Remember “Joe Millionaire,” the cruel twist on dating show conventions that allowed a fleet of love-hungry women to chase a handsome guy on national TV under the misconception he had a ton of money when the reality was he was mostly broke? Ah, those were the days. FOX is back at it again with “I Wanna Marry 'Harry'” (premiering Tues. May 27 at 8:00 p.m. ET). The show has found a lookalike for the Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales (aka Prince Harry) in regular guy Matthew Hicks. Now, 12 suckers, I mean American women, get a chance to date him!
Obviously, these women can't be the sharpest knives in the drawer if they think a royal this high up in the line of succession is going to look for love on an American reality TV show, but then again, a free vacation in England may have been temptation enough. The ladies include a preschool teacher, a pre-med student, a social worker, a pageant queen and more than a few restaurant workers.
Oh, and if you're wondering, besides the mean joke built into the show, it's otherwise very much like “The Bachelor” or “The Bachelorette.” Each week Matthew picks one girl for a fabulous adventure, and each week one girl is asked to “leave the estate.”
As much as I enjoy the smarm of reality dating competitions, ones that seem intent on “exposing” unwitting participants as golddiggers with a twist like this one unnerve me (for the record, I think the U.K.'s “There's Something About Miriam,” in which the one woman being pursued was transgender, was dirty pool as well). I guess someone could make the argument that “I Wanna Marry 'Harry'” will reveal whether the love of the winner is “true” once she discovers Matthew's real identity, but building an entire TV show on one big lie suggests that isn't the point anyway. No, it's about punking a bunch of women who are already kidding themselves that they can get anything more out of this adventure than a European vacation. Hope it's worth it.
Anyway, here are the ladies!
KELLEY ANDREWS Age: 25
Hometown: Mobile, AL
Currently Residing In: New York, NY
Occupation: Restaurant Hostess
Dating Deal Breaker: “Not willing to have fun on the dance floor!”
Favorite British Phrase: “Cor, blimey!”
KIMBERLY BIRCH Age: 24
Hometown: Long Island, NY
Currently Residing In: Long Island, NY
Occupation: Social Worker
Dating Deal Breaker: “Arrogance”
Favorite British Phrase: “Going the full Monty.”
CHELSEA BROOKSHIRE Age: 22
Hometown: Long Beach, CA
Currently Residing In: Riverside, CA
Occupation: Store Cashier
Dating Deal Breaker: “Doesn”t believe in God.”
Favorite British Phrase: “Bobby” (a British police officer)
ANDREA FOX Age: 25
Hometown: Long View, TX
Currently Residing In: Plano, TX
Occupation: Technology Sales Representative
Dating Deal Breaker: “Shorter than me, even with heels on.”
Favorite British Phrase: “What do you fancy?”
CARLEY HAWKINS Age: 24
Hometown: Buffalo, MO
Currently Residing In: Phoenix, AZ
Occupation: Student
Dating Deal Breaker: “None… only standards.”
Favorite British Phrase: “He”s fit!”
ANNA LISA MATIAS Age: 24
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Currently Residing In: Los Angeles, CA
Occupation: Pageant Queen
Dating Deal Breaker: “No manners/etiquette, flakers, smart a**.”
Favorite British Phrase: “Oh bloody hell!”
ROSE COPELAND Age: 23
Hometown: Westlake Village, CA
Currently Residing in: Studio City, CA
Occupation: Preschool Teacher
Dating Deal Breaker: “Equal opportunity dater”
Favorite British Phrase: “Get your knobs out!”
JACQUELINE CONROY Age: 25
Hometown: Long Island, NY
Currently Residing In: New York, NY
Occupation: Nutritionist
Dating Deal Breaker: “Liars, unemployed, cheaters, cheap or judgmental.”
Favorite British Phrase: “American girls are forward.” – Matt Hicks
MEGHAN JONES Age: 26
Hometown: Tustin, CA
Currently Residing in: Dallas, TX
Occupation: Artist
Dating Deal Breaker: “Nothing worse than a man who is insecure.”
Favorite British Phrase: “Slap and tickle.”
KARINA KENNEDY Age: 25
Hometown: Palos Hills, IL
Currently Residing In: Chicago, IL
Occupation: Physical Therapist
Dating Deal Breaker: “Arrogance”
Favorite British Phrase: Any phrase with “bloody” in it.
LEAH THOM Age: 24
Hometown: Ft. Worth, TX
Currently Residing In: Fort Worth, TX
Occupation: Cocktail Waitress
Dating Deal Breaker: “He hasn”t seen ‘Star Wars”…”
Favorite British Phrase: “We get on.”
MAGGIE TORAASON Age: 25
Hometown: Peru, IL
Currently Residing In: Chicago, IL
Occupation: Beverage Sales Rep
Dating Deal Breaker: “Crocs…”
Favorite British Phrase: “Getting a leg over.”
Do you plan to watch this show? Or does it give you the creeps?