Imagine thinking you’re about to join the British royal family, only to find out you’ve been dating a Prince Harry lookalike! That’s exactly what happened to twelve women on Fox’s controversial reality show, “I Wanna Marry Harry.” Released in 2014, this show had all the makings of a royal fairy tale—until it wasn’t.
A Royal Deception
Twelve hopeful women were flown to England, believing they had a chance to become Prince Harry’s girlfriend. The show’s premise revolved around Matthew Hicks, a convincing Prince Harry doppelgänger, who led the contestants to believe they were dating actual royalty. This elaborate charade took place two years before the real Prince Harry met Meghan Markle and four years before their wedding.
I’m not reading the book, but I wanna know Harry’s feelings on the 2014 reality show “I Wanna Marry Harry” where a man pretended to be him and lied to a bunch of women while dating them. Did that come up? pic.twitter.com/hA2i7U36ZO
— sam (@ablondeblond) January 16, 2023
I Wanna Marry Harry I’ll never forget u xx pic.twitter.com/G6c0ZqIltD
— Aimee🌷 (@CambridgeAimee) December 31, 2023
The Reality of “Skewed Reality”
Recently, show winner Kimberly Birch and fellow contestants Meghan Jones and Chelsea Brookshire opened up about their surreal experiences on “The Bachelor of Buckingham Palace” podcast. Ten years after the show aired, these women accused the producers of “skewing reality” to maintain the royal illusion.
Jones shared that the women were initially told they were part of a show called “Dream Date.” The producers went to great lengths to convince them a genuine royal was involved. “There was a night where we had security outside of our rooms,” Birch recounted, “and one of the security guards told a producer, ‘We have to get him back to the palace, there is a situation there with the royal family.’ It suggested something we weren’t supposed to hear.”
Behind the Scenes Tricks
The producers didn’t stop there. They staged paparazzi chases and created security threats to heighten the illusion. “Production came out and said, ‘Stop filming, this is very serious,'” Jones recalled. “They gathered all of us girls and producers in Kim and I’s room and told us, ‘Your safety is at the utmost importance to us, we are dealing with someone who is a high target individual.'”
Even Hicks, who is now a teacher, felt the strain of maintaining this false identity. “I had no idea they were going to do that,” he admitted. “I felt quite stressed, I didn’t appreciate the way they did it without telling me. But I signed up for this, I knew it might happen at some point.”
The Aftermath
When Birch won the competition, Hicks had to reveal his true identity. Unbeknownst to them, there was a $300,000 prize if she accepted him for who he was. The couple split the prize and briefly stayed together after the show ended due to poor ratings.
The revelation left all the contestants feeling “betrayed and lied to,” according to Jones. Birch, unfortunately, was dubbed “America’s most gullible woman” after her win.
A Decade Later
Reflecting on their experiences a decade later, the women shared a sense of disbelief and disappointment. The show’s premise and execution left a lasting impact on their perception of reality TV. Despite the orchestrated drama and deception, their stories highlight the blurred lines between reality and entertainment in the pursuit of fame and love.
As the dust settles on this royal ruse, it’s a stark reminder that in the world of reality TV, not everything is as it seems. For fans of the British monarchy and celebrity news, this tale serves as a cautionary note about the lengths producers will go to craft compelling narratives, even at the expense of genuine human emotions
