If you were watching VH1 in the late 2000s, you couldn't escape Megan Hauserman. She was everywhere. First, she was the "trophy wife" archetype on Beauty and the Geek, then a villainous powerhouse on Rock of Love and Charm School. By 2009, she had reached the peak of the "Celebreality" era. She finally got her own show: Megan Wants a Millionaire.
It was supposed to be her crowning achievement. The premise was pure trash-TV gold—seventeen wealthy men competing for the affection of a woman who openly admitted her only goal in life was to be rich and pampered. But the show didn't just end; it collapsed. It became the center of a real-life horror story that effectively ended an entire genre of television.
The Show That Changed Everything
Megan from Megan Wants a Millionaire wasn't just another reality lead. She was a professional. She knew how to give the producers exactly what they wanted—snarky confessionals, strategic alliances, and just enough vulnerability to keep people watching.
The show premiered on August 2, 2009. It was a hit. But only three episodes ever aired.
The world stopped when a contestant named Ryan Jenkins, a smooth-talking real estate developer from Canada who had placed third in the competition, became the subject of an international manhunt. After filming wrapped, Jenkins had met and married a model named Jasmine Fiore in Las Vegas. In August 2009, her body was found in a suitcase in a California dumpster. She had been mutilated to prevent identification.
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The news was a gut punch to the industry. VH1 immediately pulled the show off the air. A few days later, Jenkins was found dead of an apparent suicide in a motel in British Columbia.
The Fallout for Megan Hauserman
Honestly, it’s hard to imagine what that does to a person. One minute you’re filming a lighthearted dating show, and the next, you’re realizing you spent weeks getting close to a man capable of such brutality. Megan later told People magazine that she was absolutely terrified. She stayed locked in her apartment, fearing Jenkins might come for her next.
Basically, the "Trophy Wife" brand died that week.
VH1 didn't just cancel her show; they scrubbed it. They also canceled I Love Money 3, which Jenkins had reportedly won, and effectively ended the "Celebreality" era that had defined the network for years. The legal and PR nightmare was too much. Production companies had to overhaul their entire vetting process. It turned out Jenkins had a prior history of domestic violence in Canada that the show's background checks somehow missed.
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Where Is She Now?
People often wonder if she just disappeared. Kinda, but not really.
For a while, she tried to keep the momentum going. She appeared on Beach Heat: Miami and did some hosting. But the spark was different. The "dumb blonde" persona she’d perfected didn't feel as fun when associated with such a grim tragedy.
By 2014, Megan had moved on to a completely different life. She married a professional golfer named Derren Edward and moved to Boca Raton, Florida. In September of that year, she gave birth to her son.
Today, Megan Hauserman is a far cry from the woman who once told Bret Michaels she just wanted to be a trophy wife. She’s an accountant by trade—she actually had a degree in accounting from the University of Illinois at Chicago all along—and focuses her time on her family and animal rescue charities.
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The Lasting Legacy of Megan Wants a Millionaire
The show remains a "lost" piece of media. You can’t find it on streaming services. VH1 has done its best to make sure it stays buried in the archives.
When you look back at Megan from Megan Wants a Millionaire, you’re looking at the moment the "Golden Age" of trashy reality TV hit a brick wall. It forced a conversation about safety and responsibility in casting that the industry is still navigating today.
Megan has made a few rare appearances since then, like in Andy Cohen's 2021 documentary For Real: The Story of Reality TV. She seems at peace with her past, though she acknowledges it as a "close call" that changed the trajectory of her life forever. She went from being the face of VH1 to a quiet life in Florida, proving that sometimes, getting what you "want" on a reality show isn't the prize you think it is.
Lessons from the "Trophy Wife" Era
- Vetting Matters: The Jenkins case changed how every major network handles background checks.
- Persona vs. Reality: Megan’s "trophy wife" character was a brilliant performance by an educated accountant.
- The Power of Pivoting: Transitioning from a public tragedy to a private, successful life is a feat in itself.
If you’re looking to revisit this era of television, focus on the documentaries that cover the shift in production standards post-2009. Understanding the systemic changes in reality TV casting provides a much clearer picture of why shows like this don't exist in the same way anymore.