Blink-182 was on the rise during the height of the pop punk days in the '90s. The three members that made the band famous were bassist Mark Hoppus, guitarist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. They toured with the likes of fellow punk bands Green Day and influenced other bands along the way. One of the band's members, Travis, has been pushed into the spotlight recently because of his engagement to Kourtney Kardashian.
The Blink-182 drummer has something unique in common with his partner that not a lot of people may remember. They've both starred in their own family-based reality TV shows. Airing on MTV, Meet the Barkers showcased the lives of Travis and his ex-wife Shanna Moakler. The show might have garnered many fans during its time on air, but there are some things that have been forgotten about the reality TV show.
Updated on January 21, 2022: Thanks to his relationship with Kourtney Kardashian, Travis Barker could soon be making his return go reality TV. The Kardashians have a new show premiering this year on Hulu (aptly titles The Kardashians) and it is believed that Travis will appear on the show alongside his fiancée Kourtney. A source told Entertainment Tonight that "Travis is expected to make an appearance on the Kardashian's Hulu show." According to a report from Us Weekly, Barker's children Landon and Alabama will be appearing on the show as well. As for his ex-wife Shanna Moakler? Chances are, she won't be appearing, since she has a strained relationship with her kids.
10 'Meet The Barkers' Wasn't Originally Scripted
What was really refreshing for Meet the Barkers is that at first, the show didn't follow a proper script when the cameras were rolling. Compared to previous and current reality TV shows, this made Meet the Barkers somewhat genuine in displaying the lives of the former couple.
YouTube user ViciousBeautyNYC commented on the first part of the first episode, stating that she worked as an intern for MTV in New York City. She also revealed that storylines were not fed to the cast, and no producers were involved during filming. There were only cameramen and editors that worked on the show exclusively.
9 Despite Two Seasons, 'Meet The Barkers' Only Aired 16 Episodes
For a reality TV show, Meet the Barkers wasn't all that successful. It only aired two seasons and sixteen episodes. For comparison, The Osbournes had four total seasons and 52 episodes.
Considering that Meet the Barkers was canceled for a number of reasons, it makes sense there weren't many episodes filmed.
8 Travis Barker's Daughter Alabama Was Born During Season Two's Production
For the majority of Meet the Barkers, Travis' and Shanna's son, Landon, and Shanna's daughter from a previous marriage, Atiana, were featured in the show. During the second season, Shanna is seen pregnant.
As the final season was still in production, Travis and Shanna's daughter Alabama was born on Christmas Eve. Yet, their youngest child did not receive a lot of screen time in the reality show.
7 But Alabama Barker Only Appeared In The Last Episode
It's wonderful to see how much Alabama has grown ever since she appeared in the series finale. She has been taking her father's steps in playing the drums and will be celebrating her sweet 16 this year. From what was shown in the last episode, Shanna took her daughter home and got her hand and footprints done.
Seeing little Landon transitioning into becoming the older brother and helping take care of Alabama is just one of the sweetest moments in the show, as Travis and Shanna watch from afar.
6 Travis Barker's Shiny New Car
In the episode "Travis' Birthday Bash," the Blink-182 drummer had one heck of a party all thanks to Shanna. She heavily spoiled him with an unforgettable birthday by inviting all of his friends to a birthday dinner, bought him a new drum set, and a shiny, new and gold Cadillac.
So where is his car today? It has been sold off with the help of Bring a Trailer, a website that auctions cars for a set amount of money. It was sold for $12,500. For a classic car, it is definitely a nice piece that was once owned by Travis Barker.
5 'Meet The Barkers' Rivaled 'The Osbournes' In Censorship
The show did not hold back in the amount of language or visuals that needed to be censored. Rivaling The Osbournes, there are many bleeps and blurs that appeared in each episode. For example, Travis once groped Shanna in public, and they were not shy in talking about raunchy and intimate details about their love lives.
Given the fact that Shanna was a Playboy playmate, she was definitely not afraid to get very intimate with Travis. Their romance was sometimes to the point of erotic, despite the censoring.
4 Shanna And Travis Barker's Perspectives On Each Other
Despite seemingly having a heated romance in their reality show, the MTV-produced series didn't end on a happy note for the couple. At first, Meet the Barkers was seen as an opportunity for Shanna to expand her acting career, as Travis stated in his autobiography Can I Say.
As for Shanna's perspective on Travis, she mentioned that when the cameras were off, he would distance himself away from her in fears of slowly turning into a reality star. Understanding how reality TV can affect relationships off-screen, it's not hard to see why there were issues later on in their marriage.
3 Shanna And Travis Barker's Marriage Was Crumbling
Shanna and Travis fought so much during their marriage, it was a shock to many that they lasted for four years. They would announce their split, only to make up and be passionately in love with each other again shortly later. Both of them were involved in fights, police calls, and accusations of cheating.
It also didn't help that Travis would distance himself off camera from Shanna, as mentioned in the previous entry, which also may have impacted their marriage.
2 'Meet The Barkers' Was To Blame
As it's simply said, their marriage became rough because of Meet the Barkers. It was hard for Travis and Shanna to have a healthy time together as a couple. Shanna would act so out of character during the show, and that certainly didn't help the matter.
Travis and Shanna may not have continued their marriage, compared to Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, but they continue to be parents to their kids, and Travis is still close to his stepdaughter Atiana to this day.
1 Travis Barker Revealed Its Sudden End
In his autobiography, Travis revealed that the reason why Meet the Barkers ended was because of the toxic energy of the show. Instead of being a reality TV show, Travis felt that it was turning into a variety show and not a proper diary of his life as a father and band member of Blink-182.
The couple at the time also had other projects going on, as they appeared in an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Shanna was featured in the third season of Dancing with the Stars in 2006.