Today The Ashley’s Reality Roundup.com celebrates its 15th birthday! Back in 2010, The Ashley decided to create a place where she could post all of her random opinions and snark about her favorite reality TV shows (which— at the time— were American Idol and The Bachelor). What started as a blog that The Ashley never thought anyone would read has turned into a 15-year archive of reality TV history! 

In the past 15 years, The Ashley has published a whopping 9,585 posts, including 694 show recaps. (In other words, in 15 years, The Ashley still hasn’t gotten herself a life!) 

The last 15 years have also brought so many amazing readers and people into The Ashley’s life. Currently, 183,148 comments have been left on The Roundup by readers.

Over the last 15 years, The Ashley has tried to keep the focus of this website on reality TV. However, in honor of the site’s 15th birthday, The Ashley has decided to publicly answer readers’ questions for the first time ever! Readers sent in questions via Instagram Stories, X and the Roundup’s Facebook page, and The Ashley will be answering many of them below! 

Before that, though, The Ashley would like to sincerely thank her readers— particularly the longtime readers who have been riding this crazy train with The Ashley since the beginning. The Ashley is living her dream because of all of you, and hopes to be snarking on reality TV here for many, many years to come!

With that… on with the Q&A! (Just a note: there are obviously some questions that The Ashley couldn’t answer, due to the possibility of exposing who her sources are. However, The Ashley did her best to answer as many as she could!) 

From Heather (via Facebook): Are you just one person? Or are there several Ashleys?

There is only one Ashley behind The Roundup. Contrary to what a lot of people may think, I do not have a large team or anything helping me. (Those horrible Microsoft Paint photo collages are all me, baby!) I do, however, have an amazing writer named Chelsea who shares the same twisted sense of humor as me and writes some of the stories! I also have an amazing friend, Dev, who writes for the site as well, and Holly, who helps with Instagram posts as well! 

From Millie Willie (via X): Which ‘Teen Mom’ is the easiest to come up with the funny caption for cos your captions are always hilarious?

First of all, thank you! I’m so glad you enjoy my captions because it’s legit my favorite part of the story to write! To answer your question, it’s got to be my gal, Barbara! I literally hear most of the captions I do for her in her voice. Her catchphrases make my job very easy! 

From Tylee (via Facebook): What inspired you to start the blog? What did you do before this?

I have always been a working journalist. I have worked at various magazines and newspapers over the years, including some tabloids. But I started the blog back in 2010 after watching ‘The Bachelor’ one night with some friends. I was snarking and cracking jokes about the episode and my friends told me that what I was saying was funny and that I should be writing this stuff down. I thought no one would be interested in reading my creepy comments about a reality TV episode but…clearly I was wrong. I never could have imagined that I would get to do this full-time.

From Diane VDM (via Instagram): How do you get such good sources?

Obviously, I don’t talk a lot about my sources; however, I will say that most of my sources (particularly for my ‘Teen Mom’ stories) go back nearly as long as I have been doing this site! I have worked with a lot of the same people for over a decade, and a lot of those people then introduced me to other people who became trusted sources too! I have never (and will never) reveal who my sources are, so I think that has made people see that they can trust me. 

From ChristneDamico (via Instagram):  Have you ever met a reality TV personality in real life? And did they know you are behind The Ashley?

Great question! As a journalist and reporter working in the entertainment field for about 20 years, I have met a ton of reality stars. I would estimate that I have met (or at least been at the same event as, etc.) at least 40 percent of the people that I write about here.

To answer the second part of the question— yes and no! I have sat at tables with a group of cast members from various shows (including ‘Teen Mom!’) and had chats with them, without them knowing that they are talking to The Ashley, believe it or not! Other times the reality TV stars have been told who I am (like when I’ve been covering a red carpet event) and that has resulted in some pretty interesting reactions.

(One person who comes to mind was Farrah Abraham around the time she released her “music” album. She was not happy to find out that she had come face-to-face with The Ashley, although I couldn’t really blame her, considering I had just absolutely skewered her for her horror-show of an album.) 

Most celebrities have been pretty kind, though. The majority of the people who are on a reality TV show know it’s all part of the game, and don’t take offense to what I write. Some have told me they actually find some of the stuff I’ve written about them pretty funny, which I take as a great compliment!

From Lakita (via Facebook): Have any of the Teen Moms and Dads ever met you “the Ashley” face-to-face and would you ever consider doing a seated interview with any of them?

I have actually met or interviewed the vast majority of the show’s casts, although they may not have known who I was at the time, particularly if it was a meeting during the show’s early years. But over the years, I have done in-person or phone interviews with a lot of the ‘Teen Mom’ girls, including Maci, Amber, Kail, Farrah, Chelsea, Mackenzie, etc., usually when they are promoting a new book or project. You can find those interviews on the site! 

I would welcome any of the ‘Teen Mom’ cast members to do a sit-down interview with me! (Please can it be Barbara though?!) 

From Twitchy_Taco (via Instagram): Favorite episode of ‘Teen Mom’ you’ve recapped? How about the least-favorite?

There have been a few standouts, but there was one episode of ‘Teen Mom 2’ in 2016 that I legit chuckled the entire time I recapped. It’s the episode that Leah is trying to get her daughters off to school and she’s a very special kind of, um, “tired.” The girlseses are screaming for gas station rationings because Leah didn’t have time to feed them. On the same episode, Leah’s baby Addie eats sugar packets, and Jenelle gets in trouble with the law for throwing a glass at Nathan’s girlfriend’s head. It’s a classic!

To answer the second part of the question, I hate to recap anything that’s sad or very serious. Oftentimes— when someone on the cast is discussing something like a death, a health issue or something of that nature, I will just skip right past it in the recap. I never want to make fun of something serious. 

From Erin (via X): Are you sitting on information you will never be able to release? 

Sadly, yes! There is a lot of info I have not been able to release. Usually, it’s for one of two reasons: either the source who told me swore me to secrecy (and if I released it, I would be betraying their trust). The other reason is that it would possibly create a legal headache for me (or the source). Even if something I was told is true, I need to be able to prove it legally, but I’d have to prove it without revealing my source, which sometimes wouldn’t be possible. 

From Jamie (via Instagram): Who is the coolest person you’ve ever interviewed?

Hands-down, the nicest, coolest celebrity I have ever interviewed is Kelly Clarkson. I interviewed her during her first season on ‘The Voice.’ It was an on-camera, sit-down, one-on-one interview which is very nerve-wracking, no matter how many times you’ve interviewed people. Kelly was exactly like she is on-camera— warm, funny and kind, and she made me feel completely at ease.

I also have to give a special shoutout to Henry Winkler (aka “The Fonz”), who was probably my second-favorite celebrity to interview. I got to sit down with him during his time on the reality show ‘Better Late Than Ever’ and what a wonderful man he is!

Mandy Moore was also so, so sweet and gracious every time I interviewed her. 

From Annie Z (via Instagram): Who is the meanest celebrity you’ve ever interviewed? 

I knew someone would ask this, haha! One of my very first “celebrity” interviews (as an intern at a tabloid) was Lisa Rinna, and she remains one of the worst celebrities I’ve ever encountered. Other notables on the naughty list are Sharon Stone and Christina Aguilera.

From Glitzy2021 (via X): Have you ever had any of the reality stars come after you in real life? Physically?

Luckily, no, I haven’t yet. There were a couple of times, though, that had a reality TV star known who I was, they may have confronted me. I was standing right by them but they didn’t know who I was! On the flip side, I have had reality stars recognize me at events and tell me they read my site! 

From KBethel4 (via Instagram): What’s the wildest story you’ve covered?

Hands down, when Farrah Abraham made a p0rno! This was back in 2013, when none of the girls had done anything like this, and sex work was not as common, since things like OnlyFans were still years away. Farrah— who was only known for being on the ‘Teen Mom’ show at the time—doing an adult film (and such a graphic one) was jaw-dropping and it seemingly came out of nowhere, as she had never mentioned that she wanted to get into the adult industry. 

It was wild because, shortly after the film was released, I was being interviewed by a lot of other media outlets. I also attended her sex toy release party. (I really began to question my life choices that night!)

From Kiki Dawn23 (via Instagram): How do you feel about other reporters taking screenshots of your articles & posting them, or reporting your articles without linking them? 

Honestly, this frustrates me to no end! It is unethical (not to mention illegal) for TikTok/YouTube or social media accounts to screenshot my articles and post them, and anyone who is a creator should know better. If I am being truthful, there have been times that I have not posted juicy stories because I was so frustrated, knowing these “creators” were going to basically steal all my work and not credit me. 

From Katie KTN (via Instagram): Do you have any rules on your site? Stuff you won’t report on? 

Actually, yes. I may poke fun, but as a rule, I don’t ever want to be cruel. The Roundup is a comedy site, but I never intentionally poke fun about anything serious. I’m not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings but if these public figures do things that are of interest to their fans, I’m going to cover it, even if it makes the reality TV star look bad. I will never make fun of anyone’s weight, or anything physical they can’t change easily. (Bad clothing and hairstyles are not off-limits though!)

I also stopped doing pregnancy speculation, or pregnancy announcement stories, after Jenelle Evans’ pregnancy in 2015. I broke the news that she was pregnant, but felt really bad about that afterward. Since then, I have only reported on a pregnancy after the couple announces it themselves. There have been a lot of pregnancies I have heard about (particularly ‘Teen Mom’ cast members’) but I won’t break the story. I think that the mother- and father-to-be deserve to break that news how and when they want to.

From Mindy (via Instagram): Do you have any regrets? Or things you would go back and do differently if you could?

Absolutely. There have been times over the past 15 years that I feel I have crossed the line. There are a few stories that I went back and deleted because it felt “icky,” and most of them were related in some way to reality TV show kids. Also, the times have changed a lot since 2010. What may have been acceptable to write— or terms that were OK to use— back in 2010 are certainly not OK now, so I will remove posts from the past if they are harmful in my opinion.

From Sando (via X): How do the ‘Teen Mom’ producers really feel about you?

Ha ha! I only know from what I am told from people behind the scenes, but I know some of the lower-level producers used to read my site religiously. The higher-ups (howdy, Morgan) are probably not too thrilled with me, though, particularly when I spoil their show. But I’ve never had anyone reach out in a negative way (yet), surprisingly! 

From TnTownSchon (via Instagram): What shows do you actually enjoy watching?

I do actually enjoy hate-watching ‘Teen Mom’ because it’s like coming home to me. I know the show so well and the people on it give me so much ammo for jokes when I recap. I really like watching ‘Sister Wives’ and I do watch the “90 Day” shows (as much as I can— no one can keep up with all of them!) If I am simply watching a show for pleasure and not for work, I like watching ‘The Amazing Race’ and ‘Survivor.’ I also enjoy watching 1990s sitcoms, particularly ‘Saved by the Bell’ and ‘Full House!’ 

From Ciaras8 (via X): A lot has changed! Do you still love reality TV as much as you did 15 years ago?

Yes…and no. The shows I watch (and cover here) have changed a lot. When I started, I was obsessed with ‘American Idol’ and was writing about every episode. But now, it’s been years since I have watched an episode of that show. I still love reality TV, though, because of the absolute craziness it brings. Anything can (and DOES) happen on this shows, and these days they try to “outdo” each other in terms of wildness, which gives me plenty of fodder for my site! 

I plan to be here, writing about dumb reality TV shows, as long as the readers will have me!