The world of reality TV is full of drama, romance, and scandals. But sometimes, the scandals can turn into tragedies. That’s what happened in 2009, when a VH1 reality dating show called Megan Wants a Millionaire was cancelled after only three episodes because one of the contestants was a murderer.
The show featured swimsuit model Megan Hauserman, who had previously appeared on other VH1 shows like Rock of Love and Charm School. She was looking for a wealthy partner among 17 men, who had to compete in various challenges and dates to win her affection. One of the contestants was Ryan Jenkins, a Canadian real estate developer who claimed to have a net worth of $2.5 million.
Jenkins seemed to be the perfect match for Megan. He was charming, good-looking, and generous. He made it to the final three and won a trip to Las Vegas with Megan. “He seemed like he had it all. He seemed like he was perfect for Megan,” Hauserman said.
But behind his charming facade, Jenkins was hiding a dark secret. He had a criminal record in Canada for assaulting a woman in 2007. He also had a history of domestic violence with his wife, Jasmine Fiore, a swimsuit model whom he married in March 2009, just two days after meeting her in Las Vegas.
In August 2009, Jenkins brutally murdered Fiore in their Los Angeles apartment. He strangled her, cut off her fingers and teeth, and stuffed her body in a suitcase that he dumped in a dumpster. He then fled to Canada and was declared a fugitive by the police.
The murder shocked the public and the media. VH1 immediately cancelled Megan Wants a Millionaire and pulled all the episodes from its website and on-demand services. The network also cancelled another show, I Love Money 3, in which Jenkins had also participated and reportedly won the grand prize of $250,000.
The production company behind the shows, 51 Minds Entertainment, issued a statement saying that they did not know about Jenkins’ criminal record when they cast him on the show. They said that they relied on a third-party vendor to conduct background checks and that Jenkins had provided fake documents to pass the screening.
The murder scandal also raised questions about the ethics and safety of reality TV. Some critics argued that the shows exploited vulnerable people for entertainment and that they did not do enough to protect them from harm. “The reality is that these shows are very lightly vetted. There’s no psychological testing. There’s no real background check. It’s basically an honor system,” said Andy Dehnart, editor of Reality Blurred, a website that covers reality TV.
The scandal also had a lasting impact on the reality TV industry. VH1 decided to rebrand its programming and focus more on music and pop culture. Other networks also became more cautious about casting controversial or risky characters on their shows. “I think it was a wake-up call for the industry. It made people realize that there are real consequences to putting people on TV who may not be stable or who may have ulterior motives,” said J.D. Roth, executive producer of I Love Money 3.
As for Megan Hauserman, she never got to find her millionaire on TV. She said that she was devastated by the murder and that she felt betrayed by Jenkins. She also said that she regretted doing the show and that she wanted to move on with her life. “It’s hard to believe that someone who could do something so horrific could be so charming. But that’s how psychopaths are,” she said.
Relevant articles:
– The Unaired Reality Dating Show In Which A Literal Murderer Got Third Place, Thought Catalog, February 23, 2022
– Ryan Jenkins, Jasmine Fiore, and the murder that changed reality TV, Entertainment Weekly, January 30, 2020
– Megan Wants a Millionaire – Wikipedia, Wikipedia, accessed on October 23, 2023
– 10 VH1 Dating Shows You Forgot About, Screen Rant, April 5, 2022
– Megan Hauserman – Wikipedia, Wikipedia, accessed on October 23, 2023