Okay guys, I’m going to try and answer all of your questions as thoroughly as possible. After I post this I will post a thread for any followup questions you might have. Alright, so here goes.....

Robobabe asked:

Knowing only two people were going to win "Love Cruise", why did you want to involve yourself with three others? Wouldn't you have had a better chance of winning if you teamed-up with only one female?

ANSWER: Although there can only be two winners, you still need to have influence throughout the jury process to make it to that coveted final 4 position. That is why an alliance of two guys and two girls made sense to me. You have to do a two and two alliance so all four people have a partner in the eventual final four.

At the time I formed the “Chicago Four” I was becoming increasingly worried that other players might also be forming alliances. That is why I felt it was essential to form my own alliance . As was noted in the show’s editing, my original plan was to bring Lisa in as the fourth person (alongside myself, Ralph and Melissa), but that got screwed up for two reasons...one being that she started falling for Anthony’s BS (not a slam at Anthony, it was good strategy on his part cause it worked on several of the girls at different points on the Cruise) so I was losing influence with her. Also, Ralph insisted on bringing Toni into the mix (I had no idea that they had been friends for five years at this point in the show). And we all saw what happened when Toni became a part of the group.

Blondejuligirl asked:

do you work in the Loop? I SWEAR I saw you a few weeks ago...but maybe not.

ANSWER: Yes, I have an office in the loop (as well as the suburbs) and I am often out on the streets on my way to and from the various Courthouses in the Loop area. Next time you see me come on over and say hi...I won’t bite that hard.

Darin_Lover asked:

i just wanted to know if melissa brought her bf in the cruise?? whatever happened to her and darin??

ANSWER: Darin and Melissa have not yet been awarded their trips around the world, although Mel announced last night on a radio show we were doing that she intended to go on the trip with her boyfriend. As for Darin and Melissa, they have become even better friends than they were on the Cruise and speak to each other quite often. Darin lives in San Diego and Mel lives here in Chicago. For those of you who feel like Mel was using Darin to win I can assure you that they really did connect on the boat and it was Melissa’s respect for her long-term boyfriend at home that kept them from taking the last step. Also, don’t feel bad for Darin cause I can tell you from first hand knowledge that he has no qualms about being “used” to the tune of $100,000. There are worse fates in life.

ladyT asked:

You proved yourself to be a classy guy by your end game. Do you regret your experiences and looking back, would you change the way you played the game?

ANSWER: Thanks Trish, I appreciate that. The fact is that I am a very competitive person, but I also know how to play with class and sportsmanship unlike several people on the show. To me it was always a game and nothing more and I couldn’t understand it how so many people could be so bitter and upset about getting beat at it. A lot of people did NOT handle themselves well while losing at this game and I’d like to think that myself and Jeanette were not part of that group.

As for your actual question, I have absolutely no regrets about the experience. I saw some places and got to do many things that most people would never have the opportunity and for that I am eternally grateful to John Murray and Mary-Ellis Bunim and the rest of the BMP family. As for how I played the game, I feel like, all things considered, I played a great game. I, by no means, played a perfect game as I did make a few key mistakes along the way. But, considering the on the fly rules changes, the fact that I basically started out in dead last place, and the Grand Canyon sized hole that I pulled myself out of in episode #5, I feel that I have nothing to be ashamed of as far as how I played the game. I feel that out of the 16 people on the show, only two of them (Darin and Melissa) played it better than me.

FastEddie asked:

whatever was displayed on your shirt got fuzzed out. Was it something too obscene even for Fox? Or was it a plug for a rival of a sponsor? Or what?

ANSWER: I had two shirts blurred throughout the series....the white shirt is a Curious George t-shirt and the orange shirt features an Oompa Loompa from the movie “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” FOX attempted to receive permission from Warner Brothers (Willy Wonka) and the company that owns Curious George, but both companies declined so FOX was forced to blur me out. At one point, Exec Producer Bruce Toms (hi Bruce!) told me that my shirts were his biggest nightmare as it costs a lot of money to do that blur thing and even though I brought more clothes than anybody, I seemed to wear the same two copyright shirts the whole time.

Brooke asked:

Where is everybody now? Do any "couples" still talk? Were there any actual "love connections"? Did Big Bully Toni seek therapy?

ANSWER: I start with the first part first and then the middle part second followed by the last part last. Here is a rundown of where everyone is right now......Myself, Melissa, Toni, Jeanette, Ralph and Bob all live in Chicago. Tony has moved from Chicago and now lives in Las Vegas. Gina, Lisa, Anthony, Laura and Adrian all live in Los Angeles. Greg lives in Baltimore. Darin lives in San Diego. Andrea lives in Miami. And, last but most definitely not least, the lovely and talented Tomiko lives with her mommy out on Long Island as she is trying to save some money since she got “squeezed” out of the prize money on LC.

As for who talks to who......Everyone has people that they talk to and people that they don’t, some have more and some have less. I myself talk to just about everyone except Andrea, Anthony, Gina and Toni (especially after reading all of the lies she has been spreading about me and Jeanette in her post show interviews). Some I talk to more than others, but for the most part we all email each other pretty regularly.

As for who I am closest to on the cast.......I consider Jeanette and Mel to be two of my absolute best friends. The three of us talk just about every day and hang out all the time since we are all in Chicago. I feel that there are several other cast members I would be just as close with if they lived here in Chicago as well such as Tony, Tomiko, Lisa, Greg, Darin, and Adrian. I really just started to get to know Bob in the last few couple of months and he is really a great guy as well so I look forward to hanging out with him more in the future since he is part of our Chicago based crew.

Alicia asked:

how did things work out for toni and greg.. did he "wise up" after seeing the TRUE faces of evil toni portrayed?
and of course what is up with darin.... is he really as great as he seemed on the show?
p.s..... you too, also seem like a pretty stand up guy....

ANSWER: Nothing ever happened post-show between Toni and Greg. Greg just wanted to get laid, nothing more nothing less, and all power to him. But, since the show Greg has told me that his biggest regret in life was hooking up with her...can’t say that I blame him. So yes, he did ‘wise up” after seeing what Toni was really about.

As for Darin, he really is that great of a guy, but what you didn’t see is that he is also quite funny as well. Plus, he DOES talk a lot and have interesting things to say. Damn editing!

Thanks for the stand up guy comment, I’d like to think that I always have been and am glad to see that in all the madness of those last couple of episodes the viewers were able to see that about me. It really means a lot.

Floridagirl asked:

Did anyone else get sea sick on the boat? How much sailing time did you do?
Hmmm ok one more - out of the whole group who annoyed you the most?

ANSWER: In the first episode, Gina was quite seasick. Later on, a few people were seasick here and there, but not to the point where they were bed ridden like Gina. For the most part we were all too drunk to even notice the rocking of the boat.

As for sailing, we were usually on the water every other day. Usually the trips were only a few hours here and there, but we did have a few all day sails that were quite fun.

It wasn’t that people really annoyed me. It was more so that there are certain people who I don’t really care to have in my life for various reasons. I think some of those reasons and dislikes were apparent from the show and others have materialized over the year since we finished filming. Either way, it comes back to the same four people I mentioned earlier who I don’t keep in touch with.

AresMars asked:

1) Is Toni as insane as she appears?

ANSWER: Yes.

2) Have you spoken with Ralph and if so has explained why he back stabbed you?

ANSWER: Yes I have. I don’t have a problem with Ralph trying to stab me in the back during episode #5. You guys didn’t see it, but it was basically Ralph’s idea to have everyone go off on me in that episode, but I don’t have any problem with that. It’s part of the game and the risk I took when I formed an alliance with him. The thing that I DON’T have respect for is the way Ralph handled himself at the end of the show. Ralph always preached that one shouldn’t take anything personally in the game and when you get voted out you should just take it like a man and have no hard feelings. Well, Ralph did not practice what he preached as he came back in the final episode very bitter and ended up casting a vote which I don’t feel he can justify even to this day. Because, even if I did screw him over at the end (which I didn’t) the fact is that he openly tried to screw me over as well so why should he be mad that someone simply beat him to the punch? I like Ralph, I really do, but I still do not have respect for the way he acted at the end of the game.

3) Once your 15 minutes are up are you going to come back here? There are some newbies in serious need of your flame thrower.

ANSWER: I don’t really know. Right now I think I need a break and I will re-evaluate after taking some time off.

4) Was there any prizes for 2nd and 3rd place?

ANSWER: C’mon, were talking about FOX here, of course not.

Supershirll asked

1) Why did Anthony start the fight between Toni and Jeanette?

ANSWER: Anthony started the fight because he was bitter and jealous that he was not in the final four and he wanted to take his revenge out on Melissa and Jeanette.

2) Are you actually friends with Ralph now?

ANSWER: I am friends with Ralph, albeit not good friends. I think the way the show ended left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth concerning Ralph, but not enough where I wouldn’t want to talk to him anymore like certain other cast members. But, even though we live in the same city we rarely speak and don’t see each other for non Love Cruise events so I wouldn’t be surprised if we drift apart as friends now that the show is over.

3) Are you actually friends with Toni now?

ANSWER: Not. At. All.

Mobylynne asked:

did the producers of the show ask you all to be more dramatic than you normally would be to spice things up. I can't imagine that the women, and some of the men, could be so caught up in such petty issues.

ANSWER: Nope, that was all us. You’d be amazed at how intense an experiment/game like this can get. Plus, you throw in the fact that every three days you are kicking two people off the boat and believe me, things can get quite crazy. Also, thanks to some quality casting, this isn’t exactly what you would call a normal group of people, myself included of course.

Aurorastar asked:

I seem to remember you saying one night that you had hung out with jeanette, melissa, ralph and toni. I understand the jeanette and melissa thing but what about ralph and toni?

ANSWER: As I said before, I have no problem hanging out with Ralph. As for Toni, she has been putting on a positive front regarding myself, J and Mel for the past year, but the three of us have known quite well that once the show comes on she was going to turn on us and resume her lying, fake persona ways. So, we’ve just been fake right back to her all the while never investing anything in trying to have a friendship with her. The four of us have had to be at a lot of the same places leading up to the show so we figured why make it any worse than it already was, but now that the show is over and Toni has continued to lie about us we no longer care to pretend that we have or have ever had any positive feelings about her whatsoever. Its actually quite a relief.

grpunk asked:

Who did Tomiko piss off that she had to suffer the horrible fate of constantly getting stuck with Ralph?

ANSWER: Between getting stuck with Ralph and being eliminated on the juice challenge, Tomi must’ve really come into this game with some bad karma cause that girl just could not catch a break.
3. Did Adrian ever consider slapping Gina to get her to stop saying "We have a good chance of winning this."

ANSWER: Adrian is a great guy...I’m sure he was just sitting there biting his tongue and thinking to himself, “just one more hour, don’t slap her annoying ass for one more hour and just maybe I can somehow walk out of here with a hundred grand and never have to hear this girl talk again.”

4. What happened with Laura and Tony? (And what does he see in her? She acts like a snoby jr high student)

ANSWER: Rumor has it that the two of them hooked up en route to Loser Island, but once there quickly grew tired of each other. Then came the mohawk.

Was Lisa kissing 2 guys such a huge deal because she'd never kissed one before? I mean come on... Oh, and because some guy says you're attractive, does that always mean he wants you? Get a clue!

ANSWER: Lisa’s biggest problem on the boat was her ability to turn even the simplest event into an epic world event. It cost some people their spot on the boat and it eventually caught up to her and was the reason she was sent packing.

Was the whole loser island Toni/Andrea/Laura clique modeled after the movie 'Heathers'. If so, can Toni please be like Heather #1 (*gag* '...corn nuts')

ANSWER: It was pretty childish and quite obnoxious, but at least in the end Laura somehow managed to find a spine and voted properly, although that may have more to do with her dislike for Gina than her desire to reward a deserving couple.

Did Greg score with Toni after voting for Mellisa and Darin?
(I'd bet that one's a big NO!)

ANSWER: Greg was quite done with Toni on his own accord by this point. Besides, Greg thinks for himself and no piece of ass is gonna get in the way of him doing what he feels is the right thing. Plus, he and Darin are both from Baltimore and although they weren’t really friends before the show, they both hang out in the same circle and know a lot of the same people. Also, the two of them became very close friends on the show so it was a no brainer for Greg to vote for Darin at the end.

Did Adrian walk up to Toni when all was said and done and say "And NO I don't forgive you for not using the switch card I helped you get to save me! I only said I did so you're gullible ass would vote for me!!!" ????

ANSWER: I am glad that everyone else was able to see how stupid that question was and how Adrian obviously said that to get her vote. It’s funny cause the questions were supposed to be about the couples and why they should win and of course Toni managed to ask a completely self serving question that had nothing to do with the competition.

Shanana Banana asked

I was just curious as to how you felt at the end when no one voted for you and Jeanette? I can imagine it would feel humiliating, embarrassing -- or did you at that point honestly not give a sh!t?

ANSWER: As soon as Justin announced that there would be a third couple we knew we had absolutely ZERO chance of winning. Yes, there were people that hated me at the end, but those same people also hated Melissa. Therefore, if there were just the two couples those people would’ve had to pick one of us and we might’ve won the game in that situation. Also, there were some people that still would’ve voted for us but didn’t because they knew it was a wasted vote at that point, so why bother. With that in mind, we decided that we were just gonna have fun that night and not kiss anyone’s ass in a humiliating attempt to salvage a couple of votes. There was no way we were gonna get up there and beg for the money. Also, at the end we didn’t want any votes cause we knew that if we got even one vote that Melissa and Darin would probably lose, and we felt that the whole show would be ruined if Gina and Adrian won the game. So no, I was not at all humiliated or embarrassed about not getting any votes. I was more so just upset at the producers for adding the third couple and therefore taking away my ability to compete for the title. To me, it was like playing the whole season, making it through the playoffs and then being told “by the way, you can’t play in the Super Bowl, instead we are replacing you with the Arizona Cardinals.” I didn’t mind at all losing to Darin and Melissa, but I was very upset about not even being given a chance to compete. As a very competitive person, that was extremely tough to handle.

Were you pissed that people were voting for Adrian and Gina even though they were booted off so long before?

ANSWER: I was more disappointed than pissed. I couldn’t believe that they could be so bitter that they would want to ruin the show like that.

Do you feel like you were the real reason people wouldn't vote for you two as a couple or do you think they were just praising Jeanette to her face but were never intending to vote for her no matter what?

ANSWER: I don’t think that I cost our chances at all. To say that I did would imply that I did something wrong. No, I believe that the bitterness of certain people is what cost us in the end. Yes, I did not play a perfect game, but I don’t feel that the mistakes that I made warranted the type of hatred I received on that last day. Also, if those people really cared about Jeanette and her family then they wouldn’t have let me getting a hundred grand get in the way of them voting for her. That right there shows that they never really meant it.

Dusk asked:

just curious as to how your personal life has changed. Now that the show has aired, have you seen an increase in recognition? I can't imagine that you haven't, but do you enjoy the recognition (I'm guessing...yes) and what do your friends and family think of the whole situation?

ANSWER: Yes, I am getting recognized quite a bit and my social life has increased in leaps and bounds. Its been a lot of fun, that’s for sure. As for my friends and family, they are all extremely proud of the way I played the game and they were all very excited to see that I got more air time than probably any one else on the whole show. That was a big shock to them cause if you remember the commercials before the show started, I was the least featured of all 16 cast members. That caused most of my friends and family to assume that I was most likely voted off and had nothing to say on the show. To see the exact opposite occur was quite a thrill for them.

Sleeeve asked:

Just wondering how much you'll get after you sue BMP for making up the rules of a game show as they go along... it's against federal law!! If they planned to bring a third couple into the finals, that had to be disclosed at the start.

ANSWER: No comment.

LondonFSP asked:

My question to you is, and I understand if it is too personal to answer, but did you have feelings for Melissa in the beginning?

ANSWER: I think it is obvious that I had a bit of crush on Mel at the beginning of the show. But, as we started to become friends I started to look at her more like a pal and that crush went away. That always happens to me, once I start to become good friends with a girl, I no longer look at them in that way. That is probably why I have been able to maintain so many friendships with women, either that or I’m gay. Also, (and no I’m not fishing for compliments here) I always knew that looks-wise, she is so far out of my league it ain’t even funny.

Are Lisa and Anthony really together?

ANSWER: Not at all. In fact, I don’t think they have spoken since the show more than a couple of times.

lindalu1962 asked:

Are you single?

ANSWER: Perpetually.

Sweettxsgddss asked:

of course my Question is About KING RALPH....as we all know I am quiet OBSESSED with him...LOL.....is he as much of a jag off in person as he seemed on the show

ANSWER: As Ralph would say himself if asked that question, “Of course I am.” Ralph used to claim that the reason he was cast for the show was because he was the biggest asshole they could find. But, he’s also a really funny guys so it kind of makes it okay.

Mitrellum asked:

My simple question is: Are you and Jeanette still close friends? Does she know about your alter-ego?

ANSWER: As I said previously Jeanette, as well as Melissa, are two of my closest friends. The three of us speak just about every day and we get together quite often as well.
In fact, the first thing Melissa has to do when she gets her $100,000 is replace the tube of toothpaste she stole out of my apartment yesterday. I should've known something was amiss the way her and Jeanette were giggling and laughing just a little too hard as we were leaving. Revenge will be mine though, so if you ever see Melissa walking down the street with just one shoe on you will know that ALL of her left shoes are sitting safely in a garbage bag located somewhere hidden in my apartment

As for knowing about my alter-ego, Jeanette is well aware of the many deep and disturbing layers that my personality has and her and her family are big fans of my LC summaries. Ain’t that right J-ho?

my favorite LCS poster Taginite asked:

---have you had any offers for tv interviews?

ANSWER: No, once the events of Sept 11 happened and the show was subsequently rescheduled I knew that the show was never going to live up to my expectations. We taped several interviews with all the national entertainment news orgs on Sept 10 that were supposed to air that week, but obviously they were shelved and then even when the show finally did air those interviews were never used. It would’ve been nice to see how this show would’ve performed under normal circumstances, but we will never know now. In all honesty, I think the smart thing would’ve been to pull the show altogether and save it for either Temptation Island 2's spot or for sometime next winter or spring. FOX didn’t want to delay it any further, but after seeing the way audiences have reacted to our show and other reality shows, I think FOX would agree now that the smart thing to do would’ve been to hold it.

---have you, or any other cast members, had any offers for product endorsements?

ANSWER: No, but that was something I never thought would happen no matter how big a hit it was.

---have you thought about, or are you even allowed to write a book about the show, or are there copyright laws? what about magazine articles? memoirs? uh...n/m..

ANSWER: We are under a strict contract regarding such things, but even if we weren’t I don’t think I would want to write a book about it. I love to write and I have already spent enough time writing about this show. I’d like to move on and try some new projects.

---also, i forget... but weren't you the only person to actually use the switch card? why??
(even as a strategic move... it kept shouting ~~don't do that~~political hari kari... imho).

ANSWER: Actually, I did not use a switch card. When I replaced Andrea with Jeanette that was through a special “competition” in the game and had nothing to do with the switch cards. Also, Adrian did use a switch card in the second episode to save himself. As for the time I had the switch card in episode #3, I wanted to save both Jeanette and Greg but I knew that it was a poor move strategically. The reason being that I was in no danger of being voted out at that point in the game so the only way I was leaving was if someone used the card on me, so why would I want to be the first to open the floodgate by using one myself. Also, if you switch someone out you run the risk of someone being pissed off on you and wanting to get revenge....that would put a huge target on my back. Also, I knew that me and Jeanette were friends at that point and I was already thinking about the final jury so it seemed to make sense with me to let someone who likes me go to the final jury.

Mysty asked:

When did Toni offer a bribe? Fox kept showing the clip where Toni is saying something like "If I win, would you take half?" I thought she was being a friend, a dumb friend, but friend nonetheless.

ANSWER: Toni offered the bribe on a day when there was no filming. Every 5 days the crew would get the day off and we would be sent to hotels where we were sequestered by gender. On this particular day in Bonair, Jeanette was doing laundry when Toni came to her and said, “I want to win. I want to send my mom on the trip so if you tell the guys that you want to be voted out, when me and Ralph win we will give you $20,000.” The bribe was actually overheard and confirmed by one of the crew members who was there to babysit us at the hotel.

As for the clip with Toni offering half the money, I don’t understand why BMP decided to use that clip since all it does is confuse people. But, even with that clip I don’t understand how you could feel the way you do since there was plenty of other evidence that supported the allegation. First of all, when Anthony told Toni about the bribe he never mentioned any of the details or the amount yet she ran over and immediately started yelling “just because I offered Jeanette $20,000 you call that a bribe!” How could she know about the fact that it was for 20k if she didn’t do it??

Plus, look at all the other times she has lied on the show and it is obvious that she has ZERO credibility. Like all the times she said she wanted to switch herself off instead of Jeanette yet she totally contradicted herself several times on that point. And then when she did get voted out she went to Loser Island and lied about sacrificing herself for Jeanette when we all know that was clearly not the case. Taking all of the times she lied into account and the general way in which she conducted herself on the show I think it is quite easy to believe that she would stoop so low as to offer up a bribe. Hell, I could imagine her doing far worse.

And I am one of the few people who didn't like Melissa, she got on my last nerve...but that is another story!

ANSWER: I don’t understand how anyone could dislike Melissa. She’s smart, funny, down to Earth, friendly, lots of fun. Everyone on the cast loved her with the exception of a couple of people who were clearly jealous of her for having all of those characteristics that I just listed. And on top of that, she played the best game out of anyone on the show so you have to respect her just for that.

Guess who?