3 Times 'Siesta Key' Stars Made Us Question How "Real" Their Reality Show Is

- Siesta Key -
3 Times 'Siesta Key' Stars Made Us Question How "Real" Their Reality Show Is

Not all of reality TV is, well, reality. Take Laguna Beach, for example. Some of the cast have openly admitted that things were manipulated by directors and producers to make for the most interesting show.

Siesta Key may not be so exempt from this, as the stars of the show have taken to Twitter a few times to clarify certain storylines, whether it be to explain moments that were cut from the show, or even orchestrated drama. With this in mind, I decided to look back at all of the times the Siesta Key cast has had something to say about how things were portrayed on the show, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at just how real reality TV can be.

The Bikini Collab

In Season 4, Juliette and Kelsey had drama before the intro song even finished, all of it stemming from their competitive swimwear lines. Juliette had started a line and knew it was Kelsey’s dream, but took the spotlight anyway without caring about her former BFF or her feelings.

During the first couple of episodes, Kelsey tweeted that she never wanted it to become a competition and Juliette was the one making everything competitive between the two, which is pretty obvious as the episodes go on.

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In May, Kelsey took to Twitter to clarify that she had reached out to Juliette for a collaboration on a swimwear line, but was shot down by Juliette. It all happened before filming, and once cameras started rolling, the collab wasn't mentioned.

Who Bought The Island?

It's not uncommon for reality stars to go on fun, extravagant trips while filming their show. What is somewhat uncommon? The hosting cast member shelling out a ton of money for the trip just as normal people would if they were to go on the same vacation.

In the island episode of Siesta Key, fans may have thought Sam (Juliette's boyfriend) paid for the entire trip, but according to Kelsey, it was actually a production decision for the sake of COVID.

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Kelsey first tweeted about it, saying she didn't ask permission to shoot on an island that "MTV paid for," and then confirmed the island vacation's purpose in my interview with her in June.

"I wouldn't say it was exactly just 'Sam's trip.'" Kelsey told me at the time. "Before going on that trip, [Sam and I] FaceTimed, and [they didn’t air the part of the] conversation where Sam was like, 'You should go and do a photoshoot on this island. It's a great opportunity for both Juliette and you to shoot your bikini lines.'"

The Narrations

For a while, I called Siesta Key the reality show version of Gossip Girl, because of the voiceover narrations that allowed us a look into the minds of the cast members.

For the first season, the show had every cast member take turns narrating certain episodes. Eventually, though, Juliette took over the duty of narrating the show, much like Lauren Conrad did on The Hills. Some fans felt that this didn't allow them to necessarily hear everyone's point of view beyond Juliette's. But what if it wasn't always Juliette's point of view, anyway?

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In response to a tweet from Kelsey in which Juliette was accused of using the voiceover narration to her benefit, Juliette tweeted, "I don't write the narration," pulling back the curtain on a little reality TV magic. She ended the tweet with calling Kelsey's tweet "pathetic," so clearly not everything is faked.

I’m not saying that adding some produced drama here and there on reality TV is a bad thing. The show needs to be exciting to keep airing. But next time you watch Siesta Key, or any of your favorite reality shows for that matter, air on the side of caution when believing everything you see. Sometimes reality isn't as real as you may think.

Images: MTV

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