If you're driving down Interstate 15 in Salt Lake City, you may notice several very large billboards advertising a date with a rich member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “LDS Millionaire looking for his wife,” they read. "Exclusive VIP Event June 7."
The signs look like they were designed by a Photoshop-happy fifth grader, but, as it turns out, they're legit. There's actually some rich dude in Utah pitching himself on the side of a highway that'll take you all the way from San Diego to Alberta, Canada.
Erin Schurtz, who bills herself as the LDS matchmaker, told The Salt Lake Tribune she set up the whole thing and that her client truly is looking for love. (Which is also what every Bachelor and Bachelorette and Bachelor In Paradise contestant says, and look how well that works out.)
The billboards stay up until May 31, at which point 20 lucky women will be invited to join the mystery man on an exclusive group date. Interested parties should fill out an application, here, which has a drop down menu for "body type" that includes, "slender, athletic, average, a few extra pounds, large, and petite." The application also requires two photos and asks, "Are you currently a worthy temple recommend holder?" and "Did you serve an LDS Mission?"
As of Monday, 326 women have applied.
“This person has tried lots of different avenues and hasn’t been successful yet,” Schurtz told the Tribune of her client. “He’s a great guy and has so much to offer.”
She says he's between 30 and 45 years old, a millionaire, over 6 feet tall, and "handsome." He's looking to date someone of the same faith—although it's not a deal breaker—and is a former White House staffer under a Republican president (!).
He reportedly emailed a statement to the Tribune calling his signs a "gimmick... designed to create attention and conversation."
"It signals that I have achieved an ability to provide for a family, but is not designed to signal that I’m looking for a gold digger,” he wrote. “But if this marketing campaign helps me reach some potential dates who I can get to know better, then it has been a successful campaign.”
Rose is a Senior Editor at ELLE overseeing features and projects about women's issues. She is an accomplished and compassionate storyteller and editor who excels in obtaining exclusive interviews and unearthing compelling features.
