The 2003 reality show is the focus of a new “Dark Side of Reality TV” episode.
I was not doing it to be hurtful or deceitful.
I was doing my job."
‘Joe Millionaire’ winner Zora Sabrina and Evan Marriott on the show.20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection
“Why are they announcing that?”
The women plunged ahead, at first.
They wanted to fall in love, but they were soon disenchanted with their fairy-tale life.
‘Joe Millionaire’ contestants stand in front of their chateau.20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection
They had a formal ball, which felt set up to make them argue.
But no, it was exactly 20."
They had become paranoid they couldn’t trust the show.
Alison Ball talks ‘Joe Millionaire’.Courtesy VICE TV
Courtesy VICE TV
Once, another cast member passed Michael a note, because nothing contestants said was private.
“And they were talking about sexual acts.
They were extremely inappropriate and violating.”
‘Joe Millionaire’ contestant Melissa Michael speaks out.Courtesy VICE TV
As Ball noted, they were “kind of prisoners to the process” who had signed a contract.
All the while, their so-called Joe Millionaire the whole reason they were there was distant.
He never said that.
‘Joe Millionaire’ winner Zora Sabrina appears in new doc.Courtesy VICE TV
I never said that to him."
As she saw it, “Evan and I never, we never dated.”
But the two were awarded a $1 million prize to share.
‘Joe Millionaire’ did not end in love.Fox
Michael said she actually received a phone call from someone who said he was an editor on the show.
He said he was sorry, but he couldn’t talk about it.
For Garcia, “It just felt dirty a little bit.
It felt like the joke’s on us.
It was disheartening and manipulative.”
The contestants faced backlash, too, but they were bound by non-disclosure agreements to stay silent.
“It was bullying.
And it was nonstop,” Michael said.
“I could not defend myself.
I could not tell my side of the story.
I had to just sit there and take it.”
The premise was that the women competed for two bachelors, only one of which was secretly a millionaire.
“Wouldn’t you think that more progress would be made in 20 years?”
Dark Side of Reality TVairs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Vice.
Future episodes focus on shows includingThe Surreal Life,Survivor, and more.
