Living with a roommate can be difficult in itself. Trying having at least six strangers living in the same house AND having their lives taped at the same time!The Real Worldstarted the reality television revolution by placing a group of young adults in a situation where they not only had the difficulty of having to engage in some of life’s most taboo topics, but they had to do it while sharing the same space 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.There was no escape!
For 33 seasons,The Real Worldwas the pioneering reality television experiment that rocked the world.Inspiring so many tropes and personalities for decades to come,The Real Worldrevolutionized the concept of putting strangers together in a situation and taping their every move. Certainly, there is only so much of the experience you’re able to show in a brief episode and season order, butThe Real Worldalways shared the juicy bits.The Real Worldfound the casting recipe by managing to place opposites in a situation where drama would ensue.And thus, some of the worst roommates emerged. Some were vile, some were abrasive, and some were just downright annoying. Here are ten of the worst of all time!
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10CT Tamburello
Season 13: “The Real World: Paris” (2003)
ForThe Real World’s thirteenth season, the show sent seven strangers to live in a château in Paris. The international locale served as a beautiful escape and backdrop. But not every single roommate was on their best behavior during their time in the City of Lights.Chris “CT” Tamburellowas an abrasive, confrontational loudmouth from Massachusetts.He was a rage machine, showing his fist to every wall, object, and roommate he could find.
CT found himself in an immense amount of feuds within the house, causing a lot of tension between the roommates. Soon after his time in Paris, CT became a staple onThe Challenge, showcasing the same confrontational behavior on that show as well. Even getting himself kicked off multiple times for punching another cast member, including his formerThe Real World: Parisroommate,Adam King. Very few reality television personalities have the opportunity to redeem themselves on screen. It may have taken CT nearly two decades to do so, but through his time on the show, he’s revealed a softer side, proving people can in fact change.
9David Edwards
Season 2: “The Real World: Los Angeles” (1993)
One of the defining moments ofThe Real World: Los Angelesinvolved one roommate having the blanket ripped off of them by another. That person wasDavid Edwards. He arrived on the show as a rising comedian.He left the show, losing his career and being the first cast member to be evicted fromThe Real World.David was a very controversial character because of his confrontational personality, but much of his commentary was at the heart of what this social experiment was all about.
With David not getting along with the majority of the women in the house, when the blanket incident occurred withTami Akbar Roman, it was an opportunity to hold a house meeting to ask him to leave. David did join the majority of his cast forThe Real World Homecoming: Los Angeles.It became a redux of the first experience.Old feuds were rehashed, and his experience was just like the first one.
8Ryan Leslie
Season 24: “The Real World: New Orleans” (2010)
Some people thrive on being instigators. One of those people wasThe Real World: New Orleans’Ryan Leslie. As one of two Ryans in the house, Ryan Leslie was the one that the rest of the house was happy to see leave early. When it came to chores, Ryan Leslie didn’t think it was his responsibility.
Obviously, it became a point of contention with his fellow roommates. When he wasn’t being lazy,Ryan Leslie spent the majority of the time during his experience having a beef with his gay roommate, Preston O’Neil Roberson-Charles.Their feud escalated to the point where Preston decided to urinate on Ryan’s toothbrush, causing Ryan to call the cops on him. In the end, Ryan was asked to leave, adding to the list of cast members who were evicted fromThe Real World.
7Tonya Cooley
Season 11: “The Real World: Chicago” (2002)
Some people become enabled by being reality stars.Tonya Cooleywas one of them. Between her time onThe Real World: ChicagoandThe Challenge, Tonya’s reputation was not positive. Hailing from Walla Walla, Washington, her desire to be a good roommate was essentially non-existent. Often attached to the phone to speak to her boyfriend, Tonya was considered the house’s drama queen. She spent her time feuding withAnessa Ferreira, sharing her stances regarding homosexuality, and discussing her fear of Black men.
While she did explore how her past prejudices could be changed through this experience, it didn’t quite change the rest of the cast’s opinion of her.During the early heyday ofThe Challenge, Tonya Cooley was a perennial competitor. She continued to appear simply for the drama. Her battle with alcohol and many of the women in the game caused her to be a laughingstock among other challengers.
6Coral Smith
Season 10: “The Real World: Back to New York” (2001)
Thanks toThe Challenge, many MTV reality stars have the opportunity to change people’s opinions about them. One of them wasCoral Smith. During her time onThe Challenge, she became a beloved character thanks to her loudmouth and tell-it-like-it-is personality. During her time onThe Real World: Back to New York, she was not beloved thanks to her loudmouth and tell-it-like-it-is personality. What changed? Frankly, how her friendship with future WWE superstarMike “The Miz” Mizaninblossomed.
During her time onThe Real World: Back to New York,Coral spent most of her time educating her roommates and the audience alike about her experience living as a Black woman in America.She gets the moniker of being a bad roommate not because she didn’t have the right to speak her mind, but because of the way she went about it. She was often seen on the attack, putting many of her roommates off. But it all changed during her time onThe Challenge, cementing her as a legend. All it takes is a change of venue!
5Julie Stoffer
Season 9: “The Real World: New Orleans” (2000)
Julie Stofferseemed like the epitome of a young woman who could learn and change through their experience onThe Real World. She was inquisitive and eager to learn, but her eagerness and past prejudices caught up with her, becoming a nuisance in the process. Even with an eagerness to learn about the world around her, Julie’s connection with her fellowThe Real World: New Orleanscast never quite clicked, which became even more evident duringThe Real World Homecoming: New Orleans.
She arrived as a Mormon girl, studying at Brigham Young University.Her code of ethics was often tested, as Julie was excited to taste sin during her time in NoLa.Since the show, she has appeared onThe Challengea couple of times, where, once again, she became a target due to her previous bad blood. Her competitive nature also shined through, making her a formidable opponent but also a burden to her teammates.
4Stephen Williams
Season 7: “The Real World: Seattle” (1998)
The slap. That was what definedStephen Williamsas such a bad roommate. At the top ofThe Real World: Seattle’s highlight reel was the infamous slap Stephen gaveIrene McGeeas a parting gift. It’s not uncommon to have hot-headed individuals live inThe Real Worldhouse, but this single moment changed everything for Stephen.
He was threatened by his roommates to either get anger management help or leaveThe Real Worldhouse. He chose the former, knowing that it was the right thing to do. The incident that caused the slap was when Irene stated that a marriage would not work between them as he was a homosexual. Well, it struck a nerve, so he tossed her stuffed animal in the water, raced after her car, opened the door, and then engaged in the slap heard around the world. As it would just so happen,Stephen came out as gay in 2008.
3Frankie Abernathy
Season 14: “The Real World: San Diego” (2004)
Sometimes,The Real Worldis all about overcoming fears and tension. ForFrankie Abernathy, that was just not in the cards for her. Frankie was a trailblazer for the franchise as she arrived onThe Real World: San Diegoas the first cast member with cystic fibrosis. It was a part of her identity on the show, bringing awareness to the disease and living with the mantra, “Tomorrow is a privilege, so live today like tomorrow isn’t happening.”
But on the other side of things, Frankie’s punk rock persona and her phobias of large metal items, like the boat they were supposed to be working on, caused a lot of tension with the cast. She also had a boyfriend that she longed to be with, sowhen conflict arose between Frankie and her roommates, she decided it was best to bounce.Sadly,Frankie passed away in 2007 from cystic fibrosis at the age of 25.
2Puck Rainey
Season 3: “The Real World: San Francisco” (1994)
What’s there to say aboutDavid “Puck” Raineythat has not been said before? He was an absolute menace duringThe Real World: San Francisco. Puck was known for his vile hygiene habits and for antagonizingPedro Zamora. Their time in the house together was anything but civil. Pedro, who was HIV+, was the face of the AIDS epidemic in the 90s, but Puck had no sympathy, even putting Pedro’s well-being in jeopardy. Puck was a villain through and through.
When he placed his fingers into Pedro’s peanut butter, it was all over for Puck.Pedro threatened to leave the house if Puck stayed, but the rest of the roommates would not agree to that condition, forcing Puck to leave instead.Puck’s life following the show was equally rash and problematic, but his name will always be one that is synonymous withThe Real World.
1Nia Moore
The Real World: Portland
AsThe Real Worldevolved, volatile incidents became celebrated more than frowned upon. ForNia Moore, her time duringThe Real World: Portlandwas anything but positive. As a latecomer to the cast, Nia came in like a hurricane.Between the verbal and physical abuse of many of her roommates, the show continued to keep her in until the very end.
She andJordan Wiseleyoften butted heads, leading to screaming matches and verbal threats. By the end of the experience, she engaged in physical assault when she brandished a blowdryer againstJohnny Reilly, which in turn caused his girlfriend,Avery Tressler, to attack Nia. In the end, she was allowed to stay, as Johnny and Avery felt it was best for their own safety to leave the house. Nia was invited to compete onThe Challengemultiple times, but her attitude was often the same, being kicked off once for an incident with her formerThe Real World: Portlandroommate, Jordan.
