With all the turmoil in the house of the current season of The Real World: Sydney, it might be nice to take a breather from that tension, and instead, check back on some of the Real Worlders from previous seasons to find out what they're up to.

Although most Real Worlders usually find themselves embroiled in some kind of drama on the show, after they return home, away from the cameras, most return to a relatively normal life of careers, relationships, and hobbies like everyone else.

Melissa Howard, from The Real World: New Orleans, just had a special milestone in her life. She recently got married to Justin Beck, a writer and guitarist for a New York band called Glassjaw.

Tyler Duckworth gave his roommates something to worry about on his season of The Real World in Key West, Florida. He participated in a marathon while on the show, but with his training schedule interrupted by the small matter of a hurricane, and knee problems causing him to collapse just three miles from the finish, his fellow Real Worlders had some moments of concern. Now that he's back to his real life, he's returned to a focus on athletics and competition, and he writes a highly technical and almost charmingly-obsessive blog about current and part gymnastics competitions. As he puts it himself, he's “myopic” and offers that “Sports nuts are sports nuts, and we obsess over the most minute, ridiculous scenarios.”

Paula Meronek (aka Paula Walnuts), also from The Real World: Key West, appears to be continuing the self-help path she started on when she sought counseling for her ups-and-downs on that season. She recently posted a blog post extolling the virtues of the blunt relationship advice book He's Just Not That Into You on her Myspace page. She says, "As cliché and unbelievable as it is, it really is a life changing book. The only thing I regret is not reading it sooner.” It would appear that she is focused on keeping herself on the path to happiness.

Lori Trespicio from the tenth season of The Real World appears to have happily settled into her “100% domesticated” life as a pharmaceutical sales rep in Boston.

While she's still singing as a hobby, she seems to be relieved to not be pursuing any entertainment-related career goals, saying, “If I ever wanted to be known for something, the reason why I was so awkward about it was because I wasn't famous or known for anything I was proud of. If you were an actor or a musician or an artist of the sort or a successful business man, that would be great. People just knew who I was because I acted like a total a**hole when I was 21! I wanted security and 401k.”

So while the current crop of Real Worlders might be feeling a bit overwhelmed right now from the feedback – sometimes negative – from the viewers about their actions on The Real World, just keep in mind that with time, the spotlight can fade and you can get back to your very own real world.


- Leslie Seaton, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Sources: RemoteControl.MTV.com, TylerDuck.com, www.myspace.com/paulawalnuts
(Image courtesy of MTV)