They talked about everything but sex, substance abuse and conflict resolution. Casually dressed Ace and Mallory of MTV’s reality television show The Real World: Paris revealed the gossip and scandal of the popular show in its 13th season to an audience of over 500 students at the Quick Center on Nov. 21.
MTV’s Real World show promises to be a “true story of seven strangers, picked to live in a house to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real,” according to the show’s logo. At least thirty cameras are stationed throughout a gigantean home where Real World cast members reside while their lives are taped. This season’s show was set in a French chateau in Paris.
Because of his good looks and comedian-like personality, female students shouted to Ace to remove his hat. Immediately his remarks were muffled by the audience’s loud outbreak of laughter as he relaxed students with a few jokes, pick-up lines, and occasional cursing for comedian effect.
“I’m Ace, and I’m an Aries. I like long walks on the beach…oh look… I think that girl’s winking at me…” he said while pacing the stage like a professional comedian.
Mallory, who was known to shy away from the camera during the show’s taping, interrupted Ace’s flirty banter when she found out he dated Kendal, former cast member of similar MTV reality show, Road Rules: Campus Crawl.
“I didn’t know about Kendal!” joked 19-year-old Mallory from Palatine, Illinois, occasionally sipping from a water bottle. “You never told me that!”
Ace and Mallory stressed that the language barrier was the biggest challenge while abroad but recommended that everyone should go to Paris in the future.
“I had a hard time adjusting to the culture, and I didn’t want to go,” said Ace, completely dominating the stage. “It is a big city and foreign to me. I thought I was never going to need French when I was younger…I cheated my way through that class.”
Both cast members agreed that living with six other people was their best experience.
“I lived with the six most dramatic people there are,” said 23-year-old southern charmer Ace, from Statesboro, GA. “I will be a better husband, provider and person because of living with girls.”
Both Ace and Mallory agreed that co-cast member Leah was the most difficult to live with.
“If there’s things you don’t like or how things will be, you have to change it,” said Mallory, comfortably positioned in a chair on stage. “She was really difficult to live with.”
Ace spoke of his experience with gay people, particularly of co-cast member Simon.
“I never knew a gay person before,” he said. “Simon is my first gay friend, and it is a good thing for me. Being gay is something you are…it’s the way you feel.”
Both Ace and Mallory commented on the remainder of the cast, stressing that co-cast members C.T. and Christina were good people, and Adam was misrepresented on the show.
“C.T. is soft and chill,” said Ace. “He never wanted to show that though. He got away with a lot. Adam was a real cool dude. Leah and I are not on speaking terms anymore.”
Mallory stressed that Christina is a “sweetheart,” while Ace commended Mallory for her “beautiful heart.”
Students had the opportunity to question the cast members, both Ace and Mallory answered each question without hesitation and tried to clear up any rumors.
“There are always stupid rumors out there,” Ace said to The Mirror. “We’re obviously going to get talked about.”
In reference to the “confessionals,” where cast members spoke out to television viewers in a private room, Ace said that a “doctor of psychiatry” interviewed every cast member for two hours every Sunday.
During a personal interview with The Mirror, Ace and Mallory said that there was no staging of events, but that some of the interviews with MTV production may have triggered them to talk about it during the confessional period.
“After meeting with the doctor of psychiatry, you would really think about what you talked about with them,” said Ace.
Ace also spoke of his former relationship with Georgia resident Kate, who visited Ace in Paris.
“Kate is engaged to a 49-year-old guy now,” he said laughing and making a reference to the film Big Daddy. “She met some guy on the plane back from Paris, and they began dating.”
While Ace and Mallory have been officially dating for two months, Mallory is still a virgin.
“Believe me, I have tried,” Ace joked. “She’s still a virgin without a doubt. But seriously, I hope the kids look like her.”
While Ace and Mallory reminisced of past episodes, arguments and the good times, Mallory reminded the audience of how much she hated the cameras.
“I did not want to be on television,” she said.
Ace said the cameras made everything look worse than it really was, and co-cast member Adam was portrayed very differently on film than he is in real life.
“They [MTV staff] are professionals at casting,” Ace said. “We’re all fooled by the cutting and pasting of MTV.”
Mallory, who left her passion of soccer and elementary education major after finishing her freshman year at Iowa State, was seeking a change in her life before the show.
“I wanted to get away from the sport and school,” she said. “My biggest passion is traveling, and I was looking for a change of pace.”
While Mallory remained happy to be there, Ace was ready to go home.
The cast was filmed 24 hours a day and told The Mirror that family issues were hard to bring up on TV.
“We tried to hide certain things,” said Ace, former MTV King of Cancun 2000 and two-time guest on Carmen Electra’s dance show.
Despite MTV’s production of controversial or interesting material, both Ace and Mallory wished that more of the funny material were broadcasted.
“There were a lot of funny clips, and they never showed that stuff,” Ace said to The Mirror.
Although Ace and Mallory recognized that their fame would be short-lived to only another six weeks while on tour, both cast members assured The Mirror that they were not paid to say or to do things on the show.
“I haven’t been offered to do a book, but I did receive a modeling offer after the show,” said statuesque 6’1″ Mallory. “I didn’t take it.”
Ace joked, “Yeah, I was asked to be in Forrest Gump II. Nah, just kidding.”
While Ace and Mallory do not know where they will be in five years, Mallory hopes to return to college in fall 2004.
“You never know what’s going to happen or what opportunities will come,” she said while Ace scratched her back.
“I have no idea where I will be in five years, but it would be cool to be a robot or a cowboy,” Ace said while laughing.
While both cast members said the best thing about MTV’s The Real World is the experience of living with different people in one house, they viewed it as a great learning experience.
“We learned a lot about these people,” Mallory said.
“We’re just regular people who sent tapes in [to MTV],” Ace said.
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