Editorial Team
“The Moment of Truth” ran on Fox from January to August 2008.
It was hosted by Mark L. Walberg, who is most notable for not being Mark Wahlberg.
Contestants on the show took deeply personal polygraph tests and were then asked deeply personal questions in front of a live audience.
If their answers lined up with their polygraph results, they’d win a cash prize and get to the next level (which meant a harder, more deep-cutting question and the opportunity to win more money). Participants could win up to $500,000, which one contestant did after stating that she believed her dad had sexual relations with a minor.
The show was an adaptation of a Colombian game show called “Nada más que la verdad” (“Nothing But the Truth”) and gained significant attention despite its short run.
In one infamous episode, a contestant named Lauren Cleri ended up giving truthful answers which would make headlines the next day.
She admitted to:
- Getting fired from a job for stealing money.
- Cheating on her husband.
- Being in love with her ex-boyfriend on her wedding day.
Then her ex-boyfriend came out to ask a couple questions. That was a thing they did on the show … have guests come on stage to ask some of the harder questions. They also had contestants bring their families to the show. So Lauren’s parents and husband were also there.
Her ex, whose name was Frank (that was also her husband’s name), walked on stage and asked Lauren if she thought he was the one she should be married to. He also asked Lauren if she would leave her husband if he wanted to get back together. Lauren answered yes to both questions, right in front of the other Frank.
There was just one question she couldn’t answer truthfully. When Walberg asked her, “Do you think you’re a good person,” she smirked a bit and said “honestly, I think I am a good person.”
Unfortunately, she couldn’t even sell herself on that one. “That answer is false,” said the robot lady who announced whether answers were true or false.
Then, Lauren went home with no money, and according to reports at the time, no husband.
Also, we found her on TikTok.
