If there was an award for the reality TV show that packed in the most scandals, it would definitely go to the now-canceled Wife Swap. From the scandals about whether or not it was scripted through the issues about its participants doing outrageous things to stay famous, it has been a long road of crazy incidents happening during the swaps and after.
When it comes to the whereabouts of the families after they left the show, it has been a long road of different incidents with many families going right back to what their lives was before the show and some others even getting divorced as a result. Take a look at what we know about the participants so far.
Where are The Wife Swap Cast Now?
1. The Blackburn Family
Since the Blackburn family left Wife Swap, we have been able to keep tabs on only one member of the family and that would be Tony who has since adopted the stage name Buzz. He is currently excelling as a voice-over artist and a composer. Since he had become well-known on the show, his career growth was seamless.
2. The Beaver Family
Even though The Beaver family received a lot of ridicule during their time on the show, they did not back down, and their resilience paid off. Among the negativity they received was the backlash about how they modeled the handmade crocheted tops their daughter Emily makes. They opened up a TikTok account which served as a shop for the top and despite the negativity, their page is doing great, and sales for the top are through the roof and have endured to date.
3. The Stockdale Family
The Stockdales appeared in Wife Swap in 2018 and the one thing that stood out about the family was how strictly the Stockdale boys were made to adhere to the family rules and Christian ways. So imagine our surprise when it came to light in 2017 that Jacob Stockdale had been arrested for murder.
Police had reportedly been called to the Stockdales’ residence after a lone gunshot was heard on a call to 911. When police and first responders arrived on the scene, they found that the matriarch of the Stockdale family as well as the younger son James had been shot dead. This heinous act was allegedly carried out by the older son Jacob who also tried to take his own life, but as fate would have it, he survived and is currently serving a life sentence.
4. The Holland Family
The Holland family appeared in the 5th season and were particularly known for their young son King Curtis who was very outspoken and in love with chicken nuggets. After their time on the show, the family went off the air until Selena Gomez made a post asking where King Curtis was. In response, King Curtis made a YouTube post announcing that his family was making their own reality TV show while also soliciting funds to buy a car. He is currently pursuing a career as a welder.
6. The Guastaferro Family
With the Gustaferro family, issues began soon after their episode aired because their daughter Alicia, alleged that the producers intentionally exaggerated her flaws thereby portraying her as a spoiled brat which was far from the truth. She also insisted that the way she was portrayed opened her up to cyberbullying which traumatized her. Last we saw of her, she had sued ABC and Disney and had equally sued a club she worked at for unjust compensation. They settled out of court for $10,000. She is currently into music.
7. The Herrington Family
Last we heard of the Herrington family, their daughter Heidi is using social media to create awareness for mental health issues especially because her father was battling PTSD from the effects of how the family was portrayed in Wife Swap.
Why was Wife Swap Canceled?
Wife Swap was canceled because it racked up a good number of scandals and controversies that its mother company could no longer keep up with. First were the multiple lawsuits from former participants who felt they were portrayed in a bad light, then there were the divorces that followed the swaps right after the families left the show, and finally, there were the shootings, especially that of the Stockdale family. Even though the producers never pointed at any of these, it was rather obvious that the troubles were piling on too thick.
Has Wife Swap Ever Caused Divorce?
Yes, Wife Swap has caused a divorce. For a show like this, situations like divorce are not far-fetched as in the case of Jonathan and his wife, Deborah. To protect its reputation, Wife Swap had an unaired episode that they made sure not to release or air.
Deborah, one of the swapped wives, had sex with Jeremy, the husband of the other wife. This led Jonathan and his wife, Deborah to get divorced for which he blamed the show. The couples did get handsome compensation.
What are the Best Episodes of Wife Swap?
1. Season 1, Episode 4: Donahoe/Baker
Spoiled Tennessee housewife Christie Baker trades lives with meticulous dairy farmer Audrey Donahoe, who cooks and cleans for her family and tends to more than a hundred cows.
2. Season 2, Episode 7: Nazario/Lassell
A New York City mom of two, who spends her days clubbing with her teenage daughter is traded with a mom of five from a Kentucky llama ranch whose kids and she do all the household chores while dad is often away.
3. Season 4, Episode 9: Myers/Sutton
Karen Sutton, a stay-at-home mom, was treated like a maid by her husband and children, and home-swapped with Samantha Myers, an Illinois ghost hunter who believes her family is spiritually gifted.
