“There’s Something About Miriam”: – Shocked the world

On the surface, the reality series “There’s Something About Miriam” appeared like a classic dating show of the “Bachelorette” type. A group of seven young and naughty alpha males fought for the favor of the stunning model Miriam Rivera (21).

Whoever emerged victorious from the mating dance won a romantic boat trip with the Mexican beauty and £10,000 (equivalent to NOK 267,000 in today’s currency).

On the day of the final itself, the two tanned finalists – bodyguard Tom Rooke (23) and martial arts instructor Scott Gibson (22) – stand and wait anxiously outside the luxurious, four-star villa in Ibiza.

In a plunging neckline dress that leaves little to the imagination, Miriam declares Tom the lucky winner. He cheers and is obviously happy to have gone all the way to the top.

But before Tom can sail off into the sunset with the lady of his dreams, she has one last revelation in store.

Tell the secret

The final episode was watched by more than 1.4 million people in 2004. To this day, it stands as one of the most shocking moments in reality TV history.

Because after choosing Tom, Miriam takes the floor again.

– I tried to be honest with you all as much as I could. Yes, I’m from Mexico, I’m a model and I’m 21, she introduces to the guys standing in front of her.

– But, Tom… I really love spending time with you. I love men and I love being a woman.

Then she takes a carefully orchestrated art break that feels like half an eternity, before she finally drops the bomb:

– But I’m not a woman, I was born a man.

122 men in three weeks: – Prepared for hate

Passion and emotions

Even now, twenty years later, this is an incredibly raw moment to witness. The six other guys who are giggling, laughing and pointing in the background, Miriam who is smiling and Tom who seems completely speechless with shock.

It was all captured by cameras that film from different angles.

During the dating competition, it had become obvious to viewers that Tom had developed feelings for Miriam. Several times the couple was filmed kissing passionately.

When the presenter asks Tom if he would still like to go down to the harbour, board the luxury boat with Miriam and take the prize money with him, he remains silent for a while.

– Yes, I’m leaving. Of course. After all, we’re all good friends here, he finally answers in a stiff, confused voice.

Slaughtered after panty reveal

– Incredibly uncomfortable

“Miriam: The Death of a Reality Star” is the title of a new documentary series currently showing on Channel 4.

Through three episodes, it deals with the consequences that followed in the wake of the TV producers’ cynical decision to exploit the boys – and not least Miriam’s gender identity – to create the greatest possible shock effect in prime time.

THEN: Here you can see one of the teasers for the reality series when it was first broadcast on Sky TV in 2004.

Leo McCrea was among the production members interviewed in the docuseries. He remembers well the moment when Tom Rooke received the shocking news.

– It was so incredibly uncomfortable. It felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. And Tom, he gasped and looked around at all the betrayal.

The final episode of “There’s Something About Miriam” is rounded off with reactions from the other contestants, who all seem clearly relieved to have lost the competition. They smile slightly bewildered, laugh and make a tirade of inappropriate jokes and comments.

But after the initial shock wore off, anger set in.

Kevin Costner (69): – Shame on me

Crazy chased the director

Former contestant Toby Green recalls runner-up Scott Gibson “going berserk”. At one point, Gibson reportedly began smashing the set before chasing the director around the swimming pool.

Gareth Smith, who worked on the series as a psychiatrist, says that when he spoke to the boys to calm them down, it was Miriam Rivera who was spared, not the production team.

– One of them said: “I’m going to kill her”, reveals Smith in “Miriam: The Death of a Reality Star”.

The recent documentary series goes into how grossly the producers had underestimated the boy’s reaction when they realized they had been lied to. But it also deals with Miriam Rivera herself, who was completely forgotten by the producers when the “scandal” was a fact.

Reveals: – Can go to hell

The father ordered an exorcism

Rivera was 21 years old when the series was filmed and at the time had a painful past behind him.

By the time she was 11 years old, Rivera had started taking hormones and she was living as a woman by the time she was 16. But her father could never accept her identity. In the end, he had a priest brought to the family home to “drive out the demons”.

Rivera ran away from home and was working in a club in Tijuana on the US-Mexico border when she agreed to join what was supposed to be a completely new twist on an otherwise well-established reality concept.

In an interview that was done shortly after the final and that appears in the new documentary series, Rivera says that she was shaking from the whole experience when she went back to the hotel and that she was afraid of being attacked.

– I wasn’t looking to hurt anyone’s feelings. No one in the production would talk to me. They were all my friends during the recording and now they won’t acknowledge me. I feel very upset and alone.

Defying the warnings: Shocks again!

Failed and forgotten

In “Miriam: The Death of a Reality Star”, psychologist Gareth Smith directs scathing criticism at the series’ producers. He says that he had been flown in to offer support to the boys, but that no one had thought about what the experience would be like for Rivera.

– By revealing herself on TV, she came out to the whole world. And as far as I know, Miriam had not been mentally evaluated beforehand. How would she handle rejection? Not just from the person she chose, but from anyone who thought trans people were deformities, Smith asks.

– They sold her a dream without anyone telling her what could go wrong.

Jo Josun was production manager on “There’s Something About Miriam”. In the Channel 4 documentary, she defends the decisions made at the time.

– This idea that this poor young woman was plucked out of Mexico and dumped into this situation … she was a knowledgeable, smart woman. She knew exactly what she was doing and why, and she wanted to be involved.

Breaks down: – Tears of joy

Rounded out the participants

To ensure that the suitors did not become aware of the true basis of the checking program they participated in, the producers made use of a number of cunning tricks. Among other things, all use of pronouns was omitted. And if a participant became suspicious, that person was quickly eliminated.

After returning to London after finishing filming, six of the seven men joined forces to sue Sky TV. In the lawsuit, they stated, among other things, assault, defamation, breach of contract and psychological damage.

The case ended in a settlement between the parties, and it has never been made public what the compensation amount was. In the documentary series, it is claimed that the scandal cost Sky TV over £450,000, which today would be equivalent to NOK 6.2 million.

The following year, the series premiered. Although the viewing figures were high, it was met with massive criticism and condemnation. 25 years later, it would be good to find “There’s Something About Miriam” on some streaming channel.

Kara Tointon: – Norwegians are incredibly lucky

Mysterious circumstances

“There’s Something About Miriam” made Miriam Rivera the world’s first transgender reality TV star. In 2004, she also appeared in the fourth season of “Big Brother Australia”. Then she disappeared from the spotlight.

In 2019, news broke that Rivera had been found dead in Mexico under what were described as “mysterious circumstances”. She was 38 years old.

According to several reports, she had committed suicide at home in the apartment. Her husband, Daniel Cuervo, for his part, has always claimed that she was murdered.

Rivera had died in February, but it was not until August that the news became public knowledge. In a Facebook post shortly after Rivera’s passing, Cuervo paid tribute to her:

“My sweet wife, rest in peace until God allows us to be together again.”