“I cannot bring myself to watch any reality shows,” she said.
Now, Patterson says the experience “kind of ruined me.” She added she felt blindsided and would have never participated if she knew what the series was really about. The incident also became an example of real-life consequences of such actions: Watson and Patterson sued Fox for defamation of character. If there was any doubt about leaning into drama, it was cleared up when that episode was a ratings bonanza. But this time, Carter wrote, they realized if they simply incorporated the controversy, it could work for them, so they filmed a producer informing the unhappy couple they were kicked off the show. Carter reported that Fox executives, scarred from “Millionaire,” found out during filming that one couple, Taheed Watson and Ytossie Patterson, had a child, which was against the rules of casting. Unexpectedly, the series, another one from Darnell, was a cynical, teachable moment about what audiences want. (Contestants Kaya Wittenburg and Valerie Penso-Cuculich, who were together on the show, said people earnestly told them afterward that watching them successfully get through “Temptation Island” inspired them to save their own relationships. The couples were split up and offered these “temptations.” On top of shock value, the show was also billed as a, um, helpful way to test if partners were meant to be together.
In fact, none of the participating couples knew they would be flown to Belize to an island full of hot single people who - thanks to psychological background checks - producers knew would be especially alluring to each person. “We should have known with the STD tests that something was up,” she said. When Mandy Lauderdale was a 22-year-old model and agreed to participate in a “dating documentary” with her boyfriend, she was unaware of the show’s true premise, even when they were required to undergo all manner of doctor visits. And in Hollywood, sometimes that’s all that matters. Weeks into the controversy, the press couldn’t stop talking about it. However, the seeds were planted: People really would sign up to humiliate themselves on a national platform to try to find their soul mate.
Behind the scenes, Carter reported, Fox executives were mortified and furious, and the president declared his network was done with such exploitative trash. The marriage was annulled and producers launched an investigation into the negligent background check. (Rockwell denied this.) Conger told media outlets she realized when she “won” that going on the show was a huge mistake, and cried herself to sleep every night. The Smoking Gun revealed that nine years prior, Rockwell had a restraining order filed against him by an ex-girlfriend, who alleged physical abuse. Producers started plotting follow-up specials. The groom, real estate developer Rick Rockwell, and the bride, emergency room nurse Darva Conger, set sail on a Caribbean honeymoon. (Darnell declined to comment.) The special was a massive hit. That outrage, according to multiple accounts, was pretty much the reaction producers - which included future “Bachelor” creator Mike Fleiss - hoped for. The unapologetically misogynistic concept enraged critics, who likened the spectacle to prostitution. What’s bigger than that? Getting married to a wealthy man.”
“I kept thinking: Why is this show working? Because winning money is a huge American dream,” Darnell said, according to TV reporter Bill Carter’s book “ Desperate Networks.” “And I’m sitting here watching another huge American dream, which is getting married. He realized he could zero in on two of America’s biggest anxieties: love and money.
(Geoff Kim for The Washington Post)Īs the legend goes, the idea for “Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?” originated at a wedding attended by TV producer Mike Darnell, who was thinking about how to replicate the success of rival network ABC’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” game show. “Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?” was a massive hit - until allegations of past abuse surfaced.