If you were like me in the late 2000s, you loved to indulge in the trashy, reality shows of VH1, especially their competitions for love. You knew it was cheesy, you knew it was fake, but you knew that you loved it so damn much. From the tears, to the nicknames, to the catfights, these trashed-up Bachelor/Bachelorette type shows fueled your need for TV junk. So here's a walk down memory lane of the best "Of Love" shows on VH1.
9. Ochoinco: The Ultimate Catch (2010)
Wide receiver in the NFL, Chad Ochocinco seemed to have everything...but love. In true VH1 fashion, let's throw a bunch of young, hot women at the football player and let him decide who he wants to...uh...date. The only issue with this show was its timing. Being one of the last of the "Of Love" shows on VH1, the hype over the dating shows was just simply dying. We had seen the setup, the dates, the drama all before and it just wasn't interesting anymore.
8. For the Love of Ray J (2009-2010)
Fresh out of the controversy of the Kim Kardashian sex tape, Ray J was enjoying the hype around him. Obviously, he wasn't able to find love with Kim, so why not try a dating show? While Ray J did get more than one season to find love, his show just never had that same appeal as VH1's other love competitions.
3. Megan Wants a Millionaire (2009)
Even though the show was cancelled 3 episodes into the first season (for reasons we'll get into later), this show's premise of gold-digger Megan Houserman awarding men who spend the most money on her was comedy gold (pun intended). Coming off of Rock of Love and Charm School as the villain you love to hate, Megan goes down in VH1 reality TV history. Another reason this show makes the list? One of the finalist, Ryan Jenkins, was under investigation and eventually charged for the murder of his model wife Jasmine Fiore. Jenkins then committed suicide in 2009 following the chaos. So although it was the dram attached to the show, it still has to add to the juiciness that was Megan Wants a Millionaire.
4. Daisy of Love (2009)
Niece of Oscar De La Hoya, young Daisy had just been heartbroken by rockstar Brett Michaels. So, VH1 decided it's tiem that this little blonde gets her chance at finding her rockstar for life. Daisy was your stereotypical "Dumb Blonde", but she had a rocker edge which made her so entertaining. Plus, the men on her show were all musicians of self-proclaimed badasses, which was a nice change from the typical Brad/Chad types on these shows. Even though Daisy totally picked the wrong guy at the end, the boys of the show and their terrible pet names were cringe-worthy enough to make this hot mess of a show somehow work.
5. Real Chance of Love (2008-2009)
Former contestants on New York's love competition, brothers and rappers Real and Chance (Kamal and Ahmad Givens) got their own shot at love. In MTV/VH1 style, it was all show and fake but the boys were so hilarious and the girls were so trashy, it made it hard not to watch. They even got picked up for a season 2 when Real's choice and him didn't work out and Chance ended up picking no one. Their second season ended with two happy couples; however, happiness wasn't in the air for too long. Four years after the show, Ahmad Givens died of colon cancer at the age of 33 after three misdiagnoses suceeded by his wife Racquel and son Mahdi. RIP.
6. Rock of Love (2007-2009)
Although it got three seasons, Rock of Love was not the best dating show in the stock. But it did provide us with plenty of spinoff's based off the colorful contestants on the show. Brett Michaels just seemed like the creepy old rocker stuck in his glory days, but the contestants seemed to love him for his money....I mean himself.
7. I Love New York (2007-2009)
Tiffany Pollard was one of the greatest things to come out of this era of dating shows. She was the original BadGirlRIRi who got not one, not two, but three spin-offs including three seasons of I Love New York where the princess got to find her prince after not winning the heart of rapper Flavor Flav. Tiffany was just so over-the-top that you had to love her. Plus she's provided us with so many memes that she has to make it high on the list.
8. A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila (2007)
It only got two seasons, but let's be honest, we could have watched Tila Tequila search for love for many seasons more. Besides opening up the reality dating world to bisexuality, Tila Tequila was a fun, little ball of energy with quite a spicy side. I mean, what other dating show on TV had both male and female contestants? The only downfall is the star herself. Nowadays, Tila Tequila fires off on twitter with some rather unpleasant thoughts. Oh well, RIP cool Tila.
9. Flavor of Love (2006-2008)
The OG Vh1 dating show starred Rapper Flavor Flav from Public Enemy and his giant clock necklace. Although most can agree that the rapper isn't the most, well...attractive to look at, his personality and taste in women made the reality show worth watching an worth three seasons. Plus, it gave the world Tiffany Pollard and her infamous fight with Pumpkin. The show was more or less a spin-off from Flav's failed relationship with Brigette Nelson on Strange Love and failed relationships on The Surreal Life. Though Flav found love and marriage with his 7th child's baby mama Liz, Flavor of Love was a force to be reckoned with as its season 2 finale was 2006's second highest rated, non sports show on basic cable.
For old times sake, here are some of the best Tiffany Pollard Memes:
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