Did you watch Wife Swap last night?

[morosco]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 9:44am

This woman had serious issues. Very sad. I kept hoping that they would have stopped filming and take this woman in for some intense counseling. I know it's the gimmick of the show to find the most outrageous people on earth but this lady was obviously in a lot of emotional pain.

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 10:05am

I almost always watch the show but I missed it last night. What was wrong with her?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 10:15am

She made me seriously sad. Although, ya gotta love the way she just said things to the hippies without worrying about their feelings.

The hippies made me sad, too, but in a different way.

[morosco]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 10:28am

The only people she valued (perhaps trusted?) in her life was her dogs. She forces her husband to sleep in the guest room so that she can sleep with her dogs in the master bedroom. The husband is also responsible for spreading diapers in the living room floor on a regular basis so the dogs can do their business without going outside. She spends over $100,000 a year on clothing for the dogs (including routine nail manicures at the beauty parlor). She forces her son to participate in sports that he clearly does not want to participate in. She forced the father and son to fend for themselves when it came to eating. They basically sustained themselves on fast food and frozen dinners on paper plates. She was incredibly rude when she joined her swap family. The new family decided to have a welcome get together for her and she was blatantly rude to the new people. She even said to them something to the affect of "I don't like people". When others would come to sit by her she would immediately stand and get away from them. What was so sad was that she had been clearly wounded by someone in her childhood. She mentioned something about her father but I can't remember exactly what she said. And even sadder was the fact that hidden under this unbelievably bitch personality was what appeared to be a very fun person. It just broke my heart that she has allowed this to happen to her.

[morosco]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 10:30am

This is from the Wife Swap website:

Biography

Rush Family

For the Rush family from North Carolina, life revolves around the household's canine "royalty." Spending over $100,000 a year on her 100 pups, dog breeder Sheila (49) dedicates almost all of her time to her dogs, while treating husband, Ray (51), and son, Tyler (15), like second class citizens.

In this house, what Sheila says goes. Tyler complains that the men in the home have to eat cold pizza off paper plates while the dogs eat filet mignon out of designer dishes. There is barely any quality time between family members, not to mention a lack of romance between Sheila and Ray, who sleep in separate rooms at night. When he's not picking up dog poop, Ray is the owner of Rush Electrical. Meanwhile Sheila forces Tyler to play macho sports he doesn't enjoy in order to make a man of him.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 10:33am

But she couldn't have been clearer about it when she said "I don't like people." The hippies were all acting like "She doesn't mean us" when in fact, she meant she doesn't like people.

The hippies all made me sad with their dumpster diving. And their universally brown teeth.

It was clear that the dog woman has serious problems. My guess would be some sort of sexual abuse as a child. Did you see her turn her face when her husband went to kiss her on the reunion? Not that the hippy guy (whom you could smell thru the TV) wasn't disgusting when he crammed his tongue down the hippie wife's throat.

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 10:34am

What was really creepy was Ray's utter emasculation. There's not a person left, just a sad, sorry shell. Sheila wouldn't even accept a kiss from him when they got back together...she turned her freaking cheek.

[morosco]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 10:38am

What was really creepy was Ray's utter emasculation. There's not a person left, just a sad, sorry shell.

Now that I look back on it that may have been the saddest part of the program. A person defeated by another's control.

[morosco]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 10:40am

The hippies all made me sad with their dumpster diving. And their universally brown teeth.

I kept wondering about that too. Is flouride considered a danger to the environment?

[morosco]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 10:42am

Or perhaps they used the bidet for dental hygiene too?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 10:43am

Yeah, and they probably have a point. It was odd to see the show filled with commercials for nothing BUT the very destructive products the hippies were railing against.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 10:43am

She needs serious help. Her whole way of life was truly disgusting, and her husband and son putting up with it just as bad.

I didn't mind the other family (sorry you youngsters, they are NOT hippies...had you lived through the hippie period or known any you would know that).......I would call them more New Age Confused.

All I minded about them was the foraging. Although when confronted they did sort of become "Stepfords", ie closing their eyes as if communicating mentally with a higher power.

And I found their son rather well-adjusted, and strangly attractive.

[morosco]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 10:51am

And I found their son rather well-adjusted, and strangly attractive.

Me too.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 10:55am

It sort of makes you wonder why Sheila and Ray are married at all. If she so clearly hates people so much, why marry and have a child? It makes you wonder if the change in her personality occurred after they were married. It doesn't add up. But then, crazy rarely adds up.

I'm getting a bit weary of Wife Swap. It used to be informative and interesting until they decided to cast nothing but crazy attention-whores. They should rename the show something more suitable like "Extreme Makeover: Wife Edition".

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 11:07am

Elphaba, my response to your condescension is to tell you to shut up. I lived through "the era" and I know hippies when I see them. Frozen in time, transcendentally meditating HIPPIES.

Updated On: 8/7/07 at 11:07 AM

[Elphaba]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 11:10am

wrong, not hippies....but think as you like, you always do

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 11:12am

Yeah, that's the thing about me. Always thinking for myself and expressing my own thoughts.

You go right on ahead and type out New Age Confused everytime you want to refer to the hippies.

[RobbO]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 11:19am

yes. oh, you mean this is a show too? nevermind.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 11:19am

how kind of you to let me type what I want to type. Thank you.

[bevsilly]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 1:54pm

Now we know what Rath would have been like if she had married a guy while still in to b*tches.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 7:08pm

Or been a gay guy with the obligatory partner named Steve.

[RobbO]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 9:04pm

hey, MY partner is named steve. oh.

[jasonf]

Posted: 8/8/07 at 12:06am

Back to the show - I happened to see it too - my question is where do they GET these people and more, how do they get them to agree to this? The "hippy" family (whatever they are or their names are - I don't care) didn't even seem to have a TV. The other family - the woman seemed like she would NEVER leave those dogs! Guess it's strange what people will do for money.

The show has the same appeal as Jerry Springer - you watch and wonder where the hell these freaks came from and revel in the fact that you are CLEARLY better than they are.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/8/07 at 8:27am

Yeah, but some of the husbands are HAWT.

[RobbO]

Posted: 8/8/07 at 8:33am

i only watch it for the commercials.