Allegations are spreading online that a cast member of a currently airing dating reality show took part in filming while dating a married man. The show's production team is said to be checking the facts. The controversy has also put the vetting of contestants on dating reality shows featuring ordinary people back on the table.
According to the entertainment industry on the 8th, a post titled "Moral vetting failure of dating reality cast member" recently appeared on Blind, an anonymous community for office workers. The post has since been deleted, but it is spreading quickly across online communities and social media (SNS).
The writer, identifying as a public-interest whistleblower, claimed that cast member A of a currently airing dating reality show is "a perpetrator of infidelity who wrecked a family and a defendant in an alienation-of-affection damages lawsuit," and is deceiving viewers, the production team, and other cast members.
The writer said, "I decided to write to reveal the other side of A, a dating reality show cast member who is active as a former beauty pageant contestant," adding, "A is receiving a lot of viewers' support and love with a career woman image who loves her job, but in reality had a partner while appearing on the dating program." However, the writer did not disclose the program name or A's real name.
The writer claimed that A had been dating a married man with children from the time of applying to the program through the filming period. The writer said, "While already living as someone's partner, A pretended to be single and performed a dating act on a reality dating program."
The writer also claimed that A knew the man was married and had children. Although the victim spouse repeatedly asked them to end the improper relationship, A allegedly made it look like work-related meetings and continued the relationship.
The writer further claimed that A is not acknowledging the infidelity and is committing secondary harm by sending a letter to the victim mentioning the possibility of criminal complaints for defamation and insult. The post also included a closed-circuit (CC)TV capture image appearing to show a woman believed to be A and a man engaging in physical contact inside an elevator.
However, so far only the writer's side of the allegations has been made public. The veracity of the claims in the post and the attached images has not been confirmed. Online, various speculations about A's identity continue. Some note that, since the facts have not been verified, people should be cautious about identifying the person or making definitive accusations.
As the controversy grew, the production team reportedly began verifying the facts. Dating reality shows often allow ordinary contestants to expand their activities into influencers or broadcasters after airing, making contestants' privacy controversies directly impact a program's credibility. In the broadcasting industry, producers vet contestants through document reviews, interviews, and SNS checks, but there are limits because if contestants hide romantic relationships or privacy issues, they are hard to verify in advance.