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Top 15 Aussie reality stars revealed – and how much they're making
While most people from reality shows quietly fade once their season ends, over the last 10 years and thanks to the rise of social media, a select handful have successfully managed to use their 15 minutes of fame and blue ticks on Instagram to build multi-million dollar brands and reach heights most conventional 'celebrities' could only dream of.
In collaboration with The Wash, Yahoo Lifestyle has analysed the followings, engagement rates, business ventures, media work, brand appeal, press coverage and marketability of hundreds of prominent Australian reality stars to determine the 15 most influential.
The early 2000s gave us the likes of Guy Sebastian, Chrissie Swan and Ryan 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald who all found success off the back of reality TV in a pre-influencer world. Now, here's the next generation of reality stars who you'll be hearing from for years to come.
15: Daniel Gorringe
Daniel Gorringe, 30, first gained an audience across social media following his short-lived AFL career, and his numbers then boomed outside of sports circles when he added 'reality TV star' to his resume and came second on Channel Seven's reboot of Big Brother in 2020. He now boasts 6.9 million followers on TikTok and close to one billion views on his account and has used this audience to found his own Sippy lager booze brand.
Instagram followers: 200,000
TikTok followers: 6,900,000.
13 and 14: Ella Ding and Domenica Calarco
For the first time, this year's Married At First Sight aired in Australia and the UK – meaning the cast received double the Instagram followers, double the media hype and double the job offers than those before them –something breakout stars Ella Ding, 28, and Domenica Calarco, 29, can testify to.
Since their season ended in April, the besties have monetised their friendship with a podcast deal worth $250,000 and sold out their merch line, whilst also achieving their own solo successes. Ella became an ambassador for fast fashion giant Pretty Little Thing and starred on Made In Chelsea in the UK, and Dom released a clothing range with Showpo and is Channel Nine's new golden girl.
However, as high as they're riding right now as newcomers in the scene, time will tell if they manage longevity once the new season of Married At First Sight stars hit TV screens in the new year. That's the true test of how loyal a reality star's audience truly is.
Instagram followers Ella: 602,000
Instagram followers, Dom: 560,000
TikTok followers Ella: 68,500
TikTok followers, Dom: 184,000
12: Matty 'J' Johnson
Australia watched Matty 'J' Johnson, 35, fall in love with Laura Byrne on The Bachelor in 2017, and in the years that have followed people have realised one thing about the former marketing manager: he's funny. Actually, really funny.
While many reality stars use social media to boast, brag and promote endless products, Matty manages to keep his content relatable to all, engaging and also entertaining. He documents the reality of life at home with two young children, he scripts and shoots mini skits and he gives an unfiltered look at his relationship with Laura.
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He also scores huge brand endorsements, hosting gigs and media work thanks to how engaged his audience is.
Instagram followers: 339,000
TikTok followers: 112,000
11: Jessika Power
As the original “cheater” on Married At First Sight, many thought Jessika Power would quickly fizzle away after her season ended in April 2019. Instead, she's spent the last four years building a brand off the back of that reality TV controversy and is now on her way to becoming a millionaire.
The 30-year-old, who now lives in the UK, has a career trajectory every 'villain' now dreams of, raking in approximately $150,000 from personal appearances and endorsements this year alone, as well as making over $700,000 on OnlyFans.
For anyone wondering how she's done it, her success is mostly thanks to two things: her ability to dominate headlines, generate press and insert herself into any tabloid scandal with little or no effort, both in England and Australia. She also has the ability to laugh at herself, own her mistakes and realise the difference between Jessika Power the brand, and Jess the everyday person.
Instagram followers: 377,000
TikTok followers: 84,000
9 and 10: Jules Robinson and Cameron Merchant
As Married At First Sight's most prolific success story, Jules Robinson, 40, and Cameron Merchant, 38, who welcomed their first child in 2020, have amassed a combined following of 1.2 million fans.
This platform has also allowed the pair to sustain media careers and move into spaces they're passionate about. Jules has used the body-shaming she publically endured to launch a successful shapewear brand, which doesn't just help women feel comfortable and confident but also empowers them.
Cam, who has been open about his struggles with mental health, is the ambassador of multiple charities and uses his social media to inspire and motivate people. However, no matter how successful their solo ventures may be, thanks to their wholesome family content and noticeable lack of controversies compared to their peers, the pair are unstoppable as a power couple and have a wider brand appeal than most others on this list.
This is evident by the second home they purchased in March, a casual $3.65m six-bedroom holiday retreat on the Gold Coast, away from their $1.8m abode on Sydney's Northern Beaches.
Instagram followers, Jules: 744,000
Instagram followers, Cam: 484,000
8: Lorinska
Lorinska Merrington, 37, may not be as widely known as other people on this list, but over the last four years she has quietly come to dominate the mummy market following her starring role on Yummy Mummies.
After the show failed to gain much momentum when it premiered on Channel Seven in 2017, Lorinska's media career looked set to be over before it even started. That was until Netflix bought the rights, aired it internationally and she became the breakout star.
The former school teacher now has 715,000 Instagram followers, a stylised feed of well-marketed family content, a luxury baby clothing brand and top-rated pregnancy app.
Instagram followers: 715,000
6 and 7: Martha Kalifatidis and Michael Brunelli
From a “mean girl” edit on Married At First Sight to collaborating with the world's biggest fashion brands and becoming a leading name in beauty, Martha Kalifatidis, 34, hasn't just flawlessly managed to distance herself from reality TV drama in the last few years – but she's also managed to show she's matured from the girl that found fame on the social experiment in 2019.
Her well-documented, and usually unfiltered relationship with fitness entrepreneur Michael Brunelli, 32, whose social media strategy, content creation and current trends are rivalled by few, has also resulted in the pair becoming the definition of an influencer power couple.
As they prepare to welcome their first child together in 2023, their star power, audience engagement and price per sponsored post all look set to reach new heights.
Instagram followers Martha: 661,000
Instagram followers, Michael: 304,000
TikTok followers Martha: 113,000
TikTok followers, Michael: 137,000
5: Sam Wood
If this was a rich list, Sam Wood, 42, would be at the top. Although his season of The Bachelor back in 2015 may have come a little before the rise of the influencer, that didn't stop him gradually growing his moderate social media audience in the years that followed and using his online platforms to launch fitness brand 28 by Sam Wood in 2016.
He later sold the company for a staggering $71million in 2022 to myDNA.
"I am so proud of what we have achieved so far and even more excited about what the future with myDNA holds," Sam said in May after the deal was made public.
Instagram followers: 268,000
3 and 4: Laura Byrne and Brittany Hockley
After both finding fame on different seasons of The Bachelor, it wasn't until Laura Byrne, 35, and Brittany Hockley, 35, teamed up to start the Life Uncut podcast that their star power skyrocketed.
This year the duo landed a national radio show, took their podcast on the road for a sell-out tour, taking to the stage in front of thousands of fans each night, and won the Listener's Choice award at the Australian Podcast Awards for a third consecutive year.
Away from Life Uncut, jewellery designer Laura's unfiltered and very relatable family content has led to her Instagram amassing a staggering (and extremely profitable) engagement rate of 10.37 per cent (the average for any influencer is between 1 per cent and 3 per cent).
Brittany has laid the foundations for a future in commercial radio, covering Jackie O for three weeks on The Kyle & Jackie O Show, fronting the KIIS Summer Breakfast Show across Sydney and Melbourne and reportedly signing a “multi-million dollar deal” with ARN in October.
Instagram followers Laura: 339,000
Instagram followers, Brittany: 216,000
2: Harry Jowsey
Harry Jowsey's life these days couldn't be further from his upbringing in Yeppoon, a tiny coastal town in Queensland with a population of just 7,037.
After getting his first taste of fame on Heartbreak Island in 2018, the 25-year-old then went on to earn global recognition on Netflix's first season of Too Hot To Handle in 2020.
He now calls Hollywood home, boasts nine million followers across social media and counts the likes of Justin Bieber a friend. Harry was also one of the first reality stars to jump on the OnlyFans bandwagon and has earned an estimated $4 million in two years on the platform.
Instagram followers: 4.2million
TikTok followers: 4.8million
1: Abbie Chatfield
Abbie Chatfield has redefined what it means to be a 'reality star'. Since becoming a runner-up on The Bachelor in 2019, the 27-year-old has taken over every corner of the mainstream media, built a multi-million dollar business empire and managed to do this all on her own terms, whilst staying true to herself and proving there's no limit to what someone who gains a platform on a dating show can go on to achieve.
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In 2022 alone she has sold out venues across Australia touring her It's A Lot podcast, launched a fashion brand that sold out instantly, re-launched her sex toy range which, again, sold out, become a judge on The Masked Singer, landed a national radio show, recorded a pilot of her own TV chat show, released her own brand of beer, been announced the host of a new dating show FBOY Island, had articles written about her almost every single day and managed to repeatedly go viral fighting social justice issues.
One Australian talent agent estimates that this year brand Abbie Chatfield has made “at least $1.5million
dollars”.
Instagram followers: 451,000
TikTok followers: 347,000
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