Millionaire Seeks Wife; Thousands Write In -- `Demons' Arrested, He's Ready For His True Love

DALLAS - Mike Mullen has his urban estate, his 1,500-acre ranch, his two helicopters, his jet, his seaside home on the Gulf of Mexico and his winter retreat in Snowmass, Colo. He even has the 13-carat diamond ring he plans to place on his betrothed's finger.

Only one thing is missing from Mullen's life: the woman of his dreams.

So he did what any American with a story to tell would do: He went on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

On Jan. 26, one month after his second marriage dissolved, he told Winfrey and the nation that he was looking for love. More specifically, he wanted a woman who knows the true meaning of love, devotion and commitment - toward him and his 16-year-old daughter and 7-year-old twin sons.

Women from around the world heard the oilman's entreaty and began pouring out their hearts.

Mullen's postal box has been bombarded with 39,000 letters and packages - so many that he has had to hire someone to cull the responses to pick possible candidates.

He is still looking.

"I'm lonely for having what my parents had," says the 48-year-old millionaire. He is convinced that, after learning lessons the hard way, the third time will be a charm.

"I am going to be a hell of a catch for a woman now, because of the fact that I really have arrested some demons in my life," Mullen says. During his failed marriages, both to women named Debby, he partied and drank too much.

He says he married the first time because his friends were settling down.

After graduating from Tulane University, he gave football a try, playing in the World Football League for a time. Then he went to work drilling for oil in Iran and Greece.

It was after he moved back to Dallas that he met the woman who would become Debby Mullen No. 1. All she wanted was to rent his duplex, but they were engaged within two weeks and married seven months later. Five years and one daughter later, the marriage was over.

Mullen says that at 30 he was emotionally too young to marry. His ex-wife says he focused on his career, not the marriage.

Mullen was managing a bank's $480 million oil-related loan portfolio after the drilling business began going dry. In 1986, he started his own company buying foreclosed assets at bargain prices.

About the time his business was taking off, in the early '90s, Mullen met his second wife. They dated for 10 months, broke up, were reunited and soon married.

The twins were born, but the couple had problems for years, sometimes trying to mask their unhappiness with lavish gifts and trips.

In December, they divorced.

Although Mullen now had his freedom, he still wasn't happy. He began drinking, although he says he has now stopped. One of his sons said recently that Mullen is no longer the angry father, which he credits to his sobriety.

Winfrey was filming her show in Amarillo last winter during the trial of Texas cattlemen's lawsuit against her when she decided to highlight the lifestyle of Texas millionaire bachelors.

Mullen invited a film crew into his homes, then joined Winfrey on the set in Amarillo.

The response was so overwhelming that Winfrey had Mullen on her show a few weeks later to talk about it.

Dealing with all the correspondence is a full-time job. Mullen hired Bryan Miller, a 33-year-old attorney, to handle it, and he has spent almost 200 hours picking possible dates and sending rejection letters to thousands of women.

So what's Mullen looking for?

The woman must be educated, but even if she has written "War and Peace," she stands no chance unless she's good-looking.

"No airhead bimbos allowed," attorney Miller says. "They had to have beauty inside and out."

So far, Mullen has dated 13 women, and about half have been invited for a second date. Only a Playboy cover model has made it further.

The ex-wives have mixed feelings about Mullen's televised quest.

"Look at all the attention this is getting him," Debby No. 1 says. "He has a huge ego to feed."

Debby No. 2 says she wouldn't have cared except that the Oprah appearance came only a month after their divorce.

Her advice to the next Mrs. Mullen is to have plenty of energy, stamina and patience.

"Get ready," she says, "for the ride of your life."