In the Feb. 22 issue of People (on newsstands now), Megan Hauserman fills in some details of the Ryan Jenkins tragedy, and her contact with the Megan Wants a Millionaire contestant between the filming of the show and the murder/suicide. Among the things touched on: her deep infatuation with him (“I was smitten, which isn’t like me because I never like anybody”), her shock at finding out about his engagement to Jasmine Fiore and his resulting despair. It’s a sobering read, especially during its conclusion when Megan talks about making sense of the tragedy and ensuing fallout:

Most of the time, I just cried, feeling terrible for Jasmine and her family, thinking how the two of us could have been interchangeable. When VH1 called to say my show had been canceled, I understood why. Because of all this, people have a negative association with me. Now I’m rethinking my whole life, trying to figure out where to go from here.

[People]

Update: You can read the entire article on Megan’s blog.

Just in case you missed it, we’re sad to announce that the fate of both Megan Wants a Millionaire and I Love Money 3 have been determined: both have been canceled and will not make it to air.

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TMZ is reporting that Ryan Jenkins, the Megan Wants a Millionaire contestant accused of killing his wife Jasmine Fiore, has been found dead in an apparent suicide. They say he was in a hotel in British Columbia, where staff found him hanging.

There’s not really much to add to that by way of commentary. Tragedy begets tragedy. Of course, our sympathy goes out to the friends and families of Jasmine Fiore and Ryan Jenkins, as it has for the past several days.

Just to help fill in some details for the two people visiting this blog who don’t know what’s going on: Ryan Jenkins of Megan Wants a Millionaire has been charged with killing his ex-wife Jasmine Fiore, whom he met earlier this year, after he filmed Millionaire. Ryan’s whereabouts are unknown at this time, although it is suspected that he fled to his home country of Canada. There is a manhunt currently underway.

VH1 released a statement on the matter Wednesday. 51 Minds, the company that produces Megan Wants a Millionaire, also released a statement. They told TMZ:

51Minds was not aware of Ryan Jenkins’ record when it cast him on Megan Wants a Millionaire. Obviously, if the company had been given a full picture of his background, he would never have been allowed on the show.

The company did have in place what it thought was a thorough vetting process that involved complete background checks by an outside company for all contestants on its shows. Clearly, the process did not work properly in this case.

Although up till now we have remained silent regarding this matter besides the official statement, we will do our best to report developments going forward. The enormity of this tragedy barely can be expressed, so please bear with us. As we said before, our thoughts go out to Jasmine Fiore’s family, and more so with every saddening development we receive. There are plenty of places you can look for more details and speculation and speculative details. Here’s the A.P.’s latest take.

Clearly, our comments box is overflowing and there are very few questions that we’re able to answer at this point. Regardless of what other sources say (including websites maintained by on-air talent), no announcement has been made about the fate of any future programming, besides Megan Wants a Millionaire, which currently is postponed (as is its VH1.com online coverage). We will update you officially if and when anything changes. Some people also seemed confused regarding Megan Hauserman’s well-being. Rest assured that Megan is healthy and safe.

More when we can…

Update: We’re sad to announce that both Megan Wants a Millionaire and I Love Money 3 officially have been canceled.

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