JB Lacroix/WireImageIs this the newest castmember of Duck Dynasty? Nope, it's Joe Millionaire's Evan Marriott!
Over a decade after the former reality star became a pop culture phenomena on the 2003 Fox series, which was canceled after just two seasons, Marriott attended the Evolution of Relationship Reality Shows discussion at The Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, on Thursday, where he appeared completely unrecognizable, shocking former fans of the short-lived show.
Sporting a bushy beard and a fuller figure, Marriott grinned as he posed for pics in a basic white tee and jeans, looking nothing like his former clean-shaven self, who stole women's' hearts as one-time reality show stud.
With the tagline "his name's not Joe, and he's not a millionaire," the show followed 20 women vying for the affection of a man whom they believed is worth $50 million. The twist? Joe is actually an average man named Evan, who is a construction worker with an annual income of $19,000.
So, what's Marriott up to post-reality show stardom?
"I went back to work. I'm a contractor," Evan said during the panel (via Us Weekly). "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."
In the show's finale, Zora Andrich was the last woman standing. She and Evan received the $1 million prize, which they split after breaking up.
"I started a business for myself and everything has been great," he continued. "I did my first job... I got it, and literally was almost in tears. I called my dad and said, 'I feel like I've just been paroled, this is where I should have been, you know?'"
During the panel, Marriott also opened up about his rapid rise to fame and revealed the unprecedented impact it had on his life.
"It's as simple as this: I was staying at Central Park South, the night of the first show," Evan said. "I went to bed as Evan Marriott and the next day, when I went out on the street, people were literally — this is not an exaggeration — people were at stoplights in their cars, yelling out at me, ‘Joe! Joe!' And I'm going, ‘Who the hell is Joe?'"
"It just happened — talk about overnight," he added. "I didn't know about success, but notoriety. And it's… it's… you can't explain it, it's really powerful. It's really powerful when not just your friends know you, but everybody thinks they know you. They think they do. And depending on how you take it, it's sometimes not that pleasant."