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Show combines pageant, marriage

Associated Press

NEW YORK - They say money can't buy love, but it can buy a bride. Especially on national television.

Rick Rockwell, a real estate investor and motivational speaker who lives near San Diego, met and married Darva Conger after a two-hour prime-time competition aired on Fox Tuesday night.

"Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire,'' broadcast the night after Valentine's Day, combined elements of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,'' "The Dating Game'' and a beauty pageant - and ended with the toss of a bouquet.

"This is no joke,'' said actor Jay Thomas, the emcee, at the show's outset.

Fox executive Mike Darnell came up with the idea after watching ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' soar in the ratings.

"It struck me that part of the reason it was so successful was wish fulfillment,'' said Darnell, Fox's executive vice president for alternative programming. "I thought, 'what else do people wish for?' They wish for a relationship. They want to get married. And I thought, 'how could I combine the two?''

Fox launched a nationwide search for a millionaire who wanted to get married, and a woman who would marry him. Thousands of women applied.

"The money is a cutesy motivational factor,'' Darnell said. "I think mostly people are looking for a relationship.''

Rockwell, who grew up in Pittsburgh and now has a second home in Vancouver, was shrouded in shadows for most of the show before emerging to pick Conger, a Gulf War veteran also from California.

"I'll be your friend, your lover and your partner,'' Conger promised before Rockwell made his selection.

"You will never be bored.''

The special began with 50 women who ranged in age from 19 to the mid-40s. They were quickly cut down to 10 semi-finalists. The women paraded on stage in bathing suits and wedding gowns, and answered questions like what they considered an ideal Friday night and what they would do if they found a woman's name and phone number in their new husband's pocket.

Rockwell asked for advice judging the answers from his friends and his mother, who wasn't quite sure what to make of things. "I think it's going to be an interesting evening,'' she said.

He then chose five finalists. Each was asked what qualities would bring out the best and worst in them, and whether they considered children important.

"I know exactly what I'm looking for in love and in life and it's here tonight,'' Rockwell said, before proposing to a shaking Conger.

A judge was then summoned to the Las Vegas Hilton, where the special was taped, to perform the wedding ceremony.

If Tuesday night's special is a ratings winner, expect to see it again as a semi-regular series - particularly during "sweeps'' months like February.

As America watched their whirlwind "courtship,'' Rockwell and his bride were in an undisclosed location on their honeymoon.

"As funny as it sounds, they got married and now it's time to get to know each other,'' Darnell said.

If it doesn't work out, there's always another hit TV show they can try: "Divorce Court.''