‘Multimillionaire’ marriage may be cold but reality shows still hot

Lynn Elber

Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2000 | 11:09 a.m.

LOS ANGELES - Darva Conger said she never really wanted to marry a millionaire - she just wanted a free vacation and a chance to wave to her mother on television.

The stranger-bride who married Rick Rockwell last week in the Fox TV special "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire," said she was caught off-guard when the bridegroom chose her from 50 contestants.

"When I was up there on stage, I had no way to escape," she said today on ABC's Good Morning America. "I wish I had the moral fortitude at that point to walk away."

"I wasn't looking to marry anyone. I committed an error in judgment," said Conger, a 34-year-old nurse and Gulf War veteran from California. "I want my life back."

She also expressed outrage that Rockwell kissed her on the mouth instead of on the cheek at the end of the ceremony.

"I was very uncomfortable around him. He's just not a person that I would ordinarily have a friendly relationship with," Conger said.

"I'm not married to him, in my heart, I'm not married to him," she added.

Her whirlwind wedding may be headed for a quickie annulment, but networks are still in love with reality-based shows.

Despite the flap following last week's airing of "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire," no less than three new series plan to take the gamble of putting real people in real-life dramas for fun and profit.

"Making the Band," ABC's behind-the-scenes look at a pop band, debuts March 24. This summer, CBS will air "Survivor," which will strand contestants on an island to compete for $1 million, and "Big Brother," which will stick players in a house filled with cameras.

"I think this train has left the station. This one thing is not going to derail it," said Robert Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University. "These shows are huge, and I think they're going to get huger still."

Still, other networks said they were taking heed of Fox's misadventure: the network at first caught a ratings bouquet but was left holding a can of worms following the disclosure that Rockwell was once accused by an ex-girlfriend of threatening her.

"This certainly heightens awareness of the need to be careful," said CBS spokesman Chris Ender. "We're confident that our casting and screening process will ensure that everyone involved is appropriate and ready for the experience."

It was ABC's hit quiz show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" that proved the potential of reality series, while Fox's "Marry" showed the pitfalls. Fox canceled a rerun of the program as well as plans for a sequel after Rockwell's past was revealed.

A California judge issued a restraining order against Rockwell in 1991 sought by his ex-fiancee, Debbie Goyne, who said Rockwell had hit her and threatened to kill her.

Rockwell told "Dateline NBC" on Tuesday that he never hit Goyne, although he admitted to once letting the air out of her car's tires. He said he has a temper but "it doesn't manifest itself too often."

As for his marriage to Conger, it wasn't consummated during their Caribbean honeymoon, Rockwell said. The pair, who spent no time alone together, according to Conger, had signed an agreement that they could seek an annulment - no questions asked.

To those who thought the show mocked the institution of marriage, Rockwell said he "really had a romantic ideal" in his mind. Friends have suggested that Rockwell, who has performed as a comedian, may have been seeking publicity.

Fox said the show's producers, Next Entertainment, had agreed to conduct a full background investigation on Rockwell and his potential brides. Fox said it is looking into how extensive those checks were.

Next Entertainment said in a statement that "a good-faith background check performed prior to the show by a reputable, independent investigator did not reveal any information that Mr. Rockwell was anything other than a decent, successful man."

The marriage's fate aside, a Fox spokesman said Conger received prizes worth a total of $100,000: the honeymoon, the $35,000 engagement ring and an Isuzu Trooper.

The decision to pull a rerun of the show may reflect Fox's concerns about legal exposure if anything went awry between Rockwell and Conger, Syracuse's Thompson said.