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Confessions, Rants, And Fake Tears: The Wildest, Most Iconic Reality TV Confessionals
Remember Elyse slamming her castmates on "America's Next Top Model" Season 1? Or Edgar telling Gillian goodbye forever on "Temptation Island"?
When you watch a reality TV show, you know there are certain tropes that are observed: There will be drama, there will be hookups, there will be people there for "the wrong reasons," and there will be, of course, confessionals.
The reality TV "confession cam" is a standard across the genre: Participants on the show speak to the camera and reveal their thoughts about what's been going on during filming. This gives viewers insight into where people stand when it comes to action on the show — as well as many hilarious moments and shady one-liners.
And while the drama typically happens out in the open, away from the confessional setup, there have been times where the interview setup led to unforgettable television moments. These are just some of the most surprising and memorable confessionals on reality TV.
Andrew's Fake Tears On 'Love Is Blind'
During Nancy Rodriguez's time in the pods on "Love Is Blind" Season 3 she found herself torn between two men she had never seen: Andrew Liu and Bartise Bowden. Ultimately, she rejected Andrew's proposal in favor of Bartise, saying she couldn't see a future with Andrew.
Andrew, for his part, seemed devastated by this turn of events. Well, at least, he seemed to want people to think he was devastated. In a confessional, he starts to explain his hurt before asking producers, “Oh, hang on. Mind if I [put in eye drops]?” He then actually put eye drops in to make it look like he had been sobbing before saying, “I never thought I could care for someone that would bring me to tears."
It's still up for debate whether Andrew thought producers would edit it out, or if he thought it would be funny, or if he was encouraged to do the move. Regardless, it's one of the best moments of the season.
Kris Jenner Exposes Her Momager Ways On 'Keeping Up With The Kardashians'
These days, Kris Jenner is considered the prime example of a "Momager." While she deeply loves her kids, she's always thinking of the business angle, people theorize. It's been a running joke in the Kardashian fandom, one that seems to have its roots from a joking confessional Kris did early on in "Keeping Up With The Kardashians."
“When I saw Kim's sex tape, as a mother, I wanted to kill her. But as her manager, I knew that I had a job to do," Kris said in Season 1, leading to the birth of a million memes.
Gillian And Edgar's Promise Ring Debacle On 'Temptation Island'
You could argue confessionals are more crucial to "Temptation Island" than any other reality TV program. Unlike in most shows, the confessionals aren't just shown to the cast when the episode airs. Sometimes, as part of the bonfires the participants regularly have, they are shown what their significant other is saying about them during their time living apart with other singles.
On Season 4 of "Temptation Island," one couple's demise originated from a seemingly offhand comment: Edgar De Santiago saw girlfriend Gillian Lieberman tell one of the single men she was considering taking her promise ring off. This led to many tearful confessionals with Edgar over the situation, including a confessional when he addressed Gillian directly.
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“Gillian, what the f--k. If you’re not in this, why the f--k did you drag me all this way? I love you. But, if you don’t love me, then leave me alone. Leave me the f--k alone,” he said to the camera.
Gillian witnessed this emotionally charged moment at her bonfire, and it seemed to mark a turning point for both her and Edgar to go their separate ways and be with other people on the island.
Elyse's Rant Against Her Fellow Contestants On 'America's Next Top Model'
Season 1 of "America's Next Top Model" came in the early days of reality TV — so one has to wonder if Elyse Sewell realized her fellow castmates would see her scathing, profanity-laden confessional rant.
The contestants on this "cycle," as Tyra deemed each season of the show, often clashed, especially over religion. Seemingly fed up with the house and the other girls Elyse vented her frustrations to the camera in a tirade E! later included in "E!'s Most Outrageous TV Moments."
"Robin, how f--king dare you show me 'the foolish is the atheist' Bible verse this morning and ask me what do I think of it? What the f--k am I supposed I think of it? You know what I think about you? Foolish is the woman who believes that goddamn tripe," she began.
But the other girls were't safe either.
"Giselle ... you are so wasteful, bitchy, stupid, you're worthless. Your parents must be ashamed of you. Adrienne, stop interrupting me. Stop quoting 'Jay and Silent Bob' in my ear. I've had enough of you. I don't want to hear the same story over and over. Jay, you offended me today I know medical school is hard work, how could I possibly not know that? And secondly how dare you imply I'm uppity because I want to be a lifesaver and you don't?" she continued.
Elyse then seemed to pause before remembering there was another person in the house she was annoyed with.
"What else? Katie, I don't believe a word that comes out of your mouth. You're the most insincere person I've ever met ... these bitches!" she concluded.
Lisa Rinna Claims Kathy Hilton Went On Tirade About 'Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills' Cast
Fans knew from the tabloids that something had gone down between Kathy Hilton and some of the members of "The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills" on the cast trip to Aspen in Season 12. When we got to the episode in question, though, viewers learned there wasn't any footage of Kathy's meltdown in the Colorado club. Instead, they were treated to a series of confessionals from the other ladies about what they saw happened, with Sutton Stracke even dramatically mentioning Kathy wanted to do a conga line, even though no one wanted to do it, which set off a fight.
However, it was Lisa Rinna who had the most to say in her confessional.
"I feel like I have seen the devil," Lisa said, "and her name is Kathy Hilton."
After Kathy got upset, Lisa took her home from the club. It was then, she alleged, that Kathy had a full "meltdown."
Rinna went on to claim Kathy said she would destroy sister Kyle Richards and her family, that Dorit Kemsley was a "stupid, useless idiot," that Crystal Kung Minkoff and Sutton Stracke should be fired, and that she would "take down the show" and "ruin them all."
Of course, with only Rinna's testimony to go on, viewers were divided about what really happened that infamous night. Either way, there's no denying her confessional set the stage for one of the most dramatic reunions yet.
Christian Lee Cones Writes Anonymous Letter To Expose Competitor
When Nicole Rémy, the heroine of the Regency-era dating show "The Courtship" received an anonymous note warning her the man she had the strongest connection with so far wasn't what he seemed, she wasn't sure who would have written it. Viewers, however, had already seen suitor Christian Lee Cones pen the letter and explain his reasoning in an earlier confessional.
Suitor Lincoln Chapman and Nicole had been sharing steamy moments, even hanging out at night in her room, which upset the other men. Christian was further incensed when Lincoln confided in them that he wasn't sure about commitment with Nicole, even calling what they had more of a "fling." Christian claimed he cared too much about Nicole to see her get hurt, so he wrote a letter exposing what Lincoln had said, warning her he would never love her.
Nicole kicked Lincoln out after a tearful confrontation in one of the most dramatic moments in the show. As for Christian, well, he ultimately confessed to writing the letter, and Nicole said she was grateful for it.
Clare Crawley Implies She Had Sex With Juan Pablo Galavis On 'The Bachelor'
There are certain unspoken rules on "The Bachelor" — and one of them is you, uh, wait for the Fantasy Suite. Juan Pablo Galavis, the Bachelor in Season 18, seemingly broke that tenet with contestant Clare Crawley, in a reality TV moment both shocking because it had never happened before, but also disappointing because of how Juan Pablo treated Clare afterward.
While the two were in Vietnam, they left a group date to hang out in the pool alone together, with Juan Pablo gifting her the rose that would keep her safe in that elimination ceremony. Later, at about 4 a.m. Clare came to Juan Pablo's room and asked him to swim in the ocean with her.
What viewers saw the next morning was an incredibly awkward conversation filled with allusions, as neither actually confirmed they had sex but essentially implied it.
Juan Pablo said it was "a little weird for me," claiming he was "too fair" so what they did "wasn't right" because he was still getting to know all the other women. Clare seemed utterly shocked and hurt by what Juan Pablo had to say about his next morning regrets, later revealing all in a teary-eyed confessional.
"I knew when we were in the ocean, that it was a mutual feeling. If he didn’t think it was right he shouldn’t have done it. I would have respected that,” she said as she cried.
Adam Glick Exposes His Relationship With Malia White On "Below Deck Med"
Sparks seemed to fly immediately between Adam Glick and Malia White on "Below Deck Mediterranean" when the chef and the deckhand met on the ship in Season 2. However, the flirtation between them took a turn when Malia began to forge a romance with bosun Wes Walton instead.
Adam seemed to take the development hard — which is when the real truth came out in a shocking confessional. Adam admitted that he and Malia had actually met before they boarded the yacht on "Below Deck Med" during a training course and had started hooking up then. They had agreed to lie about about their relationship to everyone, including production, so Adam was blindsided when Malia started pursuing Wes instead.
“Adam finds out [Malia and Wes were together]. He overhears, and I remember in an interview he was so upset, so distraught that he didn’t even want to have an interview,” executive producer Nadine Rajabi said at a BravoCon panel in 2019. “So I said, ‘Adam, let’s just talk.’ And he just sat there and was like going off. ‘Look at this text message, look at this text message.’ He just went off. And you know what, at that point, we just had to air that interview because it was so real and raw and the way we showed it, we found out as producers, and that was the biggest thing, like, you have to break the fourth wall or else it doesn’t even make sense.”
Catch up on your favorite USA Network reality shows like "Temptation Island" and "The Courtship" on Peacock now.
