Annulment Denied in Millionaire Marriage

LAS VEGAS — A judge has refused to grant TV’s instant bride an instant annulment. Instead, a court hearing is set for today to determine if Darva Conger’s marriage to a multimillionaire really was a fraud.

Conger filed for an annulment March 7, saying her quickie marriage to Rick Rockwell was a mistake and that she was never told about the groom’s “history of problems with women.”

Conger, 34, has said that a contest she signed up for on a lark went unbearably wrong when Rockwell, 42, selected her from among 50 contestants on the Fox TV special “Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire.”

They married on the spot in Las Vegas during the Feb. 15 show, with more than 22 million viewers watching. Despite the smash ratings, Fox canceled a rebroadcast of the show and swore off a sequel and similar program after it was disclosed that a former fiancee obtained a restraining order against Rockwell in 1991 for allegedly hitting and threatening her.