Reality TV

"The Real Housewives of Orange County" star Jennifer Pedranti's son was questioned by fire officials after he and his friends ignited a massive brush fire ... TMZ has learned.

A rep for the Orange County Fire Authority tells TMZ ... "Three minors were interviewed as part of the investigation."

We're told the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

As TMZ first reported, Jennifer admitted on Thursday that one of her sons had a role in a fire that broke out in Ladera Ranch.

It's National French Fry Day ... and what better way to celebrate than looking at hot celebs grubbing down.

See for yourself ... we have wrangled plenty of stars getting down on the favored finger food -- including Karol G, Hugh Jackman, Dua Lipa, Sami Sheen, Demi Moore and Tan France.

It might seem a little silly ... but the delicious holiday has been around since the early 2000s -- and in 2023, it officially shifted to the second Friday of July.

It sounds like Darrell Sheets had sex one last time before he died by suicide ... at least according to his girlfriend.

According to an incident report obtained by TMZ ... a woman who identified herself as Darrell's girlfriend told police they "fooled around" right before his death.

She also told cops the two made chicken fajitas and weren't arguing on the night he died.

The woman told police she went to pick up Darrell's granddaughter from work ... and when she got back, she texted Darrell and asked if he wanted her to sleep in the motorhome located in the garage because he was trying to go to sleep.

Barrie Drewitt-Barlow -- a former guest on the hit reality show "Below Deck Sailing Yacht" -- is being sued by a man who alleges he was sex trafficked by Barrie when he was just 16 years old.

In the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, the man claims he's a distant relative of Barrie's. He says Barrie offered him a job and a place to live back in 2014 when he was 16, but after he accepted, Barrie soon began sexually abusing him.

The man claims the alleged abuse happened in the United Kingdom, several other countries, and multiple states in the USA ... including New Jersey, where he says he lived with Barrie for a period of time.

Taylor Frankie Paul questioned her ex, Dakota Mortensen, on whether he was hanging out with other girls following their breakup … in wild text messages he is using in court ... TMZ has learned.

Sources familiar with the case tell TMZ ... Dakota submitted a series of texts from a February 2025 conversation where Taylor asks her ex what his plans were for the night. When she didn't get an immediate response, she followed up with multiple question marks ... and then a third text stating, "HELLO."

Dakota explained he was getting food, but Taylor wasn't buying his answer … and started to grill him about his plans and where he was getting food. She asked Dakota why he was ignoring her question about who he was getting pizza with.

Darrell Sheets' brother says the "Storage Wars" star was "dramatic" ... but never in a million years did he think his sibling would die by suicide.

According to the Lake Havasu City Police incident report, obtained by TMZ, Darrell's older brother told officers the reality star was a "good Christian" -- and that's why he didn't think he'd take his own life.

His brother also told police Darrell had always been a "dramatic" person ... but to him, that didn't mean suicidal.

Darrell Sheets' suicide rocked the "Storage Wars" cast and crew ... and one of the show's main auctioneers, Dan Dotson, has a heartbreaking take on Darrell's tragic death.

Dan tells TMZ ... he was friendly with Darrell for the 15 seasons they appeared on the A&E reality series, but the two men were not close pals ... something he now regrets.

Dan tells us ... "Maybe if I'd been a better friend, I could've helped him. Seems he was going through a lot we didn't know about."

Dan and his wife, Laura -- who also serves as a 'Storage Wars' auctioneer -- were devastated to learn Darrell shot himself.

The couple attended Darrell's celebration of life ... and were shocked by how many people from the series -- including 3 showrunners -- reunited for the service.

Taylor Frankie Paul is copping to sending a text to her ex, Dakota Mortensen, where she raved about being a "full-blown MILF" with "perfect" boobs.

The ' Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' star responded to TMZ's exclusive story about her texts to Dakota, which are being used against her in court ... with TFP posting online, "I'll admit to that one, because truth."

As we first told you ... Dakota is using Taylor's texts to back up his claims that she is erratic as they fight over custody of their young son. 

'Real Housewives of Orange County' star Vicki Gunvalson is dragging a financial advisor to court … claiming he defamed her and cost her a ton of money, TMZ has learned. 

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, the OG star is suing Gary Vyneman and his financial management company, alleging that he badmouthed her to a mutual client, Diane Field, screwing Vicki out of a ton of money and causing Vicki to be sued for millions more! 

Vicki says Gary convinced Diane that Vicki had given her suss financial advice and encouraged Diane to sue the OG Bravolebrity. Vicki claims everything Gary said to Diane was a lie. Vicki denied the claims of wrongdoing.  

The Arizona police officer who responded to Darrell Sheets' home immediately knew who the reality star was when he found him dead ... and officers were shocked when they realized what they stumbled upon.

In Lake Havasu police body cam footage obtained by TMZ ... officers are clearing the house after they found Darrell dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. One officer knew he was a celeb, and his fellow colleague lets out an "Oh!" when he fills them in.

The officer, wearing the body camera, was clearly a fan of the show ... because he explained to his partner that Darrell starred on "Storage Wars" with his son ... and the officer even knew the truck they drove to haul away their storage treasures.

Taylor Frankie Paul's alleged text messages to ex Dakota Mortensen are surfacing as part of the former couple's bitter custody battle ... and they show the reality TV star repeatedly complimenting her own looks, personality and sex appeal.

Sources familiar with the legal proceedings tell TMZ ... Dakota's lawyers submitted a series of Taylor's text messages in court this week to support his claim that her behavior has been erratic as the exes continue fighting over custody of their young son.

According to our sources, Taylor told Dakota in 2025 that she wasn't going to let him bring her down before declaring she was "f***ing charismatic as f***."

Jennifer Pedranti -- a star on the hit show "The Real Housewives of Orange County" -- says her son was involved in starting a brush fire in Southern California.

The reality star posted on her Instagram Story just minutes ago ... telling her followers she'd like to address rumors of her son's involvement in Tuesday's seven-acre blaze in the hills of Ladera Ranch, CA.

Jennifer confirmed her son and several other kids were involved ... and she and her ex-husband, Will Pedranti, are taking the incident very seriously.

She apologized to her community ... adding, this is "a tough learning moment for our son and our family."

Darrell Sheets' girlfriend was in absolute shock when she heard a gunshot go off in her house ... and she told cops she believed the 'Storage Wars' star had just killed himself.

TMZ obtained the 911 call the woman placed after Darrell's suicide ... and she's completely beside herself.

She tells police Darrell just took his own life, explaining ... "I just heard a gun go off."

Darrell's GF says he never threatened to kill himself, but was struggling with insomnia and had been "just frustrated" with his lack of sleep and his kid ... calling it all "terrible, terrible s***."

Milania Giudice is on speaking terms with her sisters after an alleged altercation at Teresa Giudice's mansion that ended with Milania's arrest ... but that doesn't mean the girls are being nice ... far from it.

Milania just dropped several snaps on her Instagram Story ... and among the glam pics and inspirational quotes -- she shared two screenshots that seem to be text exchanges with sisters Audriana and Gabriella -- and they're pretty snotty.

Gabriella is the one who called cops and told them Milania was throwing candles and food during the alleged altercation ... and in their text exchange, Gabriella calls Milania a "keyboard warrior."

Milania responds ... "alright ... w ur weird ass words."

Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen's online saga just took another public turn ... this time with Dakota's roommate, Cru, posting a video he says captures the aftermath of a heated argument between the former couple ... and it's emotional.

In the clip, "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" star appears visibly upset as Dakota records the interaction. Throughout the video, Taylor repeatedly asks ... "Why are you doing this?" and "Why are you filming me?"

Dakota, the father of one of Taylor's children, responds ... "Now you can get caught," before referencing what he alleges were previous instances in which Taylor had physically assaulted him -- as he hold their child in his arms.