When it comes to cooking up ideas for reality television, very few networks can match Fox’s “throw things at the wall and see what sticks” attitude. It’s givenGordon Ramsaya whole fleet of cooking competitions, madeAmerican Idola cultural phenomenon, and drew viewers (and controversy) toThe Masked Singer. But in 2014, Fox broughtI Wanna Marry “Harry"to television screens across the world.I Wanna Marry “Harry"put 12 women under the same roof, where the winner would walk away with the heart of Prince Harry. But what the contestants didn’t know was that"Harry” was actually a man named Matthew Hicks who just happened to look like the Prince. It also turned out to be a massive failure, and years later, one of the contestants would reveal that some shady actions were taking place behind the scenes.
‘I Wanna Marry Harry’ Was a Rare Miss for Fox Reality TV
WhenI Wanna Marry “Harry"premiered, most reviewers noticed thatit strongly resembled another short-lived Fox reality show:Joe Millionaire. That show had a similar premise of tricking its female contestants with the fiction that they would be marrying a millionaire, when in reality he was actually a construction worker.Timemagazinedidn’t hold back in its scorn, saying thatI Wanna Marry “Harry"was “theGus Van Sant’sPsychoof sexist reality shows.” (Ouch!) Not helping matters were the declining ratings, which led Fox topull the plug on the showonly four episodes in. The rest of the show was aired online, andI Wanna Marry “Harry"seemed destined to be consigned to the dust heaps of memory. That is, until winnerKimberly Birchspoke up.
The Winner of ‘I Wanna Marry “Harry”’ Opened Up About Behind-the-Scenes Duplicity
One year afterI Wanna Marry “Harry"made its debut, Birch revealedthe lengths the producers went in order to convince contestants that they were actually dating Prince Harry. Crew members would actually stand outside and whisper about the Royal Family, or pose as paparazzi to surprise “Harry” and the contestants on dates. But one of the wildest efforts to keep things under wraps involved therapy — or rather,someone pretending to be a therapist:
They actually had a therapist come on set at one point and talk to a few of us who were saying it wasn’t him. We found out later that it wasn’t a real, licensed therapist. It was just someone from the production team. [The therapist said] ‘You have to learn how to trust your mind. I understand that you’re in a different country, and you don’t know what’s going on, but you have to trust the people here. It’s not good for you to keep questioning.’ It was really crazy.”
It’s one thing to pretend that a normal man is really a prince, but to fake being a therapist is another. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, Birch also reveals thatcontestants were all but locked in a hotel a week beforeI Wanna Marry “Harry"filmed, without their phones or even TV. “It taught me a lot about brainwashing, because your reality is being screwed with,”she toldThe Guardian.
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You know when the security team has to step in, you’re in big trouble!
‘I Wanna Marry “Harry”’ Couldn’t Be Made Today (and That’s a Good Thing)
Looking atI Wanna Marry “Harry"a decade later, it’s clear that the show was made in a different timeandwould never have worked in the modern day. Even putting aside the fact that people turn into amateur detectives thanks to social media, Hicks lacks chemistry with most of the contestants, which is what viewers tune in for. Birch even admitted that she and Hicks didn’t stay together, though they kept in touch. In a strange twist of fate,one of the contestants was named Meghan; four years after the show aired, the real Prince Harry would marryMeghan Markle. “I feel so vindicated, in a way,” Birch saidin a recent interviewwhen she was asked about the royal marriage. Ultimately,I Wanna Marry “Harry"remains a stark reminder that just because you have an idea for a reality show doesn’t mean that it will be a success.
I Wanna Marry “Harry"is available for purchase on Amazon in the U.S.
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