 22 years old at the time, had been arrested in April for the same offense. Victoria was reportedly pulled over for driving without her headlights, per Page Six. When she took a breathalyzer test at the police station that night, she allegedly blew a 0.15. She was held until the next morning and released without bail, according to the outlet.

While Victoria has stayed out of jail since then, she did get involved in the legal system the following year. She and her brother, Noel de Lesseps, and father, Count Alexandre de Lesseps, sued Luann in 2018 for violating part of her 2009 divorce settlement. They alleged that she failed to create a trust for her children. Fortunately for the reality star, the lawsuit was dropped by the family the following year.

People reported that Ryan Vieth, son of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" star Tamra Judge, was arrested for domestic violence in 2015. The reality star's son allegedly got into a drunken fight with his then-fiancée, Sarah Rodriguez, and was arrested. A source told the outlet, "The cops arrived and questioned both of them. Their stories didn't add up. They told Ryan that they had to arrest him because she claimed he pushed her down the stairs and she hurt her finger."

The couple had welcomed a child, their daughter Ava, just a few months prior to the incident. At the time, Judge spoke to Radar about the arrest, stating, "It's unfortunate and I'm not happy with either one of them. The reason they got into a fight wasn't his fault, but he's trying his hardest to work things out for their daughter."

While Vieth has kept himself out of hot water with law enforcement since this incident, when it comes to the court of public opinion, it's a different story. In 2019, Vieth faced widespread criticism and backlash after going on a transphobic rant on social media. At the time, Judge apologized for her son's actions on social media, posting a lengthy text post on Instagram that read in part (via E! News), "I have been extremely upset my son would post such a thing... His words were harsh & unacceptable. I have nothing but love & respect for the LGBTQ community... always have always will."

Alexa Curtin, the daughter of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" star Lynne Curtin, has repeatedly found herself in trouble with the law since her mother left the Bravo series. Back in 2016, Lynne's daughter was allegedly found with drugs in her car and charged with possession of a controlled substance, among other charges.

Two years later, The Blast reported that Alexa was officially charged with a DUI, which stemmed from a 2017 incident, and possession of drug paraphernalia, which allegedly involved items used to smoke heroin. The outlet reported that she spent four days in jail at the time. 2019 saw three more arrests — the first for suspicion of possession of Xanax and drug paraphernalia, the next two times, for warrants for her arrest for missing court hearings. She was arrested for drug possession charges again in 2021.

Sadly, Alexa's troubles with the law didn't end there. In 2025, she was arrested again, with US Weekly exclusively reporting that she was sentenced for possession of meth. That incident actually took place in 2022, but after not appearing for court hearings later that year, and again in 2023 and 2024, she was taken into custody and sentenced to six days in jail.

"Chrisley Knows Best" started airing on the USA Network in 2014, following the wealthy Georgia-based Chrisley family. But while these days the parents of the family, Todd and Julie Chrisley, are better known for serving jail time for bank fraud and tax evasion, their eldest son has also faced a lot of legal trouble.

When viewers first met Kyle during season one of the series, his family was helping him care for his infant daughter, Chloe. Sadly, by 2016, his parents had full custody of Chloe following Kyle's 2014 arrest for possession of methamphetamine and his subsequent hospitalization for attempted suicide a few months later.

In March 2023, Kyle was arrested for aggravated assault — just two months after his father, Todd, began serving his federal prison sentence. Just one year later, he was arrested once again for the same charge. In 2025, People reported that Kyle and his wife, Ashleigh Chrisley, filed a lawsuit against Rutherford County and the two sheriff's deputies involved in his arrest, claiming he was unfairly arrested and "punished for calling for help."

NeNe Leakes found fame on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," where she was a main cast member for the show's first seven seasons. Unfortunately, her eldest son, Bryson Bryant, made a name for himself for all the wrong reasons. He's been in trouble with the law numerous times over the last 15 years, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His first run-in was back in 2010 for marijuana possession, followed by a shoplifting charge the following year.

In 2013, he was arrested for a DUI. According to the outlet, "Bryant failed to report to his probation officer multiple times, tested for cocaine and skipped mandatory DUI school." After that arrest, Leakes' son ended up in prison, where he spent three months during the fall of 2014. He was arrested in connection with a check forgery charge in 2015. While Bryant had only had a fake check written to him — which he had not cashed — he gave police a false name. That was a misdemeanor and led to his arrest, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

In 2023, Bryant was arrested in Georgia and faced multiple charges — possession of a schedule II controlled substance (later revealed to be fentanyl), loitering or prowling, giving a false name, address, or birthday, and violation of probation from a prior case. Following those offenses, In Touch reported that Bryant's probation was put on pause when a parole officer was not able to find him in 2024.

Nick Hogan, who was born Nick Bollea, grew up in the spotlight, as his father was the world-famous wrestler Hulk Hogan. The family had a reality show, "Hogan Knows Best," from 2005 to 2007, and when it wrapped up, Bollea was just 17 years old. That same year, got into his first run-in with the law, after a street-racing crash left the passenger in his car, John Graziano, seriously injured. Despite still being a teenager, he was tried as an adult and sentenced to eight months in jail and five months of probation.

In 2023, Bollea had another vehicular incident when he was pulled over and arrested for DUI. As a result, he had his license suspended for a year and also received 12 months of probation. He was also sentenced to 100 hours of community service, required to take a DUI course, and pay a fine. Following this arrest, the victim's mother in the first accident, Debra Graziano, opened up to TMZ about Bollea's actions. She stated that his arrest showed a "total lack of respect for what [he] did to another person's life and you're still driving reckless." Graziano shared that her son lost most of his ability to function normally, and noted, "I can only pray that at some point in his life, while he still has the chance, that he turns his life around. Until then I hope no one else gets hurt."

The eldest son of "Real Housewives of Miami" star Alexia Nepola, Peter Rosello, not only did something illegal — he filmed it and posted it online. Back in 2021, Rosello assaulted a homeless man on video, going so far as to name the action on camera, announcing, "punching a hobo in the nuts," before actually doing it. Miami New Times reported that after turning himself in to Miami Beach police, Rosello was then booked into jail and charged with felony battery. He later pleaded guilty, but a plea deal kept him out of jail. Just one year later, Rosello was arrested for marijuana possession.

In 2022, Rosello was arrested for domestic violence after a domestic dispute with his girlfriend. Page Six reported that a Miami-Dade Police Department spokesperson explained that Rosello "proceeded to knee the victim in her crotch area ... then kicked the victim once while she was on the ground." He also "grabbed the victim by her arm and pulled her back inside of the apartment" when she tried to escape. He was booked and charged with misdemeanor battery. Fortunately for Rosello, those charges were dropped the following month. People reported that a memorandum stated, "The victim stated definitively that she did not want to cooperate with the State, and refused to provide a statement as to what transpired."