Fake Me Out: Dating show contestant marries his girlfriend just weeks after pretending to be single on TV

Damion Merry, 27, told the programme’s six million viewers he was unlucky in love and looking for Miss Perfect

Married now: Damion Merry on the show Take Me Out

ITV

A contestant on TV dating show Take Me Out duped producers into believing he was single when he was about to get married.
Damion Merry, 27, told the programme’s six million viewers he was unlucky in love and looking for Miss Perfect.
But the fame-seeking model failed to mention to his 30 prospective dates or stunning Chelsea Stewart, who he eventually picked, he was about to wed Sarah Ann Gras in just weeks.
To make matters worse, the arrogant love rat insulted the girls on last Saturday’s show when he was meant to be wooing them.
A friend of Damion, who will appear again tonight, said: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw him on the show. He’s been dating Sarah since long before the show was filmed, and they got married in Las Vegas earlier this year.
“I’m shocked at the things he said on the show. All that stuff about being unlucky in love is just nonsense.  He’s had plenty of girlfriends before Sarah, and been with her a good while before the show.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if all of this was a stunt just to try and boost his modelling career by getting on the telly. It’s the poor girl who had to go away on a date with him that I feel sorry for – he has totally wasted her time.”

Let the love rat see the date: Chelsea was picked by Damion

ITV

Damion failed to tell Take Me Out host Paddy McGuinness and the female contestants he was in a relationship when the ITV show was filmed in November.
When asked yesterday about his marriage to Sarah in Las Vegas on January 5, Damion said a friend of his had assumed his identity and said it was not him who had married.
But according to official records seen by us the couple tied the knot at The Little Church of the West.
Paperwork filed with the county registrar 9pm on January 4 shows a marriage licence was granted for the next day and the union was finalised at 8.29am.
Asked if he was now dating anyone in an interview with lads mag FHM this week Damion, who used to go out with glamour model Jodie Marsh, replied: “Kind of.”
Damion’s disastrous performance last Saturday left none of the ladies wanting to date him.

'Unlucky in love': Damion with host Paddy McGuinness

ITV

A strong start found him appealing to almost all of the women but after several agreed to go on a date with him, he admitted he was more interested in another girl, Lucy, who had turned him down.
He then got Chelsea’s name wrong at the end of the show, calling her Lucy by mistake.
Paddy declared it was the most embarrassing moment in the show’s history.
The Weston-super-Mare born model, who has appeared in campaigns for fashion brand Diesel and sofa firm DLS, went on to insult his date by saying he hadn’t wanted to meet a blonde girl because he wanted to “try something different”.
A Take Me Out spokesman said: “All contestants are required to confirm their single status during the initial phase of the application process and Damion repeatedly claimed to be single.
“We also carry out a number of background checks and speak to family members and close friends to research a contestant’s background and find out more about the information they have provided.
“At no stage was it suggested that Damion had a girlfriend.”
Take Me Out's scandals

Take me out

The Mirror has led the way in revealing a string of scandals which have rocked this series of Take Me Out.
On January 9 it emerged contestant Aaron Withers, 32, had hidden a conviction for hitting a woman. And he had worked as a £50-an-hour gigolo. He said: “It seemed like easy money.” ITV edited him out of
the next show.
Later that week it was revealed his date Wen Jing-Mo, 28, had also hidden a history of working as a £200-an-hour prostitute. She said: “Looking back, of course I regret doing it but at the time it was a lifeline for me.”
Source:http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/tv-film-news/take-me-out-contestant-marries-girlfriend-681270