Reality TV Stars Who Have Committed Suicide or Died Suddenly

By Alicia Cruz
Examiner.com

Wesley Durden competed on the reality show, the "Next Great Baker." He was eliminated and committed suicide in October 2011. Viewers were never told about Durden's death for months until after his elimination aired.
The cooking show was hosted by 'Cake Boss' Buddy Valastro. Durden, 28, was a husband and father. He served as a paratrooper in the U.S. Army and achieved the rank of Sergeant. He completed two tours of Iraq before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
A native of Jacksonville, N.C., Durden was the fourth contestant out of 13 to be eliminated during the second season of the "next Great Baker."

MTV's "Buckwild" lost reality TV personality Shain Gandee after his body was discovered in a vehcile stuck on a muddy road in West Virginia. Police also found the bodies of Gandee's uncle and a friend in the vehicle. The 21-year-old reportedly died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Country singer, Mindy McReady, who appeared on VH1's "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew," died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in February 2013 after battling a narcotic addiction and surviving at least three previous suicide attempts. In August 2004, McCready was arrested in Tennessee for using a fake prescription to buy the painkiller OxyContin. McReady eventually pleaded guilty and was fined $4,000, sentenced to three years probation, and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service. McReady was found dead on her front porch by Sheriff's Department deputies in Cleburne County, Arkansas. The singer's former boyfriend, David Wilson, who was also the father of McReady's youngest son, had also killed himself on the front porch a month earlier.

Mike DeStefano, a finalist on "Last Comic Standing," died of a massive heart attack in 2011. The comedian, who hailed from the Bronx, New York was 44-years-old. DeStefano parlayed his negative life experiences - battling a heroin addiction, being HIV positive and then losing his wife - as a basis for his comedy. It was a huge success. 

Rodney King, the man whose name became synonymous with the LAPD and excessive force after a brutal beating inflicted by members of the Los Angeles Police Department in 1991. King won his lawsuit against the LAPD but soon squandered his money away on drugs and other things. He later joined others on VH1's "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew." King was found dead at the bottom of a swimming pool at his California home. His death was ruled an accidental drowning due to drug and alcohol abuse in 2012.

Mike Starr of music group, Alice in Chains, also appeared on VH1's "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew."  Starr, a bassist in the group, was found dead in Salt Lake City in 2011 of a prescription drug overdose. He was 44-years-old.

"The Bachelorette" contestant, Julien Hug, committed suicide in 2010 in San Diego, California. The 35-year-old left a note indicating that he suffered from "severe depression."