Reality TV stars who went from fame to felony convictions

From reality TV to an alleged murder charge

When Tamika Chesser appeared on Beauty And The Geek Australia in 2010, she seemed like any other hopeful contestant chasing love on TV. What nobody watching could have imagined was that the bubbly blonde would one day be charged with one of Oz’s most gruesome murders.

Last June, Chesser, 34, reportedly killed her partner, Julian Story, 39, at home in South Australia. Police allege she beheaded him, burned his body in the backyard, then attempted to transport his severed head.

The investigation unfolds

CCTV footage captured a heavily disguised woman carrying a large bag, which cops say contained Julian’s head. It was found weeks into the police search by a local dog walker.

While awaiting trial at a psychiatric facility in Adelaide, it was confirmed Chesser was pregnant. She reportedly gave birth last month. While the identity of the baby’s father hasn’t been revealed, it is expected that she won’t retain custody.

Dance Moms fame to federal charges

For eight seasons, Abby Lee Miller ruled the floor as the polarising coach of Dance Moms. But behind the scenes, she was busy with bankruptcy fraud. In 2017, Miller was sentenced to a year in jail after pleading guilty to concealing $1.2 million in earnings from the hit reality show.

After serving eight months, she was released in 2018, but her health deteriorated rapidly. Diagnosed with a rare, aggressive cancer just one month later, Miller, now 60, underwent emergency surgery and ended up paralysed from the neck down. She has since claimed that her time in prison led to her paralysis, stating that the medical care she received while incarcerated was negligent.

Rebuilding after cancer

Despite being declared cancer-free in 2019, she has been in a wheelchair ever since. Today, Miller continues to teach dance, judge competitions and produce TV.

She says, “For every mistake I’ve made, I’ve had to come back stronger.”

A Real Housewives favourite

Having appeared on Real Housewives Of New Jersey since 2009, Teresa Giudice is one of the franchise’s most recognisable stars, but she had to take a break from filming after pleading guilty to 41 counts of tax fraud in 2014.

She was sentenced to 15 months in the slammer but was released after serving just under a year in late 2015. Her husband Joe, however, spent a full 41 months in jail, later separating from his wife and having to move back to Italy as it turned out he has never obtained US citizenship.

A new chapter after release

Giudice, 53, remarried in 2022, saying “I do” to entrepreneur Luis Ruelas. They share a blended family of six kids. Reflecting on her time in prison, she says, “My roommate was a politician. I was in there with doctors and lawyers. I met a lot of cool people.”

From Real Housewives to legal trouble

Appearing as a core cast member on the first three seasons of The Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City, Jennifer Shah eventually ended up behind bars after being busted for running a years-long telemarketing scheme that targeted and defrauded the elderly.

In 2021, when Shah, now 52, was initially sentenced, the former Mormon entered a plea of not guilty, but she did a U-turn one week before her trial was set to begin in 2022, pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She was sentenced to six and a half years in prison, and ordered to pay $11 million to her victims.

Life inside federal prison

After spending most of her sentence at a minimum-security prison in Texas, Shah was released late last year to serve the remainder of her time under house arrest. While she admits her relationship with husband Sharrieff was “going towards a divorce” before she went to jail, they’ve since salvaged their 32-year marriage.

She says, “He’s one of a kind. Most people would have run away, but my family has come closer through all of this.”