Prince Harry Shares His Verdict on Bizarre Royal Dating Show Named After Him: 'I Wasn’t Available'
Prince Harry has finally shared what he thinks about the bizarre reality dating show that tricked contestants into believing they were dating him.
A decade after a reality dating show featuring a fake Prince Harry aired on television, the real Duke of Sussex has finally reacted to it. The series followed a group of women who genuinely believed they were competing to date the royal—which was arguably the least outrageous thing about the show. Sharing his thoughts on the bizarre premise, Harry simply remarked that it is "not the worst that's out there."
The Duke of Sussex recently made an appearance on the podcast Joe Marler Will See You Now, and the host got the chance to ask him about the reality show I Wanna Marry "Harry". Centering around his impersonator, he said, “Originally, they asked me [to do it], and I wasn’t available, so …” Harry joked with the former rugby player, saying, “That’s not the worst that’s out there. That’s just one example.”
The bizarre reality show, I Wanna Marry "Harry," aired on Fox in 2014 and followed a group of women who were led to believe they were competing to win over Prince Harry. To pull off the illusion, producers resorted to some pretty wild stunts. They staged fake security incidents, hired pretend paparazzi to hound the "Harry" around the estate, and even photoshopped the lookalike into photos with Prince William.
The show followed a standard reality dating format, eliminating one contestant each week. However, the finale flipped the script, revealing that the man they had been pursuing was not royalty at all—but Matthew Hicks, an environmental consultant who had dyed his hair red for the role of Prince Harry.
On his podcast, host Joe Marler couldn't quite believe the show had actually been made, calling it "one of the weirdest shows" he had ever heard of. As the conversation shifted to guilty-pleasure TV, Marler asked the Duke to name his favorite reality series. Harry named Love Island but quickly clarified that he is far from a regular. "I don’t watch Love Island," he explained. "I have watched Love Island. There’s a big difference there."
Furthermore, the Prince addressed his hair loss with some self-deprecating humor. When asked about his grooming habits, he said, “Nothing really happening on top. I get a haircut, otherwise I try not to look at what's happening. No. Um, and then, I don't think Jake, you, we don't need to go there.” He also had a laugh about his signature ginger hair, revealing that he now prefers to call it "sunset auburn."
