Everyone who watched Fox's megahit Joe Millionaire was shocked when Evan Marriott picked Zora over Sarah Kozer—everyone except Sarah herself. "I think the other girls on the show were happy that Evan picked Zora, because we thought Zora really liked him," says Sarah. "I didn't know there was supposed to be a millionaire on the show when I agreed to go to Paris, and I never went into this expecting to get any money or compensation. I figured out quickly that Evan didn't have any money. I thought, Who inherits $50 million and calls Fox to say that he needs a girlfriend?"
The show portrayed Sarah as a conniving temptress who tried to seduce the supposed millionaire when the cameras weren't rolling. She scoffs at the suggestion. "I never did more than kiss Evan," says the 29-year-old. "The woods scene was a setup. I was portrayed as seducing Evan on the show, but my heart was with someone else. Before I went to France, I met a house-painter from Belgium who was visiting Los Angeles. I really started to like this guy. Thinking of him kept me from falling for Evan."
Sarah says her stint on Joe Millionaire should have been called How Far Will You Go for a Free Trip to France? "I love to jump into a situation and try to swim my way out of it," she says. "I'm really turned on by intrigue and mystery, and you can't get more mysterious than being on a reality show and not knowing why you're there." During the show's run, it came out that Sarah, who holds degrees in philosophy, communications and women's studies, has done some light fetish modeling to help pay off school loans. "The shoots had no nudity or sexual content," she says. "I couldn't believe I was getting paid for someone to tie up my feet—it was silly. I don't have a fetish for that sort of thing, so I always thought it was innocent."
After attending law school, Sarah worked in an advertising agency and studied real estate, but now she's putting the final touches on a novel and a cookbook.
Her busy schedule and all the hoopla surrounding Joe Millionaire soured her relationship with her Belgian beau, and she hasn't had time to date anyone else. Still, Sarah seeks romance coupled with adventure. "During college, I moved to Spain and fell in love with a guy," she says. "He spoke no English and I spoke no Spanish. The language barrier ended up being funny. If you connect with someone and you have chemistry, you find ways to understand each other.
"This whole 'gold digger' thing is a joke," Sarah adds. "One of my girlfriends said, 'Sarah has always had guys with money chasing her, but she'll go for the sweet guy who is unemployed and needs to sleep on her couch.' It's true."
See more nudes of Sarah at cyber.playboy.com.
