Off the Air - Megan Wants a Millionaire Canceled
Ryan Jenkins Charged With Murder of Ex-Wife Jasmine Fiore
Aug 22, 2009
VH1's reality show Megan Wants a Millionaire is canceled, following news that one of the show's cast members was charged in the murder of his ex-wife. A warrant was issued for the arrest of Megan Wants a Millionaire cast member Ryan Alexander Jenkins, following the murder of 28-year-old Jasmine Fiore.
On August 24, 2009, Jenkins' dead body was found in a Canada hotel room. It's believed Jenkins committed suicide by hanging himself.
In addition, another VH1 reality show, I Love Money 3, has also been canceled. I Love Money 3 was canceled because Ryan Jenkins was on the cast.
Ryan Jenkins Sought for Ex-Wife's Murder
The Associated Press reported that Megan Wants a Millionaire cast member Ryan Jenkins was being sought on murder charges after Jenkins' ex-wife, swimsuit model Jasmine Fiore, was found murdered.
The Las Vegas model's mutilated body was stuffed inside a suitcase that was discovered in a dumpster in the Los Angeles area on Saturday, August 15, 2009. Fiore was last seen checking into a hotel on August 13, 2009; surveillance footage reportedly shows Jenkins leaving the hotel with his luggage. Fiore was never seen leaving the hotel. She was reported missing by Jenkins on August 15.
Multiple news outlets reported that police identified Fiore by the serial number on her breast implants. Authorities say the model's body was mutilated; Fiore's fingers were severed and her teeth removed to make identification more difficult.
Jenkins reportedly married Fiore in March 2009, immediately following the conclusion of the filming for Megan Wants a Millionaire. In June 2009, Jenkins was charged with battery constituting domestic violence — a misdemeanor crime — after he allegedly hit Fiore. The couple divorced shortly thereafter.
VH1's Statement on Why Megan Wants a Millionaire is Canceled
VH1 issued a brief statement about its decision to stop airing Megan Wants a Millionaire in light of the news that cast member Ryan Jenkins was charged in connection with the brutal murder of his ex-wife, Jasmine Fiore. VH1 had this to say about its decision to cancel Megan Wants a Millionaire:
"Ryan Jenkins was a contestant on Megan Wants A Millionaire, an outside production, produced and owned by 51 Minds, that is licensed to VH1. The show completed production at the end of March. Given the unfortunate circumstances, VH1 has postponed any future airings. This is a tragic situation and our thoughts go out to the victim’s family."
In an update to the post, VH1 announced, "We’re sad to announce that both Megan Wants a Millionaire and I Love Money 3 officially have been canceled."
Due to the slew of emails concerning the cancellation of Megan Wants a Millionaire, VH1 revealed additional information on the decision to take the reality show off the air in a blog post dated Friday, August 21.
The production company that filmed Megan Wants a Millionaire, 51 Minds Entertainment, was reportedly unaware that Jenkins had been sentenced to probation in connection with an assault case in Calgary. The production company says that they did perform background checks on the Megan Wants a Millionaire cast members, including Ryan Jenkins, but the assault case did not come to light until after the murder of model Jasmine Fiore. 51 Minds told TMZ, "Obviously, if the company had been given a full picture of his background, he would never have been allowed on the show."
In addition to its decision to cancel Megan Wants a Millionaire, the show's homepage was removed from the VH1 website, as were clips and episodes of the reality show. Megan Wants a Millionaire downloads are no longer available on iTunes.
Who Was Ryan on Megan Wants a Millionaire?
Many reality television enthusiasts who watched Megan Wants a Millionaire's three episodes may not remember Ryan, as he remained under the radar in the first and second episodes.
The Megan Wants a Millionaire cast profile described Ryan as "a 31-year-old investment banker from Calgary. He says he's molded girls into princesses. Ryan admits he's gone through many great girlfriends, leaving them because he 'wanted more women,' though he claims he's only cheated on a woman when he was already planning to leave her." On the show, Ryan Jenkins was said to have a net worth of $2,500,000.
Ryan didn't capture much attention until the airing of the third episode of Megan Wants a Millionaire, when his team won the challenge by creating a winning business plan for Megan's chihuahua Lily. As the team captain, Ryan won a solo date with Megan; he took her out to dinner in Aston Martin DB9. They connected during the date, but Megan got a bit annoyed with Ryan when he forgot to bring his credit card to the elimination ceremony. He was ultimately given a pass, while Trust Fund Baby Joe and pro-wrestler Matt were eliminated.
VH1 says that Megan Wants a Millionaire will remain off the air, so it's possible that reality TV fans may never be an answer to the question of "Who won Megan Wants a Millionaire?"
Ryan Jenkins was also a member of the I Love Money 3 cast, which was slated to air in early 2010. VH1 announced they've canceled I Love Money 3 too.
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