Welcome to the first annual Reality Tea Awards! In honor of the new year, we’re taking a look back at the reality TV highlights of 2024. The Reality Tea staff voted on the Reality TV Villain of the Year and came up with four nominees, along with a winner.
There have been several notorious reality TV personalities who made their mark on pop culture in 2024. Some of our nominees embraced their “villain” label with pride, while others maintain they are simply misunderstood. Either way, we’re grateful to them for the entertainment they provided this year. After all, reality TV would cease to exist without our beloved villains.
It’s important to remember that our nominees are real people with feelings. Their TV edits in 2024 may have been unfavorable, but that doesn’t mean they are a villain in real life. They just play one on TV!
Keep reading for our full list of nominees.
Nominee: Jackie Goldschneider – Real Housewives of New Jersey
Viewers were shocked when Margaret Josephs’ revealed Jackie Goldschneider previously contacted Teresa Giudice’s husband Luis Ruelas’ exes in the Season 14 finale of Real Housewives of New Jersey. Fans couldn’t believe Jackie would go behind Teresa’s back to get dirt on Luis. Jackie confirmed Margaret’s claim, telling Teresa she did meet with Luis’ exes. She explained that she wanted revenge after Teresa spread a false rumor that Jackie’s husband was cheating. Surprisingly, Teresa didn’t flip out or flip a table. She forgave her friend and said she understood she was coming from a hurt place.
Nominee: Tom Sandoval – Vanderpump Rules
There is no doubt Tom Sandoval was the biggest Bravo villain of 2023. His affair with Rachel Leviss broke the internet and Sandoval dealt with a storm of backlash from fans. He was even labeled “The Most Hated Man in America” in a New York Times profile. Yikes. He was unable to shed his villainous reputation in 2024 and remained a controversial figure on the network. He didn’t get the redemption arc he was hoping for on Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules. Ariana Madix was not ready to make peace and fans had trouble seeing his side of the story.
Nominee: Wes Bergmann – House of Villains
Wes Bergmann has always been proud of his villain status and embraced an “I’d rather be feared than loved” mentality. In 2024, The Challenge star increased his notoriety by joining the Season 2 cast of House of Villains. Wes, of course, felt right at home among reality TV’s most controversial stars. He used his experience on previous reality competition shows to outsmart his fellow competitors and get them to do what he wanted.
Nominee: Jax Taylor – The Valley
Jax Taylor was the first villain of Vanderpump Rules. Fans were astounded by the amount of lies he told in his first season. He was a quintessential bad boy. The Michigan native cheated on his girlfriends, drank too much, and never took accountability for his actions. He left the show after Season 8 and kept a relatively low profile for a few years. Jax’s absence from reality TV softened viewers’ opinion of him. He saw cute photos of him with his family on Instagram and earnestly believed he had changed. However, Jax showed fans he still had some demons to overcome in Season 1 of The Valley. We watched him yell at his wife and concluded that he was still the same man.
Winner: Alexis Bellino and Tamra Judge – Real Housewives of Orange County
Tamra Judge and Alexis Bellino were at the center of controversy on Season 18 of Real Housewives of Orange County. Alexis returned to RHOC on the arm of Shannon Beador’s ex John Janssen and fans were not happy about it. That said, she was hired before hooking up with Johnny J. Viewers criticized her for flaunting her relationship in front of Shannon and labeled her “a villain.” Tamra also received heat from “Team Shannon” viewers, who felt she was not a good friend in Season 18.
Tamra and Alexis created a fabulous season of television. If there is one thing Tamra is going to do it’s speak her mind and I respect her that. Real Housewives is at its best when the cast isn’t concerned with public opinion. I felt that energy from Tamra and Alexis this season.
Real Housewives of Orange County is streaming on Peacock.
TELL US – DO YOU AGREE WITH OUR WINNER? WHO DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST REALITY TV VILLAIN OF 2024?
