Money, not love is what is important in a marriage

Item from the Smart Marriages Archive, reproduced in the Divorce Statistics Collectio n

Regional Show Combines Pageant, Dating Game

By DAVID BAUDER AP Television Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- 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."

| Smart Marriages Archive | New Divorce Statistics and Studies Blog | Older Divorce Statistics Collection Archive |