As if the beauty pageant-style dating special Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire wasn’t controversial enough when it aired in 2000, Fox went even further with Joe Millionaire. The series followed in 2003 and compounded the hidden identity element of its spiritual predecessor with an outright lie. The women here would again compete with one another for the heart of a millionaire while living in a luxurious French chateau — only, the guy they were vying for wasn’t rich, even though he actively participated in that lie all season long.
In Tuesday’s (September 24) latest episode of Dark Side of Reality TV, several former contestants — winner Zora Sabrina, along with Melissa Michael, Allison Ball, and Amanda Garcia — and casting producer Dawn George open up about how truly wild their experiences were and what audiences didn’t know about the show.
Here are the most bizarre revelations in the special.
1. The contestants were tricked right from the start.
According to this docuseries, the 20 women who were recruited for the show were recruited for a show called The Big Choice. And while their contract had some very exacting terms — including the fact that they’d have to kiss the man at the center of the romantic circle if he wanted them to — it didn’t reveal that they were being duped about his financial status.
2. They were encouraged to fight over dresses.
The contestants also revealed that when they were asked to dress up for a formal night, the producers provided just enough dresses for each of the women, which set them up for a big brawl over all of the ball gowns. One contestant said it was at this exact moment when she realized she was being “f**ked with.”
3. One perceived frontrunner was sent home because she knew too much.
The participants also revealed that they were shocked when a certain contestant, who they thought was on an easy path to victory, was sent packing after she revealed she had information about “Joe Millionaire” aka Evan Marriott and his alleged “sugar mama” in real life.
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4. One of the contestants found a microphone in her hotel room.
Melissa revealed in the special that co-contestant Sarah Kozer spoke to her privately about overhearing some disturbing producer discussions of her underwear, and as they wrote down their concerns, another producer stormed in and told them to stop writing. That’s when they discovered they were being spied on with a hidden microphone in the dresser, which they were not warned about and did not consent to. Sarah was subsequently threatened by someone who threatened to “f**king ruin” her if she didn’t stop talking about her concerns.
Fox/Everett Collection
5. Even Evan wasn’t comfortable with what was happening.
Behind-the-scenes footage of Evan on the set revealed that he had some serious ethical concerns about what they were doing by deceiving the women in the show as well and expressed those concerns out loud to the production staff.
6. The winner faced unexpected aggression from audiences.
After winning, Zora immediately learned that Evan wasn’t actually a millionaire and took the news quite well; it also helped that they were gifted a $1 million check to split between them as they went their separate ways (and did not date after filming). But while Evan’s life was kind of peachy, with parties and media appearances following his newfound fame, Zora reported feeling attacked, by media personalities and even people who showed up at her apartment door — and she couldn’t defend herself due to the strictures of the NDA she signed to be on the show in the first place.
7. They had no forewarning about how they were going to be portrayed before it aired.
One contestant revealed that the first time she learned she and the others would be framed as “golddiggers” was when she and her family just so happened to catch the first promo for the show on air. Yikes!
Dark Side of Reality TV, Tuesdays, 9/8c, Vice TV
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