With the My Kitchen Rules dinner party debacle occurring on Wednesday night, it seems only right to take a look back at some of the biggest reality TV bust-ups in history.
The feud between the princesses of Sydney, Jess and Emma, and Sonya and Hadil, the so-called Jordanian foodies, came to a boil on Wednesday night’s episode of My Kitchen Rules. Whilst this was heavily advertised and the anticipation leading up to the moment was huge, it certainly isn’t the first time we have seen a famous feud on our Australian TV’s.
Here are some of the most famous and intense reality TV feuds that have come across Australian screens.
Chantelle Barry against the world on Popstars (2000)
It was the first series of the new reality TV show Popstars which set out to bring the attention to a pop girl-group. It followed the story of Bardot and their quest for stardom, however, it didn’t take long for the drama to brew.
Chantelle Barry was the cause of the drama as she left the group, and subsequently the show, without any explanation to the producers or her group members.
It took years for an explanation to come out with rumours wildly circulating around the time mostly focusing on the idea that Barry had been stealing from the group. It was revealed later, by Barry herself, that she had stolen Sophie Monk’s weekly allowances and “forgot” to pay them back.
Dicko against Mark Holden on Australian Idol (2008)
Throughout the series, Dicko (Ian Dickson) and Mark Holden were certainly the most opinionated judges to appear but there was never anything to suggest the two had it in for each other.
That was until Mark Holden was fired from the show at the end of the 2008 season. Holden said that his firing was “such a shock” and blamed Dicko for it. “Dicko had completely put me in his pocket…he played me like a violin” he continued.
It was later revealed that Dicko was only allowed back on Australian Idol in 2007 with the blessing of Mark Holden, having moved to Channel Seven in 2005. Unfortunately, this moved didn’t work out for Channel 10 and at the end of 2008, someone had to go.
Athena versus Victoria in Real Housewives of Sydney (2017)
For a show that is built on the rollercoaster relationships of some of Sydney’s wealthiest women, it is no surprise that one of the battles features in this list. The two butted heads many times throughout the series but there is certainly one that stands out above the others.
Athena launches an attack on Victoria, following her failed journey to find her father who disappeared when she was a child only to find out he had died years earlier. Athena says “not even your family wanted you”, in a vicious attack.
Victoria doesn’t hold back though saying that Athena is “the most hated woman in the Greek Community”.
Kiera Maguire vs the world in The Bachelor (2016)
It didn’t take long for Kiera Maguire to make her mark as the villain of season four of the Australian Bachelor. She quickly made enemies and was constantly seeking ways to get a leg-up on the other contestants – and not in a fair way.
She even managed to make the eventual winner, Alex Nation, cry during the show by drawing on the fact that Alex had a little boy at home and that she was being way too “over the top” with Richie Strahan.
It didn’t take long for her villain persona to have an effect on the public either with the Channel Ten removing her from the marketing of the show within the first week of airing.