Exploring I Wanna Marry Harry Reality Dating Show That Deceived Girls Into Believing They Would Marry A Royal
Years before Prince Harry married Meghan Markle, Fox released a dating reality show revolving around him and duped a group of female contestants into believing they were marrying the Royal!
In 2014, when Prince Harry was the most eligible bachelor, Fox aired a dating reality show called I Wanna Marry Harry, where 12 women were led to believe they were in the running to marry the Duke of Sussex. Although the show was canceled in the U.S. after four episodes due to low ratings, it continued to air in other countries, including the UK.
Collider revealed that the reality show used a Prince Harry lookalike with dyed red hair. The female contestants were whisked away to a deserted English mansion. According to the outlet, the show's creators worked hard to make the imposter seem like he was legitimately the royal, and apparently, the contestants fell for the ruse.
The reviews were demeaning and scathing, as people laughed at the fiasco and how they managed to fool a large group of people. The unusual show has been investigated by several news outlets, shows, and podcasts. Matthew Hicks, a 23-year-old environmental consultant from Exeter, pretended to be Prince Harry on the show.
The show pulled off several stunts to maintain the façade and make it look as real as possible. One such stunt involved hiring fake paparazzi and orchestrating a scenario where Matthew was whisked away during a staged “security incident.” “I just thought the whole thing was ridiculous, to be honest,” Matthew admitted to Collider.
“I was quite happy just going back to my old job and cracking on with my life,” he added. Before being cast on the show, he had been working as a physics teacher at a school. Although he no longer bears a strong physical resemblance to the Duke of Sussex, he had uploaded look-alike pictures to a professional website.
In an interview with Refinery29, Matthew revealed that he was instructed to be himself rather than fully acting as the Prince, although he was given some creative freedom regarding his background and upbringing. “I only agreed to the show if I would come out of it looking how I wanted. I didn’t want to disrespect the girls,” he added.