‘Joe Millionaire’ Producer Expresses Regret Over Show
Joe Millionaire was Fox’s answer to ABC’s reality show, The Bachelor. The Fox featured twenty single women who flew to France to win the affection of a handsome American man they believed to be worth $50 million. However, the twist was that the man, Evan Marriott, was actually a 28-year-old heavy equipment operator. Two decades after airing, a producer expressed regret over the show. Keep reading to find out why.
Joe Millionaire Producer Expresses Regret Over Show
The show was popular and ran for two seasons. The first season threw Evan Marriott into the public unprepared for fame. After the show, he returned to a private life and started his own construction company. One of the contestants, Sarah Kozer, appeared on another reality show before leaving the spotlight. The winners of the first season, Evan and Zora Andrich, broke up soon after the show.
Ratings weren’t great for Season 2, The Next Joe Millionaire was a good-looking but poor cowboy, David Smith, who made $11,000 a year, fooled women in Italy. Instead of U.S. ladies, he had a bevy of European beauties. Future Dancing With The Stars co-host, Samantha Harris, was the hostess for Season 2. David Smith’s relationship with winner Linda Kazdová didn’t last long.
Joe Millionaire was the topic of a recent episode of Vice’s Dark Side of Reality TV. The show interviewed former contestants and producers associated with the Fox reality show. According to Entertainment Weekly, at least one producer expressed regret over working on the show.
Casting producer Dawn George said, “I apologize that I had anything to do with this.” She added that she was sorry, “That I was someone who was convincing them to do this, especially if it ended negatively. I was not doing it to be hurtful or deceitful. I was doing my job.”
2022 Reboot
Despite the controversy, the Joe Millionaire franchise found new life with a reboot titled Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer, which premiered on January 6, 2022. The new series continued the format with two bachelors, one wealthy and one not. They date twenty women who have no idea which man is the “real” millionaire.
Kurt F. Sowers and Steven McBee starred in the reboot. According to Screen Rant, Steven McBee Jr. and his girlfriend, Calah Jackson, were still together as of March 2024. Kurt Sowers and Amanda Pace broke up shortly after filming.
While hindsight is 20/20, it’s refreshing to see some accountability in the wild world of reality TV. Let this be a lesson to future producers: just because you can create a dating show centered around deception, doesn’t mean you should.
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