Ever wondered if you could make it on a reality TV show? As a viewer, maybe it seems like an easy way to grow an online following, score a brand deal or just enjoy a moment of fame.
But the reality of reality TV is far more complex, with impacts on stars' mental health being one of the potential consequences.
Domenica Calarco has starred on Married At First Sight and I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!
She says reality stars need to be aware of psychological impacts and the importance of getting mental health support, particularly while the show is airing.
"I think there's a few people that still have that mentality of like, ‘Oh no, I'm good. Nah, no, I don't need to speak to anyone’," she told The Feed.
"It's pretty prevalent in Australian culture, that ‘Oh, she'll be right’ nature'."
But the average person cast off the street "doesn’t have the tools" to deal with the attention that can come from viewers.
Are reality TV stars protected well enough in Australia?
Starring on a reality TV show brings with it an unfamiliar environment, working and sometimes living with strangers. There's also the added pressure of knowing your actions will be watched by thousands of strangers and discussed on online forums and social media groups.
"Two years down the track, I'm still getting DMs from people in Finland and Iceland that are watching it at the moment. So it's constantly airing and stirring up people's emotions and feelings when they're watching it."
Domenica thinks in general, more needs to be done to protect reality TV stars. One of the issues is the crux of reality TV: its perceived reality.
“I think production companies and producers get caught between a rock and a hard place because they go out and try and find these people for these shows,” she said.
“[People who] have pasts that are a bit interesting and create for epic storylines, it’s often those people that cop it when the show is airing, because their private life just becomes public fodder.”
Before starring on Married At First Sight, Domenica went through a divorce. This was "very interesting" to producers, but also had consequences in her personal life because her ex didn't want to be involved in the show.
As well as improved media training, she thinks production companies could focus on better communicating the potential consequences of starring on reality TV to contestants.
“People really don’t realise that once you sign up for a show and once you agree to be on TV, there’s no going back,” she said.
“Your life is no longer private.”
A spokesperson for Endemol Shine said, “the wellbeing of all involved on our programs is taken very seriously."
"Our show psychologist remains in close contact with all participants throughout the entire production period, and during broadcast.
"After the program has finished on air, participants have ongoing support via a dedicated external psychological support service for as long as they need, it does not end.”
Accessing mental health support on reality TV
Big wave surfer Felicity 'Flick' Palmateer has starred on Survivor Australia twice, in 2021 and 2023. Survivor Australia, like Married At First Sight, is produced by Endemol Shine.
“I went through something pretty bloody tragic on national TV, and then it aired all around Australia,” Flick told The Feed.
“The help that was there for me in that moment when it actually happened, right up through to when it aired, and even after that, was great.”
Flick says she had access to a psychologist whenever she needed, including after the show, as well as support from producers. She described the support she received as "incredible".
Contestants on Survivor Australia also had daily medical checkups, which included a psychologist.
Preparing to star on a reality TV show
There is a vast range of reality TV shows, from romance-focused shows such as Married At First Sight and The Bachelor to competitions such as RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under or SAS: Australia.
Before filming Survivor Australia, Flick went through a number of tests, including psychological and fitness tests, to ensure she was ready to go on the show.
“Obviously, you want to prioritise people’s mental health … I do think there is some sort of duty of care there to make sure that everyone's okay on the other side, but I also believe that we make these choices to go on these shows ourselves,” she said.
“They do make [you] very aware of what you're about to put yourself into.”
Can you protect yourself from a bad edit?
One element of reality TV is the ‘villain edit’, where a contestant is given a negative edit to make them the antagonist of the show.
“We could talk for hours about villains and what that does to people,” Domenica said.
Reality TV contestants have no control over how they are edited after the fact - and with hours of material available to producers, contestants can be cast in a negative light with a few clips.
Both Flick and Domenica said it’s essential to keep in mind what you say on reality TV, and the potential consequences.
Before Flick appeared on Survivor, someone gave her the advice that, “at the end of the day, you really are in control of what comes out of your mouth”.
Similarly, Domenica says appearing on reality TV isn't about "playing a game".
“It’s about seeing how you’re going to come across when the filming is finished and it’s going to air.”
There are new calls for reality TV star protections
As the SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild strikes continue to halt movies and scripted TV in the US, high-profile reality stars have called for workers in the industry to unionise, and for better working conditions.
Leading the calls is Bethenny Frankel, star of The Real Housewives of New York City and a number of other reality shows. In an Instagram and TikTok video, she argued networks and streaming services profit off reality stars through merchandise and sharing show clips to platforms like YouTube.
Like the US, Australia has no dedicated union for reality TV stars
Dr Gabrielle Golding, senior lecturer in law at the Adelaide Law School, University of Adelaide, said the role of a union is to represent the rights of workers “as a collective”.
“You think about it at the really basic sense, it's strength in numbers,” she said.
A union is able to advocate “on behalf of workers” rather than workers having to “stick up for themselves in an individual sense”.
Looking back, Domenica feels that "there definitely should have been an independent union or some kind of body that we could have gone to".
So, you go on reality TV. Are you a worker?
According to Golding, the question of whether reality stars are workers depends if someone is engaged under a contract of employment, or they’re classified as an independent contractor or contestant.
“You can either be an employee, such that you are engaged to provide a service to your employer, or you're engaged as an independent contractor, in which case you don't attract all the benefits and wonderful things that go with being an employee,” she said.
Those include things like leave, overtime and public holidays off - minimum standards under the Fair Work Act's National Employment Standards.
In 2019, the Channel Seven had to pay for House Rules contestant Nicole Prince’s medical expenses under the Workers Compensation Act.
The Commission found Prince was an employee rather than an independent contractor, and that she suffered a psychological injury in the course of her employment with Seven.
But regardless of whether you’re a contractor or employee, you still have a right to have your safety protected.
“Whoever is engaging that worker, whether they be classed as an employee or an independent contractor, they have a duty … to provide them with a safe place of work,” Golding said.
Could a reality TV union help?
At this point hundreds, if not thousands of Australians have starred on a reality TV show, and whether a union is the ultimate solution to issues in the industry is unclear.
Domenica thinks there “100 per cent should be” a reality TV union though.
“I know that a lot of people’s mental health has been affected, their livelihoods and all that kind of stuff. And I think it would be beneficial to have a union to go to,” she said.
“My dad’s a plumber and he’s in a union, and I see all these other people, all my mates.
“When I think about where I would go or who I can go to, there’s not really anyone.”
