ABC hosted the reality series wife swapping to, among other things, portray the different standards of living in American homes. Two wives from very different backgrounds would swap families for ten days and their experiences would be recorded by reality TV cameras. In one episode, wealthy Jodi Spolansky left her life in the city to live with the Bradley family for ten days.
Bradley family matriarch Lynn Bradley left her rural life behind to spend ten days with Steve Spolansky and their three children. Jodi and Steve provided premium entertainment as they struggled to adjust to the demands of their new partners. However, they felt they learned valuable lessons from the experience.
Steve and Jodi retired to their fancy lives after filming wrapped.
Jodi convinced a reluctant Steve to participate in wife swapping. He thought he would get through the ten days of filming without a problem, but soon realized that the show required a lot from him. “I thought it would be something fun and entertaining and out of the ordinary,” Steve said. Washington Post.
“But we got more than we bargained for.” Lynn’s attitude about life in New York City bothered Steve. He couldn’t get her to appreciate the wealth of opportunities in the city. Lynn also dismissed the babysitters from Steve’s house and asked him to be home in time for the family dinner. Steve struggled to adhere to Lynn’s demands:
“I’m in a growing business that I have to tend to, and you could say it’s at the expense of my children, but when it comes to work, I put it before I break bread with them for the week. Lynn and I had a few words about it, and it got a little ugly.”
Jodi arrived at the Bradley family residence with seven suitcases, one of them dedicated exclusively to makeup. However, she would not enjoy much time in front of a mirror, as Bradley expected her to run the wood chipper for six hours a day and take care of her two children.
Spolansky was in constant tears due to hard work and other times due to constant arguments with Brad. “I’ve never been talked to like that in my life,” a shaky Jodi said as she retreated to the porch after arguing with Brad.
In the end, though, Jodi and Steve had learned a valuable lesson about spending time with their kids. Jodi enjoyed baking cookies with the Bradley girls and she discovered that she was missing out by refusing to spend time with her children.
The Spolanskys resumed their daily lives after the cameras left. They maintained a bond with the Bradley family: their children camped out in the Bradley family’s backyard, and the Bradley children visited Manhattan along with Lynn.
Steve did not like how he was portrayed in the series.
Like Brad, Steve thought he would have little to do when the cameras rolled into his house. “At first, it took time to adjust, but by the third day they were already part of the wall,” he said. Washington Post.
Steve was glad when he saw the backs of the camera crew as they left their Manhattan home. “It opened my eyes to television and being in front of a camera, but I wouldn’t do it again,” he said. Steve’s decision not to appear on reality TV again was strengthened after seeing the edited version of Wife Swap. He kindly explained:
“They have a lot to work with and they can portray you as a good guy or an SOB and they chose the SOB on me. I’m not in the least condescending, but in this I don’t seem so. So my biggest fear is walking down the street after it airs. Am I moving to another country? I don’t know if Iraq will accept me.”
Brad shares Steve’s disapproval of the show, but his disdain for wife swapping it comes from how much he missed his wife. “It was the worst 10 days of my life,” Brad said. “I was absolutely miserable. It made me fall in love with my wife again.”
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn