'Millionaire' Bride Fired, Wants Annulment

Darva Conger Might Sue Hospital Over Dismissal

Denise Felder, Staff Writer
The 34-year-old emergency room nurse who made national headlines last month by marrying a wealthy stranger on national television has been fired from her job at a Los Angeles hospital.

CongerDarva Conger has also filed papers to annul her marriage to millionaire real estate developer and comedian Rick Rockwell.

A spokesman for Conger said the hospital gave no grounds for firing the nurse last week, Variety reports.

Kevin Allyn told reporters Conger has turned down "millions of dollars" in offers to tell her story to the media and is "very agitated" over her dismissal.

Conger is looking for a new job and is exploring her legal options to contest the firing.

Meanwhile, Conger has filed an annulment petition with the Las Vegas District Court. Conger and Rockwell were married in the city Feb. 15 during the Fox-TV special "Who Want to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?"

Conger and Rockwell In the court papers, Conger claims she was unaware of accusations that her 42-year-old husband has been accused of beating a former fiance and "was the subject of at least one restraining order for threatening and dangerous behavior."

Rockwell told Reuters he was "disappointed" that Conger included the allegations of violence in her petition.

"She's already said that she wanted out after 36 hours," he said. "I don't understand why she would need to cite these 10- and 20-year-old accusations. I'm at a loss here."

Conger was among 50 women who "competed" to marry a multi-millionaire whom they had never met during the TV special. After viewing the women in bathing suits and wedding gowns and listening to their answers to questions posed by his friends and family, Rockwell proposed to Conger and the two were immediately married.

RockwellRevelations about Rockwell's past and the resulting negative publicity prompted Fox to cancel all future plans for similar marriage shows. The special drew in 22 million viewers.

The annulment papers state that Conger said her televised wedding to Rockwell was never consummated and "neither the contestants nor the show's producers seriously contemplated creating a proper marriage."

She cited "fraud" and "mutual mistake" as grounds for ending the brief marriage.

Conger said she never intended to go through with the marriage and called her participation in the show "an error in judgment."

Rockwell has always expressed less regret about his participation in the marriage contest than his bride.

Conger"You just have to know in your heart whether or not you're doing the right thing. Remember, the title of the show was not 'Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire With an Unblemished Background,"' Rockwell told reporters.

Variety reports Rockwell is resuming his career as a stand-up comedian by going on a national tour, starting with two dates in Tempe, Ariz.

Rockwell said he will not use the stage to badmouth his future ex-wife.

"I still wish her well," he said. "And if she takes the time to get to know me, she'll find me to be a kind and considerate person. I'm only sad that she didn't try to contact me and commiserate, because I'm probably the only person in the world who can (understand) what she's going through."

Conger delayed filing for the annulment until this week because her brother, who had cerebral palsy, died unexpectedly last week.

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