Wife Swap Review on ABC
Wife Swap is a leading primetime reality series that airs Monday nights at 8:00 pm EST on ABC. The show debuted in 2003 and is still in production.
Every week, from across the country, two families undertake a life exchange, entering a two-week challenge period in which each family receives a new “wife” and “mother.” ABC takes a very active role in choosing the two families to participate in each exchange, selecting the couples largely based on their vastly different lifestyles or values. Typical exchange combinations have featured a wealthy and materialistic family exchanging with a family living off the land, a lesbian couple exchanging with a fundamentalist Christian family, and an animal rights activist family exchanging with a family of hunters. . Over the two weeks, viewers see the experience of a woman and a family learning to live with each other’s habits and beliefs, and explosive and life-changing results often occur.
Each wife leaves a manual that describes the operation of the home, explaining details such as meal preparation, schedule, expectations, chores, manners, and budget. During the first week, each new wife is expected to live by the rules of her surrogate family. This week shows each woman as she reacts to the initial loss of energy required by the show’s format; you must live life exactly like the “royal wife”, including raising children, cleaning the house, and working. The second week is even more drama-filled as the new wife sets the rules. You superimpose your own beliefs and lifestyle on your new family. For example, if you homeschool your own children, you can withdraw your new offspring from whatever school they attend. If you feed your own family a consistent diet of tofu and wheat germ, the new family (likely to survive on soda and fast food) must comply with the new diet. This week brings huge emotional responses from all the family members involved. It is not uncommon to see the man of the family crying and leaving his own home in anger and disgust. The kids come to see that their “real mom” isn’t so bad after all, and they long for her return.
The “twist” occurs during each episode as each family discovers that they can learn something about the new mom and her way of caring for her family. Ties usually occur at the end of the second week, and wounds made during the first week heal. The two couples meet again at the end of the show, and usually a very busy reunion ensues. Insults are hurled, but bridges are often built. The show follows up with families a month later, and viewers see subtle changes evident in each family.
Wife Swap often has a nice ending that no one expects.
Fox was recently sued by ABC for a replica of the original concept. Fox’s Trading Spouses offers a different twist, but it’s very similar to the ABC original.