Note: This post has been updated for 2024!
In honor of Veteran’s Day, The Ashley is excited to bring you this list of reality TV stars that are also military veterans! These people risked their lives (not to mention sacrificed precious time with their friends and family) to serve our country, so it’s only right that we honor them over here on The Roundup!
Happy Veteran’s Day to the men and women listed below, and all of our military service men and women, and their families! Thank you for your service!
David Toborowsky (90 Day Fiance) U.S. Army
David— whom we first met on “90 Day Fiance” Season 5— served in the U.S. Army starting in 1988. David has stated that he was stationed in Fort Leonard Wood and Redstone Arsenal during his time in the military. In May 2019, David posted a photo from his military days.
Javi Marroquin (Teen Mom 2) U.S. Air Force
‘Teen Mom 2’ star Javi Marroquin joined the U.S. Air Force while filming the show, and fans watched as he went on a six-month deployment overseas. Javi’s military service was a major storyline for several seasons of ‘Teen Mom 2’ before he and his then-wife Kail Lowry ended up splitting.
Javi completed his service in 2018 and is now an Air Force Reserve recruiter in Delaware.
Uncle Si (Duck Dynasty) U.S. Army
He may be known for his one-liners and eccentric personality, but “Uncle Si” Robertson is also a veteran. Si served in the U.S. Army for nearly 25 years, from 1968-1993, and fought in the Vietnam War. It was during his time in the military that he acquired his trademark blue cup, which he has used every day for the last 30 years. (His mother sent it to him in a care package.)
“The military will always have a special place in my heart,” he has said. “I pray that not one solider is ever forgotten.”
Wanna see what Si looked like in his Army uniform? Click here!
Richard Hatch (Survivor) U.S. Army
In addition to being a veteran, Richard was also the very first ‘Survivor’ winner and has appeared on ‘Celebrity Apprentice.’ He also spent some time in the slammer for not paying the taxes on his big ‘Survivor winnings,’ but that’s a whole other story…
Paedon, Garrison & Hunter Brown (Sister Wives)
Three of Kody Brown’s sons have served in the military. Paedon– who is the son of Kody and his ex-wife Christine— is in the U.S. Army, while Hunter (whose mother is Kody’s ex-wife Janelle) served in the U.S. Air Force. Garrison— whose mom is also Janelle— was a staff sergeant in the Nevada National Guard and a member of the 1st Squadron, 221st Cavalry. Sadly, Garrison died by suicide in March and was honored in a special ceremony put on by the National Guard later that month.
Nathan Griffith (Teen Mom 2) U.S. Marine Corps.
Javi isn’t the only military ‘Teen Mom 2’ dad. Nathan Griffith– who shares son Kaiser with former ‘Teen Mom 2’ star Jenelle Evans– is a proud former Marine. He served from 2006 to 2010, and was awarded several prestigious medals after he suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) while serving.
Rachel Moyal (The Real World Austin/The Challenge) U.S. Army
Before starring on ‘The Real World Austin’ in 2005, Rachel served as a combat nurse in the Army. She is a veteran of the Iraq War. Her time in the military helped her prepare to live in a ‘Real World’ loft with people like Wes, Melinda and Danny. She later went on to star on ‘The Challenge: Inferno 3″ in 2007, where she was a member of the ‘Good Guys’ team.
She is now a Research Scientist at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, as well as a Senior Clinical Implementation Specialist at a lab.
On November 8, Rachel wrote about her experience in the military in an essay for the Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, which she was named a Scholar of in 2023.
Cody Nickson (Big Brother) U.S. Marines Corp.
Before Cody became one half of the biggest showmance on ‘Big Brother 19’ he served in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years and was deployed twice. According to TMZ, Cody reached the rank of E-4 Corporal with a specialty as a Rifleman.
In addition, he spent time in the U.S. Air Force, and received several prestigious medals including two National Defense Service Medals, a Good Conduct Medal, a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and 2 Navy Unit Commendations.
Cody is now married to Jessica Graf, the woman he met on ‘BB19.’ They appeared on— and won– ‘The Amazing Race’ in 2018.
Liam & Yeremi Hykel /Joel Strasser & Garrett Smith (The Amazing Race Season 35) (Navy & Marines/ Army)
Four contestants featured on the currently airing season of ‘The Amazing Race’ served in the United States Armed Forces
Brothers Liam and Yeremi both have military backgrounds. Liam served in Navy while Yeremi is a Marine.
Garrett and Joel are best friends who met when they joined the Army around the same time. Garrett was hurt in training, but Joel was sent to Iraq. He went on to serve in the U.S. Army from 1998-2006.
Jubilee Sharpe (The Bachelor/ Bachelor in Paradise) U.S. Army
Jubilee, who appeared on Ben Higgins’ season of ‘The Bachelor’ and two seasons of ‘Bachelor in Paradise,’ is an Army vet who joined the service when she was 18. She discussed her time in the military while competing for Ben’s heart on ‘The Bachelor’ and in April 2017, wrote on Instagram that she had come to the end of her military service.
“Today is my OFFICIAL last day in the military!” she wrote. “Kind of bitter sweet. I grew up in this uniform, went to Afghanistan in this uniform…I Wouldn’t have it any other way! So grateful to have been part of the small percentage that puts on this uniform and serves their Country.”
Ryan Conklin (The Real World) U.S. Army
Ryan appeared on ‘The Real World: Brooklyn’ in 2008, as well as ‘The Real World Presents: Return to Duty,’ a 2009 MTV documentary that followed Ryan as he served his second tour of duty overseas. He had been called back to active duty while filming ‘The Real World: Brooklyn.’ In January 2010, he was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army. He later wrote a book about his military experience, and toured colleges giving speeches about his service.
Luke Pell (The Bachelorette) U.S. Army
Luke narrowly missed becoming ‘The Bachelor,’ losing the role to Nick Viall, but before his time on JoJo Fletcher’s season of ‘The Bachelorette,’ Luke graduated from West Point. He served in the U.S. Army from 2007-2012, and was stationed for some of that time overseas in Afghanistan. He left active duty as a Captain in 2012 and is now a country singer.
Tylor Strawmyer (Unexpected) U. S. Navy
Tylor– who starred on TLC’s ‘Unexpected’ with his now-ex-wife Laura– joined the U.S. Navy in 2018. On the one-year anniversary of the day he joined the Navy, Tylor wrote on Instagram how happy he is that he chose to serve.
“It is the best decision I will ever make,” he wrote in September 2019. “It’s been a wild ride and an amazing transformation. I can’t wait for this career to move forward and show me what I’m capable of…”
In 2020, Tyler announced on Instagram that he was officially a United States Navy Surface Rescue Swimmer. While in the Navy, Tylor served as an electronics technician.
Mike Johnson (The Bachelorette/ Bachelor in Paradise) U.S. Air Force
Fans fell in love with Mike during Hannah Brown’s season of ‘The Bachelorette.’ He followed up his time on that show with a stint on ‘Bachelor in Paradise’ and was in serious contention to become the next ‘Bachelor’ for the 2020 season. Before becoming famous on reality TV, though, Mike served in the Air Force and was an Airman First Class.
Kim Menzies (90 Day Fiance) U.S. Army
Kim– who starred on “Before the 90 Days” during Season 5 and ‘Happily Ever After’ during Season 7 with her ex-fiancé Usman “Sojaboy” Uman— is an Army vet.
In October 2022, Kim discussed her time in the Army with her Instagram followers.
“My military service is very special to me. For those that are so concerned, I was in the Army from 1989 to 1996 until I was in Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia from August 1990 until July 1991.”
Kim told her followers that she was in the Army for nine years but left shortly after her son was born.
“They wanted me to do an unaccompanied tour overseas and I just couldn’t do that,” Kim wrote on Instagram Stories in October 2022. “I just couldn’t do that. I got out on an HONORABLE DISCHARGE.”
In honor of Veterans Day 2023, Kim posted a photo from her time in the Army.
Dr. Andy Baldwin (The Bachelor) U.S. Navy
Today marks 16 years active duty in the United States Navy. Here’s to many more! Proud to serve ?? pic.twitter.com/G5hhuW4Ad6
— Dr. Andy Baldwin (@DrAndyBaldwin) June 1, 2019
Andy Baldwin was the perfect pick to be the ‘Bachelor’ because he had it all: good looks, intelligence (he graduated magna cum laude from Duke!) and is a U.S. Naval Officer and doctor. Andy founded the Got Your Back Network, an organization that helps honor the families of fallen soldiers. These days, he works as a physician delivering babies, competes in triathlons (he’s been named to the All-Navy triathlon team five times) and does humanitarian work. Swoon.
Obviously, this is just a short list of some of the many brave men and women who have served our country (and starred on a reality show!)
Thank you to all of the veterans (and their families) for your service!
(Photos: FreePiks; Instagram, YouTube, CBS, A&E, E!, Facebook, X, MTV)
26 Responses
thanks to theashley for this post, and a HUGE thank you to ALL veterans! ????
oh, and like another poster said ~ the story about uncle si and his blue cup ?? is great!
Thanks Ashley for honoring these vets.
I appreciate their service!!
Rachel ripping Nehemiah to bits when he told her she was “just a nurse” is one of my favorite scenes in that season
Pretty interesting list.
Happy Veterans Day.??
Interesting about some of these! I can think of couple more just from 16 and Pregnant and then also Diego from Unexpected is also now in the military. I am not sure how much he has served yet but I know he did make it through boot camp. Thank you to all those who have served!
Tobo! I never would have guessed. Michael Abraham, either.
I think Nathan should write a book, I’m curious about his injury and what medals he received.
Thank you, veterans, for your huge sacrifices. ??
Tobo! I never would have guessed. Michael Abraham, either.
I think Nathan should write a book, I’m curious about his injury and what medals he received.
Thank you, veterans, for your huge sacrifices. ??
Wherea dakota meyer?
The guy received the Medal of Honor. Respect!
Was he actually ON TM or just talked about?
Thank you, The Ashley 🙂 It’s nice to be thanked for military service and it’s always cool to hear about fellow veterans who have served, quasi-famous or not 🙂
What about roid ragin Nathan from TM2? Wasn’t he a marine?
Yes! His mom tried to talk about it on a Being Nathan and he was getting so upset about it.
He’s on the list. I knew he was a Marine. It wasn’t aware of the TBI he suffered. Honestly it explains a lot about his erratic behavior.
Not to be “that person” but there is no such rank as “Staff sergeant first class”. Staff Sergeant (SSG) is the rank below Sergeant First Class (SFC). I would think that spending so much time in the military, uncle Si would have made SFC.
Sometimes it depends on how full the MOS is. Like my husband has been promotable for over two years now but no one in his MOS is moving up because of how full it is.
Love Uncle Si and his blue cup story! 🙂
Uncle Si seemed like a cool dude
Rachel from Real World Austin. She’s also done a Challenge show. Not sure which one. She was a Army nurse in Iraq.
David and Nathan (RW Seattle) met in the Virginia Military Institute… not sure whether they did anything with that.
Yes! I remember that, they knew each other before auditioning for RW and ended up on the same season/show.
Dan Walsh and Ryan Conklin from the Challenges and Real World are also Vets
my daddy…ok hes not really a reality star, but he should be. and josh rendon from 16 and P if he counts
I can’t speak for Josh, but I definitely know your daddy counts!