‘Joe Millionaire’: Steven & Kurt on Their Bromance & What’s to Come on ‘For Richer or Poorer’
Q&A
Double the men means double the fun! Halfway through the first season of Fox’s Joe Millionaire revival For Richer or Poorer, leading men Steven McBee and Kurt Sowers continue to get one step closer to finding “the One,” but not without facing some challenges along the way.
With only a handful of episodes left until the women find out the bachelors’ true identities (and bank account amounts), things at Lakeshore Manor are heating up as connections grow deeper and drama is brewed. Are Steven and Kurt sure the ladies are falling in love for the right reasons?
The duo dished on everything Joe Millionaire in a chat with TV Insider, from joining the series as reality TV newbies to difficult eliminations to their fan-favorite bromance. Find out what’s still to come this season down below!
How did you both become involved with the show? Were you familiar with the original Joe Millionaire?
Kurt: No, neither one of us was familiar. I guess I knew of it. Ironically, before I left, my one sister said, “This sounds like Joe Millionaire,” because we didn’t know at the time what it was until we got down there. And then as far as how I became involved, a casting agency slid in my DMs and asked if I’d be interested in an opportunity, and you know, we had a few conversations after that, talking about what the opportunity was, and then that led into a few more meetings. The next thing I know, I was in L.A. in front of the production team.
Steven: Yeah, same. Casting reached out to me – this would have been January 2021. So, I was one of [the first guys], if not the first guy that they interviewed for Joe Millionaire, and ended up making it through. And then Kurt was literally, like, the last one on the plane. Like, a couple days before the L.A. meetings, they found him. And so, we were on opposite ends of the spectrum. For me, it was a long, slow process. I was getting tired of all the interviews. I was like, “Is this ever even gonna happen?” and then for Kurt, it was like, “Alright, tomorrow you’re getting on a plane, let’s go.”
K: Yeah, it came at me really quick.
Wilford Harewood/FOX
What were some of your biggest concerns before or during filming: being interested in the same women as the other, worried that you’d let your identity slip…?
K: I think that I just had more concerns about reality TV in general than even what the show was about. You know, I wasn’t sure who to trust, so I had to put a lot of faith in the production company and the casting agency. They really talked me off a few ledges to get me there, and I’m so glad they did. But as far as the show went, no, I really wasn’t too concerned much with the show. I was a little nervous that I might not get along with the other gentleman, however, within the first couple minutes of meeting each other, we knew that that wasn’t gonna be an issue.
S: I had those same concerns. I mean, obviously, Kurt and I both own companies day-to-day, so just the time commitment alone of going down and filming a show for six to eight weeks—that was a major, major concern of mine. And, thankfully, talked to 495 Productions, Fox—they allowed us to have our phones every single morning for about two hours, so we were playing catch-up as much as we could, just keeping things afloat so we could get back to our companies. And other than that, it was just reality
TV, what were we getting ourselves into, because Cornwell Casting, 495 Productions, as we were going through these interviews, they weren’t really diving into the details of what this show was about. So, I was concerned with going down there and maybe seeing, you know, two or three handy cams, you know, and it being a joke of a show. There was just a lot of trust we had to put into Cornwell Casting, 495 Productions, and really Fox, and it paid off, obviously.
While you are both there to find love, you have also developed a great friendship. How has it been having someone to go through this experience with?
S: It’s been a lot of fun. First and foremost, I would have not gotten through the show, the filming, without Kurt there, and I think he can say the same thing. I mean, having each other to go back to every single night and really just vent to and talk about our days and how things went and try to prepare for the next day’s events—I gotta be honest, on other dating shows where there’s one lead, I don’t know how they do it. You know, respect, kudos to them, because if I didn’t have Kurt during filming, it’d have been a nightmare.
K: Yeah, I mean, I almost quit like three times already. We haven’t even gotten to Episode 6 yet! It was just taxing, everything involved with these shows. It’s a lot more than it is on the surface. It is long days, there are a lot of emotions, and then you go on back home with your life and try to manage that. So, it was a stressful process, no doubt.
You both talk about struggling to date multiple women without it feeling like cheating. How did you learn to overcome that throughout the season?
S: I don’t know if you could say we overcame it. It was always still inherently there. You know, there was a couple of times where we just had to clear the air with the women and just say, “You know, this is obviously unconventional. And for us, morally and how our character is, it doesn’t feel right. But in this environment for what we’re here for —and that is to try to find someone that we could potentially be with long term – we’d have to explore all options.” And so, I think there was like three different pep talks before we had to literally sit down all of the women and Kurt and myself to talk about this.
K: Yeah, it didn’t come easy, but I think we just had to have those conversations with the women. This is what we signed up to do. This is what we told the producers we would do. This is what we’re here for, so we just had to buckle up and do it.
Wilford Harewood/FOX
Unlike a lot of other dating shows, you guys hang out with the women a lot in more informal settings. Do you think that helped build stronger connections?
S: Absolutely. There’s only so many connections you can form on a very structured date where you’re being told where you’re going, what you’re doing, and everything like that. But there were many instances where Kurt and I would be frustrated, and we talked to 495 Productions, SallyAnn [Salsano] and Sarah [Howell] and Bradley [Kell], and they would say, “Let’s just go down to the mansion and hang out with them. You know, we don’t have to be doing anything. We can be cooking out, we could just be hanging around the living room just talking.” It was really at those times that we felt the most normal, and I think we really connected the best.
K: Yeah. There was actually one time, in particular, we had a lightning storm right over the mansion, and we had to shut down —I think we lost power for a little bit. So when that happened, that was a real bonding experience. All the cameras were off and everybody was just themselves for a little bit, and that’s when we really started to see these ladies for who they were, and I think they started to see us. It was a really nice moment, actually, to just have a little bit of time without the cameras during that eight weeks and to just be ourselves. It was cool.
What has been the hardest elimination so far, or is it still to come?
S: For me, that first elimination where, you know, Caroline—I knew her from Hinge and Instagram. That one was a complete blindside for me, like, out of nowhere, did not expect it. Kurt and I are just looking forward to getting the night going, getting to meet all these women, and then I get pulled to the side, and, obviously, I know Caroline. We have to make the decision to send her home, and I’m like, “Well, this was not the way I wanted to start off my reality TV career, my trying to find love here by sending a woman that I don’t even know home,” so that was pretty tough.
K: Yeah, it was not fun to watch either! Probably the most difficult elimination is coming up this week because we really got down to a good bunch of women, and it was just so difficult. You have to make these decisions so quickly. You know, we’re speed dating these ladies, so, I think we were just fearful that we might send home one that we might regret. So, I think yeah, the next ones coming up are definitely very difficult.
Speaking of this week’s episode, new previews tease you meeting the girls’ families, them meeting yours, and hints that some may come from more money than they originally shared. Can you tease anything more about what’s to come?
S: Honestly, Kurt and I, we don’t know what’s coming from this next episode, so we don’t know what’s gonna make the cut. I did see in previews – I think I had, like, a bug in my eye there during the end of the preview. I think there may be some man tears coming out… I can’t remember. I think I got 10 text messages like, ‘Are you crying in the next episode?’ And I was like, ‘Son of a gun, they put that in there!’
K: And there were plenty of emotions on this show. It was such an emotional roller coaster. You don’t know what goes into these reality shows until you live it. And so kudos to anyone who has ever been a part of it and who has opened themselves up to it because it is a lot, and it’s very stressful. I mean, you put your lives out on blast for the world and, you know, the world can be very, very harsh. So, it’s definitely stressful during and after.
Wilford Harewood/FOX
S: Yeah. And as far as another teaser for the coming up episode, the fact that we’re meeting their families —that takes things to a whole other level. You know, before, we had no history of where these women come from, what their families are like, and so getting to really meet these women and where they come from and who their family and friends are changes the game for us.
K: I mean I don’t think you can know truly about somebody until you see where they come from, so it was an important step.
What are you most excited for fans to see from the rest of the season?
S: I think now at this point in the season, we truly have an emotional and a physical connection to all the women that are now left here. And so because of that, I think you’re going to see emotions cranked up to 10. And you’re also going to see a couple of women that both Kurt and I are into at the same time and a little bit of the tables being turned, where Kurt and I have a little bit of friendly competition, a little friendly fire coming down the line, so it’s gonna be fun to watch that play back.
K: I’d say I’m enjoying watching the bromance blossom on TV and everybody’s response to it. I think that people are a big fan of that, and it was 100% genuine. It obviously still is—we literally just took a trip to Nashville together. We’ll be with each other the weekend after next, as well, and then the weekend after that!
Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer, Thursday, 8/7c, Fox
