VH1
VH1 was a beautiful place for "celebreality" shows in the early 2000s ... and continues to be to this day.
Following early successes with "The Surreal Life," "Strange Love" and "Flavor of Love," all starring Flavor Flav, the network tweaked their formula with "Rock of Love" -- which pit 25 beautiful rock fans against each other to win over Bret Michaels' heart.
The Poison frontman would search for his leading lady for three seasons, airing from 2007-2009, but never made it last with any of the winners. He later proposed to Kristi Gibson on his reality show, "Bret Michaels: Life As I Know It," but they called it off in 2012.
Appearing on "The Steve Harvey Show" for the series' "Where Are They Now?" week, the now-53-year-old opens up about why he joined the dating show in the first place.
"I had spent my life being out on the road since I was 15, 16 years old. I'm not gonna lie to you, I really never realized how horrible I was at traditional dating," Michaels tells Harvey. "I think that a show like this, at first it's exciting, it's an amazing feeling … but at the same time, it's really scary."
"I was reluctant," he admits. "You're on TV and they've got 25 beautiful women and any mistake you make or line you use is going to be held against you for the rest of your life. All your tricks are out!"
Looking back, Bret says he set the mood for the show as soon as he arrived on set the first night.
"I pulled up and said, just let this be real. Dating truly is about sincerity. You can try anything, but you gotta have chemistry," he says. "That first night, I pulled up on the Harley, took my motorcycle helmet off, 25 beautiful girls. I said, 'Girls, I'm jacked up right now, let's go into the house, let's party. I don't know if we're gonna find love, but we'll find something."
They sure did.
Check out the gallery above to see what contestants like Daisy de la Hoya, Frenchy Morgan and Megan Hauserman look like now!
