Wife Swap: Behind the Scenes
Last fall, a producer for the new ABC series "Wife Swap" contacted Mommysavers.com to help get the word out about their new show and recruit potential participants. One of our readers, Lisa from NJ, made the cut. Read what she had to say about going through the screening process...
| How did you find out about the Wife Swap show? You had a link in your newsletter back in November 2003. What type of screening process did they have in selecting families? Filling in an application form. What types of families/situations did the producers of the show say they were looking for? Communication problems, unsatisfactory life, disrespectful family members, feeling like a slave/maid, condescending attitude from their spouse. What made you decide against doing the show? I completely forgot all about the show until the producer called me one day and said we were just what they were looking for. I asked her what I had said in my initial application form and it was something along the lines of poor communication between husband and wife, lack of respect from the kids. Since that application (5 months earlier) we had changed how life was treating us and things were doing so much better. My life is a great life but I guess I was having a bad day when I filled in the form and I just wanted to see how far I could get through the process, after all who doesn't want to be on TV? After she told me what the show would entail (and there would be no monetary benefits involved) I decided I couldn't leave my kids as my youngest was only 2. Also, my then 9 year old was most upset with me for even thinking about doing it. My husband and I thought it might be a hoot but he was not into it. I didn't want my family to be put through all that unnecessary. Also, they only had a 6 week filming time frame for 10 days. The time of year for filming just didn't fit into our families life as we had company coming, husband was traveling away on business, I was working etc.... Any other insights to share? After going through this I would never do it again. It is so hard to put your family through something like that for the benefits of the American TV audience. |