Between cheating scandals and love triangles, 2022 was a wild year for Aussie reality TV – and these were the biggest players.
2022 was a wild year for reality TV. Between cheating scandals, love triangles, allegedly faking OnlyFans earnings and rankings, and online smackdowns, a lot happened in 2022 – and it consequently made stars out of the key players. According to The Wash and Yahoo Lifestyle, these were the biggest Aussie reality stars of the year.
Jules Robinson and Cameron Merchant, MAFS
Coming in at numbers nine and 10 respectively, MAFS’ Jules and Cameron emerged as one of the rare success stories from the show, not just welcoming a baby together but also turning their collective power into viable businesses. This year, while Jules geared up for a book deal, the couple also focused on normalising their struggles with getting pregnant a second time.
Lorinska, Yummy Mummies
The Channel Seven show may have failed to make an impact when it aired, but Lorinska became its saving grace when the program made its way to Netflix. She’s turned her stint on Yummy Mummies into a veritable empire, with a feed dominated by mom-fluencer content, a luxury baby clothing line, and a pregnancy assist app.
Martha Kalifatidis and Michael Brunelli, MAFS
Another one of MAFS’ success stories, Martha Kalifatidis and Michael Brunelli won people over through not just an exciting pregnancy announcement, but also with how they kept it real with Kalifatidis’ difficult experience with carrying a baby full term. Last we heard, Brunelli ripped into trolls online for coming after Martha’s pregnancy clothing.
Sam Wood, The Bachelor
From The Bachelor to turning his fame and success into a fitness empire, Sam Wood has it all. This year, Wood not only welcomed his third child with his wife Snezana, but also sold his company 28 by Sam Wood – founded in 2016 – to myDNA for a whopping $71 million dollars.
Laura Bryne and Brittany Hockley, The Bachelor
If you’ve been on the internet in the past few weeks, you’ve heard these two names. Bryne and Hockley’s podcast, Life Uncut, brought a sustained spell of success for the two: they got a national radio show, went on tour for their podcast, and eventually transitioned into successful solo stints as well. Let’s just hope the recent controversies around Hockley don’t put the brakes on this upward climb.
Hockley recently found herself in hot water with Abbie Chatfield when she was called out for slut shaming the latter during an episode of The Kyle and Jackie O Show. While she later apologised, the fallout resulted in a very public online spat with Chatfield, which eventually turned into fans pulling up Life Uncut for censoring comments about slut shaming and Chatfield.
Harry Jowsey, Too Hot To Handle
Between the success of Too Hot To Handle and Heartbreak Island, a whopping $4 million dollars in OnlyFans earnings, and a nine-million strong Instagram following, Jowsey has become a veritable star. He even moved to Hollywood!
Abbie Chatfield, The Bachelor
She may have pulled out of the Beyond The Valley festival citing health reasons, but that doesn’t refute the fact that Chatfield’s rise this year has been nothing short of meteoric. From being announced as the host for the upcoming reality show FBOY Island to sold-out shows for her podcast tour, to relaunching her sex-toy brand to massive success, and introducing a new fashion brand that became an instant hit, Chatfield’s 2022 has been as memorable as it has been busy.
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