Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?
| Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality |
| Created by | Mike Fleiss |
| Written by | Jonathan Bourne |
| Directed by | Don Weiner |
| Presented by | Jay Thomas |
| Narrated by | Mark Thompson |
| Composer(s) | John Carta Danny Lux |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 1 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Mike Fleiss, Don Weiner |
| Producer(s) | Chris Briggs |
| Location(s) | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Running time | 120 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | FOX |
| Original run | – February 15, 2000 |
Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? is a Fox network reality show in which multi-millionaire Rick Rockwell asked Darva Conger to marry him. The show was aired as a single two-hour broadcast on February 15, 2000, and was hosted by Jay Thomas.
In 2002 TV Guide ranked it number 25 on its TV Guide's 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time list.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Premise
In the show, 50 women (one from each U.S. state) competed in a contest similar to a beauty pageant to be the bride of an unknown multi-millionaire who was revealed to be Rick Rockwell, whom they did not see except in silhouette. He selected Darva Conger of California and married her on the spot. In addition, Conger also received a three-carat (600-mg) diamond ring and more than $100,000 in prizes. More than 22 million people viewed the show that evening.[2][3]
[edit] Controversy
Shortly after the series, reports surfaced that Rockwell had failed to disclose to the series producers that a former girlfriend filed a restraining order against him for domestic violence.[4] Questions were also raised as to whether Rockwell was actually a multi-millionaire. Fox stated that Rockwell had $750,000 in liquid assets and a net worth just more than $2 million.[2][5] It was later discovered that Rockwell was not his original last name. He was born Richard Balkey in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 26, 1957.[6]
Conger quickly expressed regret in taking part in the show stating, "I am not married to him. In my heart I'm not married to him."[7] Conger said that the marriage was not consummated and during the couple's Barbados honeymoon, they stayed in separate cabins.[8] After the honeymoon, Conger sought an annulment and later sold the engagement ring and other prizes she won on the show on an online auction site.[3] The annulment was finalized on April 5, 2000.
Due to the controversy, Fox canceled a scheduled repeat airing of the show and future installments.[9]
[edit] Darva Conger's aftermath
After the show aired, Conger made numerous public comments[citation needed]about how she was offended by Rockwell's forcibly kissing her on stage, that they never consummated their marriage, and how the entire episode went against her set of morals. She posed nude for Playboy magazine in the August 2000 issue.
Conger previously served in the U.S. Air Force. At one time, she was stationed at Scott Air Force Base, near St. Louis. She studied nursing at Southern Illinois University at the Edwardsville and Carbondale campuses. She graduated magna cum laude.[10]
She later married physician assistant Jim Arellano in 2003[11] with whom she had one son, Cassius, who was later diagnosed with autism. They divorced in 2009 and she and her son currently live in Northern California while she works as an anesthetic nurse.[12]
In February 2001, Conger and Rockwell appeared on The Larry King Show and sparred over comments each of them had made about the other, but Conger also said that she should not have appeared on the program at all and was overly harsh in her statements about Rockwell.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ TV Guide Guide to TV. Barnes and Noble. 2004. p. 228. ISBN 0-7607-5634-1.
- ^ a b Smith, Kyle (2000-03-20). "TV's Reality Check". People. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20130638,00.html. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^ a b "TV's Millionaire Bride Auctions Prizes for Charity; Darva Conger Offers Diamond Ring and New Car at BuyBidWin.com". Business Wire. 2000-07-07. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2000_July_7/ai_63198305. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^ Labi, Nadya (2000-02-27). "An Online Paper Trail". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,39942,00.html?iid=chix-sphere. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^ Rice, Lynette (ew.com). "Wedding Banned". http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,275582,00.html. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^ Andrew Heenan. "Ro - Real Names of Famous Folk - Rok". Famousfolk.com. http://www.famousfolk.com/real/names-r/ro.shtml. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
- ^ "Who wants to marry a multimillionaire? Not the bride". cbc.ca. 2000-11-11. http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2000/02/23/millionaire000223.html. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^ "TV bride dumps millionaire husband". news.bbc.co.uk. 2000-02-23. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/654346.stm. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^ Carter, Bill (2000-02-22). "Fox Network Will End 'Multimillionaire' Marriage Specials". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07E5D81530F931A15751C0A9669C8B63. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^ St. Louis - Best Of - Best Local Girl Made Bad - Darva Conger (2000) - Riverfront Times
- ^ Norm Clarke (2002-11-24). "NORM!: Conger back in Vegas for bachelorette party". Las Vegas Review-Journal. http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2002/Nov-24-Sun-2002/news/20123268.html. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
- ^ "Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? Darva Conger's Life After Reality TV". People Magazine. 2010-09-10. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20426034,00.html. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
