'Joe Millionaire' looks a whole lot different 12 years later

Updated
'Joe Millionaire' Is Now Just An Average Joe
'Joe Millionaire' Is Now Just An Average Joe


Nearly twelve years after fooling twenty women into thinking he was wealthy for the FOX reality show "Joe Millionaire," the show's star stepped out looking completely unrecognizable.

Back in 2003, then-28-year-old Evan Marriott shocked contestants on the relationship reality show when he admitted he wasn't worth millions, and he shocked us all when he appeared at the Paley Center in Beverly Hills on Thursday.

The 40-year-old was there as part of an "Evolution of Romantic Reality Shows" discussion presented by WEtv. He told attendees what he's been up to in the decade since the show ended.

"I went back to work. I'm a contractor," he said. "I was saying backstage that after the show, you don't know what to do, where to go with your life. Some friends got together, had a little intervention, a come to Jesus moment."

Not only was Marriott not a real millionaire, he wound up squandering the actual half million dollars he received for being in the show.

"I gave a lot of money away," he told "The Insider" back in 2012. "Reflecting back, I think I did it out of guilt.

Since the show ended, Marriott has started his own contracting business -- completing the transition from "Joe Millionaire" to a happy Average Joe.

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