VH1 has decided to permanently remove Ryan Jenkins from its airwaves.
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The network has canceled both Megan Wants a Millionaire and I Love Money 3 after Jenkins was charged with murdering his ex-wife last week and was subsequently found dead on Sunday from an apparent suicide, a VH1 spokesman told The New York Times.
Both shows are produced by 51 Minds Entertainments, the same production company behind dozens of other VH1 reality series that have been ratings hits for the network in recent years.
Jenkins appeared as one of Megan Hauserman's suitors on Megan Wants a Millionaire, which filmed earlier this year and premiered a few weeks ago.
He was billed as being a "smooth operator" with a $2.5 million net worth on Megan Wants a Millionaire and was still one of 10 remaining suitors vying for Hauserman's heart before VH1 pulled the show indefinitely after authorities identified Jenkins as a "person of interest" in the death of his ex-wife Jasmine Fiore early last week.
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The body of the 28-year-old swimsuit model was found August 15 stuffed in a suitcase in a Buena Park, CA trash can. Police alleged Jenkins removed Fiore's teeth and fingers prior to disposing of her body, presumably to hinder efforts to identify her, however authorities used the serial numbers on her breast implants to identify the body.
A preliminary coroner's report showed Fiore was strangled.
The 32-year-old Jenkins was then able to elude authorities who searched for the Calgary, Alberta native along the U.S. and Canadian border, however he was found dead on Sunday after allegedly hanging himself in the secluded Thunderbird Motel in Hope, British Columbia.
Jenkins reportedly returned from filming I Love Money 3 in Mexico about four weeks ago and had been boasting that he had won the reality competition's $250,000 grand prize.
A 51 Minds spokesman told The New York Times Jenkins had visited the company's Los Angeles production office to pick up a $5,200 "honorarium check" for his I Love Money 3 participation on August 12 but would not confirm reports that he won the competition.
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Jenkins and Fiore checked into a San Diego hotel on August 13, according to authorities. He checked out the next morning and Fiore was never seen alive again.
VH1 canceled Megan Wants a Millionaire on Friday after Jenkins was charged with murdering Fiore on Thursday.
"[VH1's] ultimate responsibility is what's on our air, and in this case we immediately took the show off the schedule as well as off of our digital platforms," said the network in a Friday statement obtained by The Times.
"Everyone has a role to play in the hundreds of hours of original programming that we develop each year. Something went wrong here, so we're all looking at the process to make sure it doesn't happen again."
Despite canceling Megan Wants a Millionaire, VH1 told The Times it had still not decided the fate of I Love Money 3 as of Friday.
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However that changed by Sunday, when a network spokesman told The Times that I Love Money 3, which had been slated to debut in January, has now also been canceled.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio