The cameras may stop, but the drama rolls on.
The Real World: Key West castmember Paula Ann Meronek has been arraigned on a misdemeanor assault charge for allegedly chomping on her boyfriend during a domestic dispute Sunday morning.
The 25-year-old Meronek, whose battles with anorexia were chronicled on the MTV show's 17th season, was taken into custody outside her home in Cromwell, Connecticut, at roughly 3 a.m. Sunday. Police claim Meronek bit her boyfriend at least five times on his arms and legs after he reportedly refused to let her enter their shared residence.
Cops charged her with third-degree assault; 24-year-old beau John Alyward was charged with disorderly conduct.
According to the Middletown Press, the incident followed an argument the couple had earlier in the evening. Police say that Meronek had left the home after a lover's quarrel, the basis of which was not known, only to return later in the night. Police say Meronek had forgotten her keys and was waiting outside for Alyward. When he arrived shortly after, his own keys in hand, he let himself in but refused to extend the same courtesy to his girlfriend.
Or now, possibly, ex-girlfriend.
Police say Meronek began biting her boyfriend on the arms and legs to stop him from blocking her entry, though he was able to push her off and phoned the cops.
Meronek was arrested on the scene without incident, as was Alyward for blocking her entry into what is her legal residence.
The Real Worlder was released on bond and arraigned on the charges in Middlesex Superior Court Monday morning. She's due back in court Aug. 11 and, if convicted, faces up to a year in prison.
Unfortunately for MTV producers, none of the drama will be chronicled on the long-running reality show. Production on Real World: Key West completed filming earlier this year.
In any event, Meronek joins the pantheon of Real Worlders to face a world of trouble for offscreen antics. At least a half-dozen other former stars of the show have been arrested over the years, for everything ranging from assault to car stealing to (surprise) being under the influence.
Then there's the granddaddy of them all, San Francisco's Puck. Two years after his 1994 antics got him booted from the MTV house, David Edward Rainey (his real name) was arrested for bashing his live-in girlfriend's head into a wall. Puck pleaded guilty to a count of corporal injury and spent eight months cooling his heels in jail in 1999.