We regret to inform you that one man's ruse to find love by advertising himself as a "Latter-day Saints millionaire looking for his wife" on ten billboards along a Salt Lake City, Utah, highway did, in fact, sort of work.
A month after first reporting on the unidentified bachelor's unusual search for a s/o, 20 women were selected from a pool of 2,500 applicants. On June 7, the women were driven—in limos—to a red carpet (!), where they walked right into a matchmaking party held at a Utah country club. The night started off with dinner, as participants were treated to “endearing stories” about the bachelor from his family, as one woman explained to KSL News.
Then, the women—who came from all over the country—were gifted Kate Spade necklaces in “classy boxes with an LED light shining on the heart pendant when it was opened.” A nice gesture, considering the millionaire's identity was still a secret at this point.
Which brings us to... the big reveal! The mystery man stood behind a strung-up white sheet, so the women could take in his dashing silhouette. He talked about some of his hobbies—watching Breaking Bad and eating ice cream—and then the sheet dropped.
Some were pleasantly surprised. “I think everyone’s first assumption is, ‘What is wrong with him?'” one contestant, 24-year-old Kady Nettik from Idaho, told East Idaho News. “He was cuter than I thought he would be, and tall.” Others were... less than pleased. “Yeah, he was not (what I expected),” another woman told KSL News.
The bachelor walked the women through a ten-slide PowerPoint about why they should date him, before going on a five-minute speed date with everyone who showed up. He reportedly ended the night by handing out roses and selecting several women for one-on-one dates the following day.
Still, the bachelor hopes to keep his identity a secret, and asked attendees to sign a nondisclosure agreement. KSL News claims to have discovered his name, but refrained from publicizing it after two participants they spoke with "expressed fear of legal retribution from the agency should the man’s name be released."
But did the mystery man find love? In an email, the event organizer, relationship expert Erin Schurtz, tells ELLE.com that things are going according to plan.
He is going through the dating process with the women he had a mutual connection with and it's going well! At this point we aren't sure if his identity will be revealed. His intention was never to get a lot of public attention by doing this but rather to do something outside the box to find his match. That said, if he does end up finding his match through the event he might be inclined to share that story publicly. So time will tell!
Rose is a Senior Editor at ELLE overseeing features and projects about women's issues. She is an accomplished and compassionate storyteller and editor who excels in obtaining exclusive interviews and unearthing compelling features.
