The saga continues...
Tuesday February 22 9:09 PM ET
TV Bride And Groom Living Apart, May Split
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Not only is the honeymoon over for TV newlyweds Rick Rockwell and Darva Conger -- who made
''Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire'' the talk of a nation -- the marriage is close to an end as well.
The controversial groom, facing allegations he hit and threatened a former finance, told ''Dateline NBC'' on Tuesday that he and
Conger had separate rooms during their Caribbean honeymoon, never consummated their wedding and probably will have their
marriage annulled.
The couple -- he a 42-year-old comedian turned real estate investor and she a 34-year-old Gulf War veteran and emergency
room nurse -- were married last week on a Fox TV show watched by 16 million people after a contest in which he picked her
from five finalists in wedding gowns. She never laid eyes on him until he picked her.
Since then, he has been the object of intense media scrutiny.
In the NBC interview, Rockwell denied allegations by a former fiancee that nine years ago he slapped and threatened to kill her,
but did admit he once let the air out of her tires ''to get her attention.''
Asked whether he thought he or Conger would exercise an annulment agreement they signed before the wedding allowing either
party to unilaterally opt out of the marriage, Rockwell answered, ''Yeah, I think so.''
News that the couple were not living as man and wife -- they have resided separately since returning from their honeymoon --
surfaced on Tuesday following revelations that Rockwell was the subject of a restraining order obtained in 1991 by a former
fiancee.
Model Debbie Goyne alleged he slapped and threatened to kill her after she tried to break off their engagement.
On ''Dateline NBC,'' Rockwell denied ever striking Goyne but said he has a temper. He added, ''Have you ever gotten to the
point where someone has pushed your buttons and you say, 'I'll kill you.' That's what it was. ... I'm not proud of it.''
The disclosure was a major embarrassment for Fox. It called off a repeat of the show set for Tuesday night and dropped plans for
any such shows in the future.
Fox and the show's producers, Next Entertainment, said the embarrassing material against Rockwell never emerged during an
extensive review of his background. ''Next Entertainment specifically asked Mr. Rockwell on several occasions if there was
anything in his past that might be embarrassing to him or the show. He assured us that there was not,'' the company said.
Asked by ''Dateline NBC'' why he did not tell the producers about the restraining order, Rockwell said, ''I thought that all
records like that were null and void after seven years. To me it was ancient history.''
A prominent New York-based divorce lawyer, Raoul Felder, said the situation could land Fox and the show's producers in legal
trouble. ''There's lots of potential for lawsuits that could arise,'' Felder said in an interview with Reuters.
''What if the person is not a multimillionaire? What if the person has a social disease? What if the person beats up his former
girlfriend? So, it's not only tasteless, it's legally perilous.''
TH |
