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Cheap, Easy Way to Undo Darva’s ‘I Do’

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After several days in seclusion, “Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?” bride Darva Conger of Santa Monica broke her silence all over the place this week, admitting that her appearance on the television show was a mistake.

She was sickened from the beginning of the Las Vegas broadcast, through the beachwear competition, and especially when Rick Rockwell kissed her just moments after the two met and married in front of 24 million television viewers, she told NBC’s Matt Lauer on Thursday. Although she has not yet filed for an annulment, she says she is planning to do so.

Well, I’ve got some great news for Darva: Getting an annulment in Nevada is easier than getting married to a stranger on TV in front of millions of people. J. Michael Sunde, general manager of Nevada Divorce & Paralegal Services in Reno, said Conger could easily use fraud as grounds for annulment because of the news that surfaced later about his legal problems with a previous girlfriend.

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“It was one of most ludicrous marriages the world has ever witnessed,” Sunde said.

Rockwell could also apply for annulment, he said, because theoretically Conger married him “just for the money and not for the purposes of maintaining a lasting relationship.” (But it’s less likely he will initiate the action; after all, this is the best publicity a bit actor could ever hope for.)

The bride and groom, both Californians, would probably not even need to return to Nevada because residency is not a criteria for annulment, as it is in some states, and most Nevada judges don’t require a hearing, Sunde said.

And guess what? You don’t have to be a multimillionaire to get an annulment; it only costs about $500 and can take as little as two days.

Since we must assume that, under the circumstances, Conger has money issues, she might want to consider this: Sunde is offering to shepherd her through the annulment for free.

Maybe Sunde could talk her through the process on live television. They could call the show “Who Wants to Divorce a Multi-Millionaire?”

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After reading in Wednesday’s column that John Wayne Bobbitt will join the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow in Europe this spring, the ringmaster himself called to announce that Bobbitt will also appear in the U.S. tour, which will stop in Los Angeles later this year.

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“I hope to bring out another side of John,” Rose said. “He’s the kind of guy that if someone’s cat was stuck in a tree, he would climb up and get it, and most people don’t know that.”

He added that he is teaching Bobbitt “some serious circus tricks,” such as tightrope walking. Maneuvering that fine line between good taste and bad, no doubt.

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A John F. Kennedy action figure in fatigues will soon be part of a GI Joe series commemorating American military heroes and famous battles. (The line already includes Colin Powell, Buzz Aldrin and Teddy Roosevelt.)

The doll, about $35, is the first of several products expected to be released through an agreement between the Kennedy Library Foundation in Boston and Hasbro, maker of GI Joe, Hasbro spokesman Wayne Charness told the Associated Press.

Just don’t let that JFK doll get too close to Barbie.

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Booth Moore can be reached at booth.moore@latimes.com.

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