AllMovie

Emergency room nurse Darva Conger moved from obscurity to instant fame as the result of her appearance on one of the first major U.S. reality shows to sweep the airwaves during the early 21st century, Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? The program, a one-time-only two-hour special that ran in February 2000, featured 50 single women competing for the marital hand of a then-unknown wealthy playboy. Though Conger reportedly became involved in the program to regain the attention of a recent breakup and win a trip to Las Vegas, she unexpectedly won the contest and went on to a very well-publicized and short-lived marriage to Rick Rockwell, whose own background later came into question. The tabloids swarmed over the marriage and -- when an annulment followed soon after -- sought to vilify Conger, especially after the media learned that she and the ex-boyfriend had reunited. Conger nevertheless survived the tumult and went on to additional media exposure that included posing for Playboy later that same year, auctioning off some of the assets obtained on the program (including her ring) and starting a health and nutrition-based website.