“The Real World”'s Jon Brennan Reveals He's Driving Uber to Pay His Bills After Reality Fame Struggles (Exclusive)

After starring on the show's second season in 1993, the aspiring country singer — dubbed "Jon the Virgin" — says the music industry failed to take him seriously

Jon Brennan was just an 18-year-old aspiring country singer when he was scouted at a studio in Nashville by an MTV exec who told him he was exactly the kind of person they were looking to cast for The Real World: Los Angeles.

It was 1993, and the first Real World (set in New York City), had become a massive sensation a year prior, launching what the world would come to know as "reality TV."

The premise was simple: Seven strangers, all with different backgrounds and beliefs, would live in a house together and have their every move recorded. They would have fights, have fun, have complicated discussions about politics and race and the world at large, and yes, occasionally hook up. Producers were interested in adding a conservative, church-going boy to the mix, and Jon was exactly that.

Related: 'The Real World: Las Vegas' Cast Reunites 21 Years Later for Fun Gathering in New Orleans: 'Here We Are'

"Country music was exploding at the time, with Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson going mainstream in the early '90s, so they wanted a country boy for season 2," says Brennan, 50, who grew up in Owensboro, Kentucky but now lives back in Nashville. "I didn't apply to the show. This guy just told me I was what they were looking for. I explained, 'I'm not an actor,' but they said no, 'You're perfect. You're stubborn, and funny, and a country singer. They hounded me until I agreed."

"I thought, okay, I could use this MTV fame and use it for my singing career and come back to Nashville with this notoriety afterwards," he says.

At the time, the producers also loved the fact that Brennan didn't believe in things like drinking or having sex, which eventually gave him the unwanted nickname of "Jon the Virgin" on the show.

The moniker still makes him cringe, but Brennan says his belief in abstinence hasn't wavered. "I'm single and still following the Lord, so yes," he says of his virginity today. "But I do think that everyone obsessing over that stayed with me far too long."

Still, Brennan — who reunited with his cast in 2021 for eight episodes of The Real World Homecoming: Los Angeles on Paramount+ — carries good memories about his time on the show. Despite opposing viewpoints on plenty of things, he became lifelong friends with cast mates like Tami Roman and Beth Stolarczyk, whom he now has a podcast with, where they chat about life with other former Real World stars.

Related: 'The Real World' 's Original Cast Describes Their 'Trippy' Return to the Loft for the Reunion Show

"The later seasons became about, 'Hey, let's go drink and let's sleep together.' That's not really what the Real World was about in the beginning. It was about diverse people learning from one another and having conversations and yes, sometimes arguing over our beliefs. But now I don't think they'd even want a conservative person on the show these days."

After his season ended, Brennan moved back to Nashville to chase his singing dreams, something he'd wanted to do since he was a little boy who sang the National Anthem at his little league baseball games.

At first, things looked pretty good. "Music is what I was born to do," he says. "If I could just go out and do concerts and make money that way, it would be the dream," he says.

But his notoriety somewhat backfired. "I got recognized everywhere I went. Every establishment, even in Puerto Rico, people would say, 'Hi Jon,' like I was their friend, the boy next door. But the record labels would be like, 'You're a what? Reality TV star? That genre will never last — it's just a flash in the pan.'"

As he tried to carve out a new lane in music, he felt misunderstood: "They said, 'We don't know how to make an MTV star a country music star."

Related: 'The' 'Real World: New Orleans' Cast Reunites 21 Years Later in Trailer for New 'Homecoming' Season

He eventually entered the ministry and became a youth pastor, while writing songs and playing as many paying singing gigs as he could.

He now drives Uber in Nashville for extra money. "It's one of my sources of income," he says, of "driving drunk people around."

"I wish I could hang a camera from my rearview mirror and make a 'real life' Real World because you can have some interesting conversations and experiences driving Uber!" he says with a laugh.

Some of his customers still know who he is when they get into his car. "Some say right off the bat, 'Oh my gosh, you're Jon from the Real World!' Others have no idea."

He also works at his own record label CDX music, and is putting out fresh songs, including a song called "True Story," which is No. 12 on the Positive Country music charts, and an EP called "You Ain't Done Singin' Yet."

Though he occasionally has regrets over what reality fame did to his life, he's happy he stayed true to who he was on camera by being open about his faith and beliefs — while making friends with people who are completely opposite to him.

"Beth and I are oil and water," he says with a laugh. "But we're best friends making a podcast together. What we taught the world is, you've got to learn to interact with people who are nothing like you. We can still love each other."

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.