Reluctant TV bride Darva Conger bares all in Playboy for financial security

Wednesday, June 28, 2000 | 10:26 a.m.

"I did what I needed to do to survive, to insure my financial security," the not-so-blushing ex-bride told TV's syndicated "Extra" show during an interview for broadcast Wednesday.

Conger said she had no problem accepting a six-figure offer to pose for the nine-page Playboy pictorial. The August issue featuring Conger arrived on newsstands Wednesday.

In a television wedding brokered by the Fox network, Conger married Rick Rockwell on "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire" in February. The couple quickly ended the marriage.

The Playboy opportunity was too lucrative to pass up, she said.

"In a sense, opportunistic has a negative connotation," Conger said, asking, "But when did taking advantage of an opportunity become a negative thing to do? Especially in this land, the land of opportunity?

"So I'm supposed to take the moral highroad, sit in my living room as they foreclose on my home?"

Conger wouldn't divulge the exact amount paid by Playboy.

"The financial need has certainly been taken care of. I'm rich in wealth, and I'm rich in knowledge," she said, adding she will be "fine" for the rest of her life if she invests wisely.