FACTBOX -' Housewives' death joins list of reality TV scandals

Cast member Taylor Armstrong of Bravo's reality series ''The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills'' poses at the premiere party in Los Angeles October 11, 2010.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The apparent suicide of the estranged husband of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" cast member Taylor Armstrong this week was the latest in a series of scandals surrounding popular TV reality shows.

Following are some of the headline-making dramas involving U.S. reality programs of recent years.

* "JON & KATE PLUS 8" - Jon and Kate Gosselin fight in private and public in an acrimonious divorce and custody battle over their eight children that were featured in their TV show, sending ratings soaring in 2009.

* "REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS" - Marriage of cast member Camille Grammer and former "Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer falls apart both on and off screen in 2010, ending in divorce.

* "JERSEY SHORE" - Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi sentenced to community service in Sept. 2010 after being arrested for drunken and disorderly conduct while filming for the MTV hit TV show.

* "SURVIVOR" - Richard Hatch, winner of the first "Survivor" in 2000, later jailed for tax evasion after failing to declare his $1 million prize.

* "REAL HOUSEWIVES OF WASHINGTON DC" - Socialites Michaele and Tareq Salahi cause major security scare by apparently gate crashing White House state dinner in 20O9, while filming for the reality show.

* BALLOON BOY - Colorado couple Richard and Mayumi Heene claim six year-old son floated away in huge silver balloon, sparking massive chase and hunt in October 2009 for what turned out to be a hoax in their bid to get a reality TV show deal.

* "AMERICAN IDOL" - Frenchie Davis thrown out in 2003 after topless photos of her are found on the Internet; Corey Clark disqualified in 2003 for failing to disclose criminal charges.

Clark later claimed to have had a secret affair with judge Paula Abdul, which she denied.

* "MEGAN WANTS A MILLIONAIRE" - Contestant Ryan Jenkins sought for 2009 murder of swimsuit model wife Jasmine Fiore, and later found dead of apparent suicide, causing broadcasts to be suspended of the VH1 show, and later canceled.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)