In 2014, when Prince Harry was essentially the most eligible bachelor, Fox aired a relationship actuality present referred to as I Wanna Marry Harry, the place 12 girls had been led to consider they had been within the operating to marry the Duke of Sussex. Though the present was canceled within the U.S. after 4 episodes as a result of low rankings, it continued to air in different international locations, together with the UK.
Collider revealed that the truth present used a Prince Harry lookalike with dyed pink hair. The feminine contestants had been whisked away to a abandoned English mansion. In keeping with the outlet, the present’s creators labored onerous to make the imposter look like he was legitimately the royal, and apparently, the contestants fell for the ruse.
The critiques had been demeaning and scathing, as folks laughed on the fiasco and the way they managed to idiot a big group of individuals. The weird present has been investigated by a number of information shops, reveals, and podcasts. Matthew Hicks, a 23-year-old environmental marketing consultant from Exeter, pretended to be Prince Harry on the present.
The present pulled off a number of stunts to keep up the façade and make it look as actual as potential. One such stunt concerned hiring pretend paparazzi and orchestrating a situation the place Matthew was whisked away throughout a staged “safety incident.” “I simply thought the entire thing was ridiculous, to be trustworthy,” Matthew admitted to Collider.
“I used to be fairly comfortable simply going again to my outdated job and cracking on with my life,” he added. Earlier than being forged on the present, he had been working as a physics trainer at a college. Though he not bears a robust bodily resemblance to the Duke of Sussex, he had uploaded look-alike photos to knowledgeable web site.
In an interview with Refinery29, Matthew revealed that he was instructed to be himself somewhat than absolutely performing because the Prince, though he was given some inventive freedom relating to his background and upbringing. “I solely agreed to the present if I’d come out of it wanting how I wished. I didn’t wish to disrespect the women,” he added.