| Darva Conger | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 21, 1965 Carbondale, Illinois, United States of America |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Nurse |
| Known for | Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? |
| Spouse | Rick Rockwell (annulled) Jim Arellano (divorced) |
Darva Conger (born September 21, 1965[1]) is a former emergency room nurse who was selected as the winner of the reality television show Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?, in 2000.
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 also won a 3-carat (600 mg) diamond ring and more than US$100,000 in prizes. After the honeymoon, it was announced that Conger was seeking an annulment, saying Rockwell had misrepresented himself. 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's forcibly kissing her on stage, that they never consummated their marriage, and how the entire episode went against her set of morals. She posed nude for Playboy magazine in the August 2000 issue. 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.
She later married physician assistant Jim Arellano in 2003[2] with whom she had one son, Cassius, who was later diagnosed with autism. They divorced in 2009 and she and her son currently live in Northern California while she works as an anesthetic nurse[3].
Conger previously served in the U.S. Air Force. At one time, she was stationed at Scott Air Force Base, near St. Louis. She studied nursing at Southern Illinois University at the Edwardsville and Carbondale campuses. She graduated magna cum laude.[4]