Love or Money Dude Fooled!

[Maxima]

Interesting TV Guide article:
http://www.tvguide.com/news/insider/040604c.asp

[John]

Here's the text of the article:

Love or Money Dude Fooled!

by Daniel R. Coleridge

How do people end up on reality shows? Sometimes in strange ways. Check out the story of Preston Mercer, the bachelor on NBC's For Love or Money 3 (Monday at 9 pm/ET). "A good friend of mine was an ex-Denver Broncos cheerleader. She went on Dog Eat Dog, which uses the same casting department as [FLOM 3]," says the 25-year-old Colorado native. "They asked if she knew any good single guys in Denver. So I went in for an interview, and they liked me right away." Ah, but this is reality TV, so there had to be an unpleasant twist...

"I originally signed up for [a show called] Adventures in Love," Mercer recalls. "As much as they claimed it was a working title, I knew some things would be thrown my way. But I didn't know it was an [existing] show."

And thanks to their standard release forms, NBC didn't have to tell Mercer it was For Love or Money 3. "In the contract, it says the producer can flat out lie to you at any time," chuckles the real-estate mortgage broker. "If you completely overlook that, you're clueless. So I didn't go in with my eyes completely closed. You've gotta read these contracts and understand what's coming your way."

He may've gone into this sitch open-minded, but the affable fellow remained clueless nevertheless. Having barely watched FLOM before, Mercer didn't even recognize host Jordan Murphy when he first met him. "I thought the twist of this dating show was there were two [bachelors]," he says. "I thought I had to compete against this guy! Then he told me, 'You're on For Love or Money.' It definitely was a shock to me."

Expect Mercer to encounter much nastier twists throughout the series. After all, he is dating a harem of fame-hungry, Benjamin-chasin' gold diggers. "I didn't really trust anybody in the whole process," he admits. "I have a small opportunity to spend time with these women, and I'm trying to convince them to choose me over $1 million. It's a very odd kind of psychological warfare."

[oneTVslave]

I was wondering how they would pull this off. You'd think after a couple of Joe Millionaires and two FLOMS that the contestants would begin to get wise to the process...

[WomynLee]

Interesting article, Maxima!

[LG.]

apparently FORT membership will disqualify you from being on a reality tv dating show, because we KNOW TOO MUCH about these shows. I guess FORT membership does have its privileges.

[Elle]

It is going to be interesting to see how the twist works.

[Mdrio9]

So, the producers can mess with contestants all they want then...they have so much power.

[berries]

I guess I'm not surprised that the producers have it written into the contract that they can actually LIE to the contestants! I was wondering how they got people to sign up for this show, when we already know how it "works"... so I guess this article answers that question - they DON'T KNOW what it is they're signing up for! SHOCKING!!

[Alanna]

I still don't understand what's wrong w/ being on FLOM?? I get it w/ Joe Millionaire because it'll ruin the whole 'plot' but for FLOM it's not like that, both the gals and the guy know everything the moment they start. Besides it's a good opportunity for all of them, why not go for it

But it doesn't sound like the girl ended up choosing him, since he called it 'warfare' what do I know tho?

[charlie9]

Not only do the contracts say producers can lie, but I am actually privy to a contract for an upcoming reality show that says contestants must say everything that happened in the show was true, even if it wasn't!

These contracts are getting sleazier and sleazier, man.