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Season 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 30 :02x08 - Heiss/Kestrel (Nov/07/2005) | This week in “Heiss/Kestrel,” a devoted housewife and mother who does all the cooking and cleaning for her overindulged teenagers and husband in their modern appliance-outfitted home swaps lives with an eco-friendly hippie mom who detests materialism and whose family of three shares household chores and works together to keep their meager household afloat, on ABC’s “Wife Swap” -- the critically-acclaimed, unscripted reality show that takes us into the intimate heart of the American family home to reveal the extraordinarily different ways families live.
Susan Heiss (49), who lives in an upscale neighborhood in Rhode Island, does all the cooking and cleaning herself for her loud, boisterous Italian-American family. Her larger than life husband, “Big” Ed (50), runs his own business and is truly king of the castle. He likes his nine TVs and every modern convenience money can buy. He is also used to having everything the way he likes it, thanks to Susan. The family’s three teenagers, Jenna, Britney and son Ryan, are equally indulged by their mother and would never dream of raising a hand to help her do anything. For the Heiss family members, their wishes are Susan’s commands.
Susan ventures to the energy-conserving Virginia home of dreadlocked couple Sienna (34) and Ash (24) Kestrel, and Sienna’s 12 year-old son, Ian. Not only do young purple haired Ian and his skirt-wearing stepfather, Ash, share in the housework, they also team up with Sienna to make their living by diving through local dumpsters for food and cast-off furniture. The family do all they can to make certain their income stays below the poverty level. For the Kestrels, shunning the American dream is a way of life.
In the first week of the swap, Susan is appalled when she must join her new family to ask for handouts of food at a local bakery and to dumpster dive. Meanwhile, astonished Sienna spends hours cooking and cleaning for her new family while they ignore her and party all night in their Jacuzzi.
In week two of the swap, when the wives change the rules, Susan brings her new family into the 21st century by not only installing new appliances, including a dishwasher, but also by telling hippie Ash to get a haircut and a job. Sienna, tired of her overindulged new family, bans the use of all electrical appliances at home, makes Big Ed wear a skirt to get in touch with his feminine side and forces the family to work together to cook meals and wash dishes. At the end of the swap, when the couples reunite and come face to face with one another, will the powwow be, according to Big Ed, a “bada bing” or a “bada bust”? | | | |
| 31 :02x09 - Hodge/Kolpin (Nov/14/2005) | This week in “Hodge/Kolpin,” a backwoods, hunting mom whose motto is “Kill it and grill it” swaps places with an animal activist mother who eats only raw food and has a vegan pet cat, on ABC’s “Wife Swap”-- the critically-acclaimed unscripted reality show that takes us into the intimate heart of the American family home, revealing the extraordinarily different ways families live their lives.
Bobbie Hodge (33) and her husband, Ricky (38), live in the Kentucky woods and proudly refer to themselves as “conservative rednecks.” The Hodges and their two sons, Cody (12) and Austin (10) inhabit a “trouse” – a combination trailer and house -- and are avid hunters. Their small, cluttered home is decorated with animal heads mounted on the walls. The family eats more food that they’ve shot -- including venison and squirrel -- than food that they’ve bought. When they do go to the grocery store, they shun fruits and vegetables in favor of sugary snacks and junk food. Bobbie is a stay-at-home mom, and Ricky is a factory worker. The two were high school sweethearts and maintain a traditional relationship -- she does all the cooking, cleaning and childcare, while he provides for the family, does taxidermy and rules the roost. Both parents have difficulty disciplining their unruly boys, who constantly fight with each other and misbehave. The exasperated parents have labeled Cody “the wild child,” but are proud of raising their children “right.”
Bobbie travels to the Arizona desert home of free-spirited Jackie Kolpin (50) and her husband, Harold (53). The liberal Kolpins strive to live a simple life with their 18-year-old daughter, Morgan. Their sparse cinderblock house contains almost no furniture, as Mom prefers not to spend money on material possessions she thinks they don’t need – including beds. The Kolpins are vegans who don’t eat meat, dairy, eggs or fish. In fact their pet cat, “Tiger,” is also a vegan and isn’t served meat. Additionally Jackie and Morgan are “raw foodists” who refuse to eat any cooked food because they believe it’s unhealthful. Jackie even had the kitchen stove removed two years ago without consulting timid Harold, leaving him secretly yearning for pizza and roast chicken. What’s more Jackie is an avid “sun gazer,” staring at the sun twice a day for 8-10 minutes at a time. She believes the practice suppresses her appetite, allowing her to consume fewer of the earth’s resources. Both Jackie and daughter Morgan are committed animal rights activists who regularly take part in protests. Jackie does little housekeeping, is not employed, and spends her day daydreaming about things she could do one day to improve the world. In the meantime, she nags Harold about the long hours he works as a supermarket manager, and excludes him from major household decisions. Though Harold would like to have a stove and a bed, he is dismissed by Jackie, who rules the cinder-block roost.
In the first week of the swap, Bobbie craves meat and balks at having to participate in an animal rights protest, while Jackie refuses to eat meat and clashes with Ricky over hunting. In week two of the swap, when the wives change the rules and turn the tables, Bobbie performs a taste test for the Kolpins’ vegan cat to see if he prefers meat or vegetables and has a pig roast in the family’s front yard, while Jackie bans meat and cooking in the Hodge house, then calms down the rowdy Kolpin boys with their first taste of yoga. At the end of the swap, when the couples are reunited, will they find common ground, or are their differences too great to overcome? | | | |
| 32 :02x10 - Johnson/Blackburn (Nov/21/2005) | This week in “Johnson/Blackburn,” a strict and regimented mother who runs her family like a military unit and starts her day at 4:30 a.m. swaps lives with a undisciplined mother whose house is chaos and whose home gym is collecting dust, on ABC’s “Wife Swap” -- the critically-acclaimed, unscripted reality show that takes us into the intimate heart of the American family home to reveal the extraordinarily different ways families live their lives.
Each week, from across the country, two families with very different values are chosen to take part. In a two-week-long challenge, the wives from these two families exchange husbands, children and lives (but not bedrooms) to discover what it’s like to live a very different woman’s life. It’s a mind-blowing experiment that often ends up changing their lives forever.
Texans Jay (43) and Lin (36) Johnson are both former soldiers who own Bootcamp Fitness and train clients to be lean, mean fitness machines. Their high end clientele includes the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. The business runs with military precision, as does the Johnson household – from first call at 0430 hours right through to lights out. Fitness to the Johnsons is all-consuming; Lin even works out on her exercise bike while she watches TV. Jay finds it impossible to leave his drill sergeant hat at the door, and wife Lin and daughter Sydnie (11) both wish he could spend more time with them.
Lin travels to the Tennessee home of Rebecca Blackburn (34), her husband, Tony (33), and children Vin (3) and Shelby (10). Fitness could not be further from the Blackburn family’s mind; They live in a chaotic house with a pile of unused gym equipment in their spare room. Both Tony and Rebecca have struggled with their weight in the past – but now they’ve settled for the way they are. The family has no schedule and does housework as and when it’s needed. In the Blackburn household Rebecca wears the pants; Tony left his job as a DJ to help Rebecca with her tanning supply business, and he does most of the work around the home, including serving Rebecca’s morning cappuccino.
In the first week of the swap, Lin Johnson becomes frustrated and bored when she is forced to sleep in and watch soap operas, while Tony takes care of the kids. When Lin finds out that Tony lost his own father at the tender age of 3, she confronts him about his unhealthy lifestyle. Meanwhile, in Texas, Rebecca struggles to get up at 4:30 a.m., misses boot camp and refuses to do housework, offering nothing but excuses when Jay confronts her.
In week two of the swap, when the wives change the rules, Lin enrolls Tony in boot camp and sends him back to work as a DJ, while Rebecca bans all fitness activities, forces Jay to re-evaluate his relationship with his daughter and tries to derail the swap meet. At the end of the swap, when the couples are reunited, will their new insights help them change their relationships, or are their differences too great to overcome? | | | |
| 33 :02x11 - Stonerock/Finley (Nov/28/2005) | This week in “Stonerock/Finley,” a God-fearing pastor’s wife swaps places with the godless wife of an atheist.
Kelly Stonerock (37) and her husband, Pastor Jeff Stonerock (39), live in a cozy suburban Michigan home with their four children, Devon (10), Justin (9), Hunter (3) and Jesse (2), and their niece Taylor (9) and nephew Jacob (6), whom they took in after their parents abandoned them. The Stonerocks are pillars of their community. Jeff is the pastor of the town’s Pentecostal church and Kelly maintains her perfect image as the church’s “First Lady.” Her regimented and fast-paced daily schedule includes home schooling the six children, working out at the gym, playing team sports and hosting regular Bible-discussion groups with other women from the church. Kelly keeps the children on an active social schedule involving church activities and volunteer work. She sees to it that the family gets plenty of exercise by engaging in many outdoor activities, including soccer, basketball, baseball, hunting, canoeing, hiking, sledding and hunting. The entire family shares in the household cleaning. The kids must abide by the “Stonerock Behavior/ Consequence Plan” which Kelly, Jeff, and the children wrote together to clearly outline the discipline required in the house and what happens if the children don’t abide by the rules. In addition to lots of family time, Kelly and Jeff still manage to make time for each other, having regular date nights and vacations. They work hard to make ends meet on Dad’s income alone, but have succeeded in paying off their home mortgage. The family’s commitment to religion is evident in every aspect of their lives.
Kelly travels to the urban Georgia lived-in home of Amber Finley (30) and her husband, Reginald (31). The Finleys are atheists raising three children, Dorian (11), Reginald Jr. (3) and baby girl Ryan (1). Dad Reggie spends 80 hours a week working from home, broadcasting his own internet radio show and running his own website devoted to atheism. He believes that God does not exist and convinced his wife to give up her Christian beliefs in favor of atheism when the couple first started dating. Amber is a stay-at-home mother responsible for cleaning the house to Reginald’s standards, and spends the rest of her day on the computer, surfing the Internet or obsessively playing computer games. Though Amber and Reginald are at home together all day, they rarely spend quality time with each other, as Reginald is obsessed with his work, which barely supports the family. After school and day care, the children spend their evenings in front of the television and computer or quietly in their rooms, so as not to disturb Dad while he’s broadcasting a show. Amber and Reginald try to maintain discipline by taking away the kids’ privileges, but to no avail. The family has few friends and doesn’t even know the neighbors.
In the first week of the swap, devoted mom Kelly bristles at having to leave the kids at daycare and cries when she finds out how little time atheist Reggie spends with his son. Meanwhile, godless Amber is surprised by the narrow-mindedness of Kelly’s friends -- who’ve never met an atheist before -- and dissolves in tears when the Stonerocks’ niece reveals she’s not treated the same as the other kids in the family. In week two of the swap, when the wives change the rules and turn the tables, Kelly converts Reggie’s radio broadcast into her own “Bible Gal” show, and Reggie sobs as Kelly confronts him about his shortcomings as a father. And in the other house, non-believing Amber puts Pastor Jeff in his place, shocking him by enrolling his kids in day care and fining him a dollar each time he mentions God, collecting enough money to throw a huge party for the kids. At the end of the swap, when the couples are reunited, will they find common ground or are their differences too great to overcome? | | | |
| 34 :02x12 - Fuentes/Lawson (Dec/12/2005) | This week in “Fuentes/Lawson,” a pampered, sexy, female police detective – a firm believer that anything a man can do, a woman can do just as well – swaps places with an obedient, stay-at-home wife and mother who believes her only role in life is to fulfill her husband’s every command and to take care of her family.
Lillian Fuentes, 36, is a career police detective who loves competing and excelling in “a man’s world.” She and her fiancé, Bill (46), and sons Gavin (11) and Dylan (6), live in a large, posh Southern California home. Lillian expects Bill to treat her like a princess. Despite the fact that she receives ultimate satisfaction from putting dangerous criminals behind bars, she is still 100% woman and finds time to pamper herself with daily fitness routines and weekly spa treatments. Although she has a positive relationship with her sons, giving them rules to follow and encouraging them to be open with her about anything, Lillian spends little time at home; she leaves most of the housework and childcare to Margarita, Bill’s mother, who lives with them. Lillian works hard, plays hard and enjoys living what she refers to as “the sweet life.”
Lillian travels to the Maryland home of Dawn (35) and Demetrius (36) Lawson, a couple who follow a philosophy called “Fascinating Womanhood,” which dictates that a woman’s place is in the home and that her role is to submit to her husband and serve his every need. Each night, when Demetrius -- a computer consultant and the sole provider in the household – returns from work, his wife is all prettied up for his homecoming and ready to take his coat and shoes. Dawn is also a devoted mother to the couple’s three sons, Calvin (18), Jamar (8) and Cameron (4). She believes she should do the “feminine” jobs around the house, including all the childcare, cooking and housework. She and Demetrius are strict parents whose children cannot watch any television or movies without prior parental approval.
In the first week of the swap, Dawn is introduced to the rigors of the Police Academy and finds out what it’s like to be doted on by a man, rather than the other way around. Meanwhile, Lillian doesn’t find “Fascinating Womanhood” all that fascinating when she’s stuck with housecleaning, childcare and waiting on a man hand and foot.
In week two of the swap, the tables are turned when the wives change the rules and Dawn introduces Bill to a life of being catered to, while Lillian puts Demetrius to work in the kitchen. At the end of the swap, when the couples are re-united, will they find common ground, or are their differences too great to overcome? | | | |
| 35 :02x13 - Ast/Green (Dec/19/2005) | This week in “Ast/Green,” a do-good mom who believes in teaching her children civic responsibility swaps places with a free-spending, high maintenance mother who spoils her daughters and even pampers her dog at the expense of her husband.
Joan Ast (43) lives a pampered existence with her husband, Greg (45), and their two daughters, Janelle (19) and Ashley (17), in a luxurious mansion overlooking a Colorado golf course. Joan is a stay-at-home mom whose life revolves around keeping herself looking good, with daily workouts, frequent manicures, pedicures, tanning sessions and cosmetic enhancements. Appearances are paramount to Joan. She has a weekly cleaning team to keep her home immaculate, and never makes her children do any chores. She goes on shopping sprees for designer clothes and accessories, while multi-millionaire contractor husband Greg picks up the tab. Joan lavishes attention on her pet Chihuahua while ignoring her husband, treating the dog to $200-a-week spa visits and feeding it filet mignon and purified water. Free-spending daughters Janelle and Ashley are following in Mom’s high-priced footsteps, relying on Daddy to pay their enormous monthly credit card bills. The Asts spend a lot of money, but very little time together as a family.
Joan travels to the suburban Maryland home of stay-at-home mom Vicky Green (40) and husband Darryl (39), a telephone engineer. The Greens lead a modest, middle-class life in a very lived-in home with their five children, Eric (16), Chelsea (13), David (10), Kayla (8) and Dara (6). Vicky devotes herself to her family and home-schools the kids, teaching them responsibility by enforcing strict rules. Vicky and Darryl believe in giving back to the community, so the entire family volunteers for numerous charitable causes -- collecting toys for underprivileged children, cleaning up public spaces and building homes for less fortunate families -- even though their own house is in need of repair. Vicky adheres to a strict budget and spends little money or time on herself. She believes beauty is only skin deep, and delights in the fact that her husband still finds her attractive. The family makes a point of eating dinner together each night and enjoys other quality time as well.
In the first week of the swap, Joan objects to Darryl treating his kids “like servants” and bristles at doing manual labor at a Habitat for Humanity construction site, decked out in a hardhat and bare midriff. Meanwhile, non-materialistic Vicky is lonely and lost in the Ast mansion, and has to fight back her own tears when Janelle breaks down and cries about wanting a mother who acts like one.
In the second week of the swap, when the wives change the rules and turn the tables, Joan liberates the kids by tearing up the chore chart and taking them shopping for hipper clothing, while
Vicky makes Greg and the girls donate their clothes to charity, then guides Janelle and Ashley in a home-made and heartfelt birthday celebration for their father. At the end of the swap, when the couples are reunited, will they find common ground? Or will they all discover their differences run too deep? | | | |
| 36 :02x14 - Roy/Maness (Jan/09/2006) | This week in “Roy/Maness,” a clean-freak mother who runs her family with an iron fist swaps lives with a mother who lives in a rundown house with six animals and no rules.
Texan Angel Maness (33) is a stay-at-home mom who controls every aspect of the lives of her husband, Blake Sr. (35), and her two sons, Blake Jr. (11) and Bryce (1). Angel makes her husband sit in the back seat of the family car and doesn’t allow him to dress himself -- Angel chooses his clothes every night. From their color-coded closets to the strict exercise and snack portion-control, order and efficiency is everything in this home. At night Angel calls her son on his cell phone in his bedroom, since it saves the time of walking up the stairs! Believing that appearance is everything, Angel cleans from dawn till dusk. Blake Jr. must stick to Mom’s regimented schedule of school, music and sports, training for success. “Failure is not an option” is the family motto, and everyone, including young Bryce, must wear a bracelet that says it. In this house Angel’s word is the law.
Angels travels to the California mountains where the Roys, along with their two sons, Eric (20) and John Paul (15), daughter, Heather (16), and six pets live in a rundown, very messy house. Mom Frankie is a third generation construction worker who works alongside husband John and son Eric. She’s loud, boisterous and one of the guys. The Roys work hard and play even harder. Fun loving Frankie goes to the store in pajamas, yells for the family over the store announcement system and hoses people down with the water spray at the vegetable counter. The family don’t care what anybody thinks of them and often hold burping and farting contests in public. There’s no portion control here – the Roys eat what they want, when they want. Frankie readily admits that she’s not Suzie homemaker: “Dirty dishes don’t bother me, dirty laundry doesn’t bother me; in fact, with six animals running loose, the house is filthy.”
In the first week of the swap, Angel dons a hard hat and works construction all day while forced to stand by as the Roy’s burp, fart and eat their way through the week and Angel’s patience. Meanwhile, in Texas, Frankie is on a rigid regime of cleaning, keeping young Blake to his strenuous schedule and being the food police. She is shocked at the Maness’ strict, no-fun schedule of all work and no play, and by the lack of say that Blake Sr. has in his own home.
In week two of the swap, when the wives change the rules and turn the tables, Angel brings structure and discipline to the house and enforces “punishment by toothbrush,” declaring that if anyone cusses or disobeys, they must clean the toilet with a toothbrush. Meanwhile, Frankie introduces “Frankie Fun” in the Maness home, giving Blake Jr. more freedom and allowing Blake Sr. to pick out his own clothes. But unexpectedly during dinner, in one of “Wife Swap’s” most explosive moments ever, Frankie and Blake Sr. are suddenly at each other’s throats and Blake Sr. dials 9-1-1 for help. Will the swap continue? | | | |
| 37 :02x15 - Bimonte/Hubbard (Jan/16/2006) | This week in “Bimonte/Hubbard,” a mom who believes anything goes and lets her out-of control 13 year-old daughter’s demands rule the household, swaps lives with a Kung Fu master mom who keeps her children on a tightly controlled schedule and prefers her 19 year-old daughter to do martial arts than have a social life.
Lori Bimonte (38), of New Jersey, has a chaotic home with TV and music blaring all day and all night. Lori feeds her family fast food and uses her kitchen cabinets to store socks and clothes. Lori’s 13 year old daughter Nicole refuses to do homework, talks back to her parents and lives with very few boundaries. Lori’s two younger children, Danielle (6) and Joseph (10) barely get a look in. Dad Joe (41), who works 12 hours a day in construction, comes home to a nightly ritual of trying to get his foot-stomping, door-slamming daughter to go to bed at a decent hour.
Lori travels to the calm and orderly California home of martial arts couple Lekili (44) and Alan (44) Hubbard, and their two children, Kalani (15) and Makanani (19). Here, Kung Fu is not just a sport; it’s a way of life. Lekili and Alan run martial arts studios and their children are top kung fu athletes whether they want to be or not. The Hubbard house is a sanctuary of calm where the family practices 75 different martial arts movements. Lekili and Alan control every aspect of their teenage children’s lives including what they eat, where they go and who they are allowed to see outside the family.
In the first week of the swap, Lori loses her long lacquered fingernails to learn Tai Chi and cook dinner – something she has never done. She becomes frustrated with her new punishing schedule but forms a bond with Makanani. Meanwhile, Lekili is shocked to find the Bimonte family store clothes in their kitchen cabinets and that Nicole gets away with practically anything.
In week two of the swap when the wives change the rules and turn the tables, Lori bans all martial arts, takes Makanani out for an all girls night on the town and organizes a surf trip for father and daughter. In the Bimonte house, Lekili brings the calm of Feng Shui to the house and orders the Bimonte family to spend more time together. At the end of the swap, when the couples are reunited, will they find common ground or are their differences too great to overcome? | | | |
| 38 :02x16 - King/Reeves (Jan/30/2006) | This week in “King/Reeves” a penny-pinching, regimented mom who believes withholding from her children teaches them responsibility swaps places with a free-spending mother who spoils her son at the expense of her husband.
Amy King (34) and her husband, Kevin (34), live with their three children, Lauren (10), Keegan (7) and Grant (4), in an austere and immaculate home in suburban Oklahoma. Amy is an ardent saver and considers it her mission in life to help others learn how to save money. She limits family showers to two songs’ worth of water from a special music CD, and routinely patrols the house in whirlwind fashion, turning off lights, picking up stray laundry and economizing with her every step. Amy and Kevin are goal-oriented and plan every minute of the day. The children have lots of chores and only receive allowance if they do extra work. Amy insists that the kids pay for their own treats and makes them contribute money toward all family vacations. The Kings’ penny-pinching lifestyle has allowed them to pay off their home mortgage and save enough money for 34-year-old Kevin to retire now, though he keeps working. Amy is proud of her fiscal conservatism, but less so of her relationship with her children, especially Lauren. She focuses on the kids’ flaws and shortcomings, and gets extremely frustrated when they do not live up to her enormous expectations. Amy and Kevin always put their relationship as a couple before their relationship with their children.
Amy travels to the kitsch-filled and country-style Mississippi home of Lori Reeves (39) and her husband, Sean (40). The Reeves’ entire world revolves around their only son, Clark Richard, and the dream of turning him into a child star. Nothing is too good for Lori’s baby -- she spoils Clark Richard daily with presents and attention, exempts him from chores, and ignores husband Sean in the process. The couple have been together for 19 years, but have never slept in the same bedroom. Lori complains that her husband is like a second child whom she must constantly nag to get things done. Sean works as a pharmaceutical sales rep, trying to keep the family’s finances afloat while they go further into debt funding Lori’s business -- a children’s stage show, starring herself as “Miss Lori.” Lori performs for pre-schoolers and is joined by Clark Richard and Sean, who dons a giant pig suit and acts as her assistant. Sean admits that he gets less respect than the family dog, which is pampered by Lori with endless toys and tiny clothes. Lori and Clark Richard side against Sean during arguments and dismiss his opinions outright. Mom and Dad have sacrificed their relationship as a couple and are united only in their adoration of Clark Richard.
In the first week of the swap, Amy is appalled by the Reeves’ sinking finances and forces Sean to take stock of his lowly position within the family, while Lori bristles at the Kings’ frugalness and is saddened when Lauren reveals how she really feels about her mother. In the second week of the swap,
When the wives change the rules and turn the tables, Amy sells off the family’s clutter and forces Sean to list what he wants from his wife, while Lori disrupts the rigid King house by letting the kids run wild on sugar and giving Lauren the pet she’d been longing for forever.
At the end of the swap when the couples are reunited, will they find common ground? Or will they all discover their differences run too deep? | | | |
| 39 :02x17 - Kraut/Hardin (Feb/06/2006) | This week in “Kraut/Hardin,” a glitz and glamour-loving mother who lives a life of excess and luxury swaps places with a devoutly religious, country mother of eight who lives the stark and simple life, on “Wife Swap” -- the acclaimed, unscripted reality show that takes us into the intimate heart of the American family home to reveal the extraordinarily different ways families live their lives.
Melissa Kraut (37) is a glamorous Pennsylvania woman who spends tens of thousands of dollars on the latest fashion trends. In order to help support her habit, Melissa works as a “romance enhancement specialist,” hosting in-home lingerie parties. But there’s little time for romance -- or spending time together -- in the Kraut household; Melissa’s shopping and work schedule doesn’t give her much time to spend with her husband, Steven (40), or their three sons, Brandon (10), Darren (8) and Bradley(4). In fact, it’s Steven who does the cooking and childrearing. The children, who have every toy boys of their age could ever want, are not expected to help around the house.
Melissa travels to the simple Tennessee home of Kathy (42) and David (44) Hardin, devoutly religious people who not only home-school their eight children, but also expect the youngsters to do household chores, which Kathy assigns daily. David grades each child on the performances of those chores, and the grades that they earn allow the children to participate in homespun, fun family activities. Although the children are given a weekly allowance, they have to pay taxes to their parents and to God. The allowance is also used to pay for the children’s food when the family goes out to eat. The family’s entire wardrobe budget is $500 a year for 10 people.
During the first week of the swap, Melissa must shed her glitz and glamour, clean the family’s chicken coop and is forced to donate her revealing, designer outfits to charity. Meanwhile Kathy is thrust into a world of lavish spending and faces a moral crisis when she’s expected to host a lingerie party.
In the second week of the swap, when the tables are turned and the wives change the rules, sparks fly when David has to take on all of their mom’s responsibilities and he refuses to allow Melissa to send his children to school outside the family home. Meanwhile, Kathy attempts to home-school the kids but Steven defies her rules and puts them back in their regular classes after just one day. She tries to incorporate some of her home made fun activities into the Kraut household in an attempt to show the family that you don’t have to spend money in order to have a good time. At the end of the swap, when the couples are re-united, will they find common ground, or are their differences too great to overcome? | | | |
| 40 :02x18 - Wife Swap Saved My Marriage (Feb/20/2006) | Wife Swap Saved My Marriage” Will Reveal Never-Before-Seen Footage and The Couples’ Confessions on How the Show Affected Their Marriage and Families
Catch up with some of last season’s “Wife Swap” families to see the dramatic turnarounds in their lives – changes the families say are a result of their appearances on the show | | | |
| 41 :02x19 - Schachtner/Martincak (Feb/27/2006) | This week in Schachtner/Martincak, a high-powered Miami modeling agency executive, a woman whose two young girls are lavished with expensive toys and designer clothing, swaps places with a bear-hunting, ice-fishing, self-proclaimed lover of the simple life and mother a large family from Wisconsin.
Each week from across the country, two families with very different values are chosen to take part in a two-week long challenge. The wives from these two families exchange husbands, children and lives (but not bedrooms) to discover just what it’s like to live another woman’s life. It’s a mind-blowing experiment that often ends up changing their lives forever.
It’s a girls’ world for Lauren Martincak (46), who runs a successful modeling agency and enjoys Miami’s glittering VIP social scene. Not only does she indulge her two little girls, Sammi Jack (10) and Danni Jo (7), with designer clothes and gifts, but she’s proud that they want to be just like her. She refers to them as her “mini-me’s.” Lauren is grooming 10-year-old Sammi Jack to be “the next big thing in America” by promoting her daughter’s very own girl band. Husband Danny (39) escapes their ultra-girly home to wake board and play hockey with his buddies.
Lauren travels to the small-town Wisconsin home of 45-year-olds Patty and Joe Schachtner, high school sweethearts who enjoy the simple life with their children, Travis (25), Pattie Jo (22), Toby (19), Dylan (17) and Gunnar (14). The male-dominated household is more like a frat house than a home. That’s fine with rough and tumble Patty, who loves spending her time away from her volunteer EMT position with her family. They hunt, fish, wrestle and hang out together.
In the first week of the swap, Lauren gets a taste of the great outdoors in Wisconsin as she eats bear, hunts and ice fishes with her new family. She is frustrated by the young Schachtner men, who are more interested in playing pranks on her than in setting goals for their future, and is perturbed that Gunnar, the youngest boy, is forever teased by his siblings. Meanwhile in Miami, Patty’s head is spinning from the Martincak children’s overly scheduled lifestyle. She is appalled that they are late to school each day because it takes them so long to decide what to wear, and nearly breaks down when she discovers how little time Danny spends with his children – even when they beg him for attention.
In the second week of the swap, when the wives change the rules and turn the tables, Lauren decides the boys need to acquire some ambition and forms a boy band for them called “Bearz,” appointing youngest brother Gunnar as their manager. Meanwhile, Patty takes control by canceling the girl band practices and taking away the girls’ designer clothes. Danny clashes with Patty and, in a final attempt to humiliate her, presents her with a box of live chickens and tells her, “I wanted to make you feel at home.”
At the end of the swap when the couples are reunited will they find common ground? Or, will they discover their differences run too deep? | | | |
| 42 :02x20 - Thompson/Askam-Schwartz (Mar/06/2006) | This week in “Thompson/Askam-Schwartz,” a Wiccan High Priestess whose husband worships the mystical ground she walks on swaps places with a traditional, stay-at-home wife and mother of two whose husband expects his wife to do everything for him.
Bella Thompson (40), her husband, Kenny (37), and their three children, Luaxanna (11), Tatiana (10) and Ramsey (6), all practice Wicca. The Thompsons love the magical world they live in, where they talk to fairies, go on broom rides to China and are protected by a huge invisible dragon that lives on their roof! The family’s home in Georgia doubles as a Wiccan church, where Bella teaches the members of her coven how to cast spells, make potions, do healing and read Tarot cards. The coven are always around the house, mixing potions and performing rituals. They help out by cooking and cleaning, but that leaves the Thompsons hardly any family time to themselves. Any work that the coven members don’t do is taken care of by Poppy, the house elf, an invisible being conjured up by Bella. Kenny is a tattoo artist who works long hours away from home, and the few hours that he is home are devoted to worshipping his Goddess Bella.
Bella travels to the Iowa home of the traditional Askam-Schwartz family, where mother Alison (28) is a stay-at-home wife and mom who worships the ground her husband, Kyle (37), walks on. Kyle is in charge of the household and, when he’s not home, that duty falls to sons Austin (11), then to Keifer (1), and finally to the pet dog. Alison believes her relationship is perfect. She happily cleans all day and cooks for her three men. She even does the yard work and massages Kyle’s feet when he comes home from a hard day at work. All the family’s money is controlled by Kyle, and all family decisions are made by him as well.
In the first week of the swap, Alison attempts to be a Wiccan Goddess by being thrown into spooky rituals and summoning Poppy “the elf” to clean the house – a job she is more attuned to doing herself. As the coven members come and go, Alison realizes the Thompson parents are too busy with their own lives to attend to their children. Frustrated by the dirty house, lack of structure and total chaos of the environment, she breaks down. Meanwhile in the Askam-Schwartz home, Bella is shocked by Alison’s lonely existence – especially when she is forced to serve Kyle and his poker buddies –and finds herself cleaning and catering to Kyle all day.
In the second week of the swap, when the wives change the rules and turn the tables, Bella bewitches the Askam-Schwartz household with her magic and makes Kyle experience Alison’s life of drudgery first-hand. She teaches the boys how to respect women, and Kyle struggles with having to ask Bella for money when he buys his wife her own dress.
Meanwhile at the Thompson household, Alison brings structure, cleanliness and traditional values to the Thompsons. She rules that they remove all of their Wicca artifacts, takes the girls to cheerleading and insists that they learn to cook for and serve the Thompson men. Alison also mandates that Kenny come home to a family dinner every night to reconnect with his kids -- and without the coven. By the end of the week, Kenny has a dramatic realization about his family, his religion and the coven.
At the end of the swap, when the couples are reunited, will they find common ground, or will they discover their differences run too deep? | | | |
| 43 :02x21 - Stamper/Haggerty (Mar/13/2006) | This week in “Stamper/Haggerty,” a mom whose heart is in the medieval past and whose head is in the clouds swaps places with 21st-Century wife and mother who juggles family life and working two jobs.
Stephanie Stamper (40) and her husband, Greg (42), of Ohio, are obsessed with re-creating the Middle Ages at home. The 21st Century is not where they want to live. They are more at home functioning in a world that existed centuries ago. Greg leaves the family home to earn a living, and returns to a king’s welcome. Stephanie home-schools the children in medieval arts and crafts. For physical education the two teenagers do Scottish highland dancing. Stephanie also runs the house, cooks for her family and waits on her valiant man hand and foot. The kids have little contact with the outside world beyond weekend re-enactments. They don’t even have cell phones. The family spend all their time together making Viking-style furniture, drumming, playing the harp, belly-dancing and fantasy role-playing games.
Stephanie travels to the modern 21st-Century Floridian home of Lisa (34) and Julice (34) Haggerty, parents of Justin (16), Victoria (12) and Alexandria (3). The Haggertys are a modern, dual-income, blended family. Mom Lisa holds down two jobs, rushing from substitute teaching at public schools to running a ribs restaurant. Husband Julice works the night-shift as a corrections officer, and spends his days cooking, cleaning and looking after the kids while Lisa is at work. Lisa runs a strict house where her kids follow a chore chart and are not allowed to talk back to adults under any circumstances.
During the first week, Stephanie struggles to keep up with the break neck pace of the modern world. She teaches Lisa’s public school class and quickly finds out that it is very different home schooling her own children: There’s no highland dancing in public school. Meanwhile in Ohio, Lisa finds herself cooking a feast of meat and turnip while wearing a medieval gown. She becomes disturbed by the seclusion the Stampers have created for themselves and repeatedly butts heads with 15-year-old Damon, as he argues with her at every turn.
In the second week the rules change: Stephanie orders that the entire Haggerty family dress in medieval clothes for the rest of the week, takes the kids out of public school and gives them a medieval education at home, making leather shoes for hours. Julice can’t see the educational value in shoe-making and he breaks the rules by sending the kids back to school. In the Stamper house, Lisa mandates that the family get rid of everything medieval and forces them to interact with the modern world by enrolling the kids in school and enlisting the entire family in a self-defense class to give them the confidence to go out into the modern world. The swap ends emotionally as Tara makes a new school friend and shows how little experience she has of simple everyday activities -- like talking on the phone. Greg is shocked and admits to Lisa that he feels he and Stephanie may have overlooked some life lessons for their kids.
At the end of the swap, when the couples are reunited, will they find common ground, or will they discover their differences run too deep? | | | |
| 44 :02x22 - Kinison/Czerniawski (Mar/27/2006) | This week in “Kinison/Czerniawski,” a mom who lies on a bed of nails and has stars tattooed all over her face swaps places with a fashion conscious ex-Miss Teen New Jersey who owns a tanning salon.
Anna Kinison (26) and her husband, Jeremy (27), of Arizona, are both freak show performers; Anna has stars tattooed on her face and Jeremy has big red claw marks on his cheeks and metal horns sprouting out of his forehead. Anna lays on a bed of nails while husband Jeremy breathes fire and lifts weights with his eyelids. Their kids, Cataya (7) and Ryan (6), have both been brought up around the freak show -- daughter Cataya is the youngest escape artist in America and can’t wait to join the show full time. Both children do well at school, and their parents are very strict about the kids’ homework. Despite their freaky appearance, the Kinisons are a very traditional family: Mom Anna does all the cooking and cleaning, and sees it as her job to have a hot meal on the table for her husband when he gets home from work. The kids don’t have their friends over very much. Instead they hang out with their parents’ friends, who are around all the time, and even go to ‘Bicker Night’ at a local restaurant, where everyone vents their feelings in public – shouting insults and drawing as much attention to themselves as possible.
Anna travels to the luxurious New Jersey home of Jamie (27) and Charles (31) Czerniawski, the youngest family in the exclusive subdivision where they reside. To Jamie and Charles, appearances are everything. Jamie never goes out without makeup and matching shoes and purse, and the same goes for daughter Alex (8). Charles spends 45 minutes in the shower and can take up to two hours to get ready before a night out. Son Mikey (6) has a cupboard full of hair products and even wears cologne when he goes out. Jamie doesn’t know how to cook anything but microwave meals, does minimal cleaning and stays in bed until 11:00 a.m., leaving Charles to pick up the slack and run between the three jobs he works in order to give his family everything they want. The Czerniawskis believe that being popular at school is more important than academic excellence. Alex is the captain of her cheerleading squad, and Mikey wins wrestling and football trophies. Both kids are popular, and their friends pop around all the time.
During the first week, Anna finds the Czerniawskis’ obsession with their appearance annoying and cannot understand why they put so much importance on being popular. The family all struggle with Anna’s outlandish appearance, and the kids comment that their mom is much prettier. Meanwhile in Arizona, Jamie is plunged into the world of the freak show and leaves the show in disgust when Jeremy starts lifting weights with his eyelids. Jamie struggles with the idea of waiting on Jeremy and his friends, and when they demand chocolate milk, she gets back at them by spiking the drinks with apple-cider.
In the second week of the swap, when the wives change the rules and turn the tables, Anna forbids the Czerniawskis from using beauty products, she covers all 15 mirrors in the house and limits Charles to only ten minutes to get ready. She teaches them sideshow skills, and the family put on their own freak show for friends and neighbors -- costumes and all. In the Kinison house, Jamie rules that Jeremy must order his friends to leave so that he can concentrate on his kids. She tells him to cover the tattoos on his face and get a job selling cars… His first day is successful, but when it comes to making a commitment to the job, Jeremy is unwilling to change his appearance.
At the end of the swap, when the couples are reunited, will they find common ground, or will they discover their differences run too deep? | | | |
| 45 :02x23 - West/Grimes (Apr/10/2006) | | A strict, conservative mom switches families with a laid-back mom who wants her kids to be her friends. | | | |
| 46 :02x24 - Ridgely/Corrao (May/01/2006) | It’s grit versus glamour this week in “Ridgely/Corrao,” as rodeo barrel racer “Cowgirl Jen” trades families with luxury-living hair stylist Kim.
Jen Ridgely (36) and her husband, Randy (38), a professional bull rider and steer wrestler, keep tight reins on their children, Peyton (7) and Rylee (3), who were born into a rough-edged lifestyle and do chores around the ranch when not in school, practicing their cowhand skills or attending the rodeo. No whining’s allowed in this Delaware family, where rugged independence, hard work, competitiveness and frugality take precedence over romance and leisure time.
Traveling to the suburban Ohio home of hair stylist Kim Corrao (42) and her husband, Louis (41), “Cowgirl Jen” encounters a family bred on “la dolce vita” (the sweet life). The Corrao children, Sofia (8) and Vittorio (6), feel free to do just about anything around the house, set their own bedtimes and even write on the walls. They think their party-girl mom shops too much and wears too much makeup. Husband Louis relishes the good life and the passion in his marriage, and believes his children should have fun, not chores.
In the first week of the swap, hairdresser Kim has to buckle down to the endless manual work on the Ridgelys’ Delaware ranch. She shovels horse manure morning, noon and night, feeds their 42 animals and, at the end of the working day, spends hours on the phone taking bookings. Meanwhile in Ohio, “Cowgirl Jen” changes into revealing clothes and high, high heels to become mom in the Corrao house, where a hard day’s work means chatting at the salon, going out for cocktails and coming home after the family have eaten. Jen is appalled by the lax discipline and structure in the Corrao house, and she and son Vittorio and clash when she refuses to indulge his every whim.
In the second week of the swap, when the wives change the rules and turn the tables, “Cowboy Randy” has to do all the ranch work without anyone’s help, while Kim indulges his daughters with candy, makeovers and no bedtimes. Randy starts breaking Kim’s rules immediately and things go downhill from there. In Ohio the Corraos get a short, sharp shock when “Cowgirl Jen” saddles up and brings in structure, discipline and the rodeo.
In the most explosive table meeting ever captured on the show, things get ugly when the fists fly as the reunion ignites an angry shouting match, preventing any sensible discussion of their two-week swap experience from going any further.
Once the dust settles, will glamorous Kim have influenced the rough and tumble Ridgely family, and will “Cowgirl Jen” have lassoed the Corrao lifestyle? | | | |
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