Darva Conger
{{short description|American television personality}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Darva Conger
| image = Suzanne Stokes and Darva Conger.jpg
| caption = Darva Conger (right) being interviewed by Suzanne Stokes for Playboy in 2000
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1965|9|21}}
| birth_place = Carbondale, Illinois, U.S.
| known_for = Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?
| alma_mater = Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
| occupation = Nurse anesthetist
| height = {{height|precision=2|ft=5|in=5}}{{cite episode |title=Celebrity Boxing 2 |series=Celebrity Boxing |network=FOX |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Oavrvkq9Lo&t=2m6s |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/9Oavrvkq9Lo |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|airdate=May 22, 2002}}{{cbignore}}
| mother = Susan Harrison
| spouse = {{plainlist|
- {{marriage|Rick Rockwell|2000|2000|end=annulled}}
- {{marriage|Jim Arellano|2003|2009|end=divorced}}
}}
| children = 1
}}
Darva Conger (born September 21, 1965) is a former emergency department nurse who in 2000 was selected as the winner of the reality television show Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?{{hsp}}{{cite book |last=Napoleon |first=Dr. Anthony |year=2003 |title=Awakening Beauty: An Illustrated Look at Mankind's Love and Hatred of Beauty |page=60 |publisher=Virtualbookworm.com |isbn=1589393783}}
Conger served ten years in the United States Air Force,{{cite book |last=Huff |first=Richard M. |year=2006 |title=Reality Television |url=https://archive.org/details/realitytelevisio00huff |url-access=limited |pages=[https://archive.org/details/realitytelevisio00huff/page/n145 133]–134 |publisher=Praeger |isbn=0275981703}} on active duty and in the reserves and was stationed at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, Scott Air Force Base, near St. Louis and also in Korea. She was a medical services specialist and became a staff sergeant.
She studied nursing at Southern Illinois University at the Edwardsville and Carbondale campuses, graduating magna cum laude.{{cite news |url=https://www.riverfronttimes.com/bestof/2000/award/best-local-girl-made-bad-30653/ |title=St. Louis – Best Of – Best Local Girl Made Bad – Darva Conger (2000) |newspaper=Riverfront Times |access-date=November 23, 2017 |date=2000}}
Conger's mother was American actress Susan Harrison.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20133317,00.html |title=Darva Conger: A Wrong Turn at the Altar Led to Wedding Bell Blues—and a Silver Lining |access-date=April 2, 2015 |date=December 25, 2000 |magazine=People}}
''Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?'' and aftermath
In the show, which aired as a single two-hour broadcast on February 15, 2000, 50 women competed to be the bride of an unknown millionaire they did not see during the show, except in silhouette. At the end of the show, "millionaire" Rick Rockwell chose Conger to be his wife and married her on the spot. In addition to being wed to Rockwell, Conger won a 3-carat (600 mg) diamond ring and more than $100,000 in prizes. After the honeymoon, it was announced that Conger was seeking an annulment, saying Rockwell had misrepresented himself.{{cite book |last=Hallenbeck-Huber |first=Marjorie |year=2010 |title=Celebrities' Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Lavish Lifestyles, Tabloid Tidbits, and Other Superstar Oddities |publisher=Potomac Books Inc. |isbn=978-1597975100}} The annulment was finalized on April 5, 2000. Conger was the focus of media attention for not only winning the "contest" but also for getting an annulment so quickly after the marriage. After the show aired, Conger made numerous public comments about how she was offended by Rockwell forcibly kissing her on stage, that they never consummated their marriage, and how the entire episode went against her morals.{{cite book |last=Oppliger |first=Patrice |author-link=Patrice Oppliger |title=Girls gone skank: the sexualization of girls in American culture |year=2008 |publisher=McFarland and Company Inc., Publishers |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |page=156 |isbn=9780786435227}}
In August 2000, she posed nude for Playboy magazine. In February 2001, Conger and Rockwell appeared on The Larry King Show and sparred over comments each of them had made about the other, but Conger also said that she should not have appeared on the program at all and was harsh in her statements about Rockwell.
Later life
Conger faced Olga Korbut on an episode of Celebrity Boxing which aired on May 22, 2002. Conger won by unanimous decision.{{cite book |last1=Sagert |first1=Kelly Boyer |last2=Overman |first2=Steven J. |year=2006 |title=Icons of Women's Sport |page=320 |publisher=Greenwood |isbn=0313385483}}
Later, in 2003, she married physician assistant Jim Arellano,{{cite web |url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2002/Nov-24-Sun-2002/news/20123268.html |title=NORM!: Conger back in Vegas for bachelorette party |access-date=June 29, 2007 |first=Norm |last=Clarke |date=November 24, 2002 |newspaper=Las Vegas Review-Journal}} with whom she had one son, Cassius. They divorced in 2009, and she and her son live in Northern California where she works as a nurse anesthetist.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20426034,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203092001/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20426034,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 3, 2010 |title=Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? Darva Conger's Life After Reality TV |access-date=February 28, 2011 |date=September 10, 2010 |magazine=People}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=0174612|name=Darva Conger}}
- {{IMDb title|id=0241059|title=Who Wants to Marry A Multi-Millionaire?}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conger, Darva}}
Category:Southern Illinois University alumni
Category:United States Air Force non-commissioned officers
Category:United States Air Force reservists
Category:Women in the United States Air Force