Judge won’t grant TV marriage annulment without hearing

Angie Wagner

Tuesday, April 4, 2000 | 5:19 a.m.

LAS VEGAS - A judge has refused to grant TV's instant bride an instant annulment. Instead, a court hearing is set for Wednesday to determine if Darva Conger's marriage to a multimillionaire really was a fraud.

Conger filed for an annulment March 7, saying her quickie marriage to Rick Rockwell was a mistake and that she was never told about the groom's "history of problems with women."

A judge can either grant the annulment based on the court filing or schedule a hearing.

Janice Boyle, spokeswoman for the Clark County clerk's office, said it is not uncommon for a judge to call a hearing.

"It's just pretty much standard," she said Tuesday. "It's not cut and dry. They can request at any time that a hearing be held."

Conger, 34, has said that a contest she signed up for on a lark went unbearably wrong when Rockwell, 42, selected her from among 50 contestants on the FOX TV special "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire."

They married on the spot in Las Vegas during the Feb. 15 show, with more than 22 million viewers watching.

Despite the smash ratings, Fox canceled a rebroadcast of the show and swore off a sequel and similar program after it was disclosed that a former fiancee obtained a restraining order against Rockwell in 1991 for allegedly hitting and threatening her.

Rockwell denies the allegations.

Conger and Rockwell both signed an agreement before the show that they could annul the marriage.

The 9:30 a.m. hearing will be before Family Court Judge Steven E. Jones.