All The Times ‘The Real World’ Franchise Schooled Us On Love
We know The Real World house isn’t exactly the starting point for functional, successful marriages and relationships. I mean, we all remember the drama that was Jemmye and Knight in New Orleans, right? Known for drunken fist fights and loads of drama, there’s always more boozy hookups and embarrassing confessions than actually saying, “I love you.” But through the craziness and over the years, there have been couples who have stood the test of time a few months or more. With the finale of this season’s The Challenge upon us, we are feeling more nostalgic than ever. So here’s to those couples from the entire Real World and Challenge franchise who have schooled us on how to fall in love.
Danny & Melinda’s Touching Engagement
This couple was the epitome of all American sweetness from the moment mid-westerner Melinda let Boston-bred Danny into her heart/bed. They dated through most of their season, where they were met with some truly heartbreaking obstacles (like the death of Danny’s mother) and got engaged on the taped reunion show. They did walk down the aisle, but divorced soon after. Today, they remain friends.
Johanna & Wes’ Unexpected Hookup
Also from the Austin season, this couple was the most unlikely, probably out of the entire series. Though they were from completely different worlds and had a very conflicting set of opinions, Wes and Johanna flirted with electric chemistry. Nobody expected their flirtation to turn into bow-chica-wow-wow action. Their relationship taught viewers that no matter the differences, the heart wants what the heart wants.
Trishelle & Steven’s Pregnancy Scare
During the 2002 Vegas season, Trishelle and Steven had one of the most dramatic moments on the series. After hooking up, their pregnancy scare really brought a level of seriousness to the relationship and Steven decided he wasn’t ready for it. Though Trishelle and Steven didn’t fall in love, this moment made our list because it reminded us all of what can happen when you hook up and aren’t in love—thus making us fall in love with the realness of The Real World.
Brad & Tori’s Unbreakable Connection
. . .And then get engaged, break up, get back together and finally, get married and have a baby. This is the most successful relationship to ever come out of the series. They certainly had their drama after meeting on The Gauntlet 3 (who can forget when Tori briefly gave her ring back after they got engaged?!), but they are still together to this day.
Dustin & Heather’s History Lesson
When The Real World went back to Vegas in 2011, Dustin and Heather were definitely the most natural housemates to couple up. But after a short time of bedroom bliss, Heather learned of Dustin’s pornographic past and had to make the tough decision whether to move forward with their relationship. Ultimately, she could put aside the fact that he’d lied about it. Her acceptance of his past was definitely one of the best displays of love in Real World history. Recently, they appeared as a couple on Couple’s Therapy and explained their rocky history.
CT & Diem’s Supportive Moment
This couple had one of the most controversial relationships on The Challenge. They’ve been on and off again for the past several years and have definitely not always been the poster children for unshakable love. CT is known to have a temper and sometimes Diem just needs her space to deal with life. But the moment that captured all of our hearts was when, with fresh encouragement from CT, Diem took off her wig (she’d battled cancer) and exposed her natural hair. During this episode, bad boy CT proved that he really could be there for Diem in sickness and in health.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmkhM4ygPgM
Arielle & Ashley’s Rekindled Romance
On this past season of The Real World, we met Arielle. Arielle was a fun-loving aspiring filmmaker who had broken up with her girlfriend, Ashley, to have some responsible freedom. But as soon as MTV brought on the cast member’s exes, Ashley and Arielle couldn’t keep their hands off each other. It was really sweet watching Ashley give Arielle her space while she worked on her film and watching Arielle fall even deeper in love. By the end, they were the only exes at the reunion that were still together and happy. And we all collectively went, “awwww.”
