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Long before The Bachelor and The Bachelorette exploited the desperation of emotionally-stunted young adults looking for love, there was Joe Millionaire.

Series star Evan Marriott wasn’t really named Joe and, more importantly, he wasn’t really a millionaire. He was a 28-year-old construction worker, who – with the help of Fox producers – duped 20 single women into thinking he was incredibly wealthy.

The twist came in the show’s finale, in which Evan revealed to the "lucky" winner that he’s just some broke-ass nobody like the rest of us.

Having outlived his usefulness, Marriott returned to his broke-ass nobody life, only to re-emerge yesterday at an industry event looking decidedly different:

The Hollywood Gossip Logo
The Hollywood Gossip Logo

We’re sure you can figure it out for yourself, but just in case – that’s 2003 Evan on the left, and modern-day Evan on the right.

He’s aged well, in part because he’s changed with the times.

Back then, well-groomed metrosexuals were all the rage, and now about hirsute lumberjack types are in vogue. See bearded Leonardo Dicaprio for further evidence.

It’s hard to believe that a scam like Joe Millionaire could work today.

After all, we’ve all seen so many "twist" reality shows that it would be surely be much more difficult to find 20 gullible women who would pursue a dude without ever wondering if they’re in for a Shyamalan-esque surprise.

Of course, that won’t stop networks from trying. Last summer’s, I Wanna Marry Harry convinced a dozen women they were competing for the heart of Britain’s Ginger Prince. 

The show received dreadfully low ratings and was canned halfway through its eight-week season.