A MOM WHO CATERS TO HER BEAUTY PAGEANT TEENAGE DAUGHTER'S EVERY WHIM
AND EVEN DOES HER HOMEWORK SWAPS LIVES WITH A SUPERFEMINIST MOM WITH
HOMESCHOOLED CHILDREN WHO CAN CHANGE A FLAT TIRE, ON ABC'S "WIFE SWAP"

This week in "Boss/Gustaferro," a former pageant queen Mom whose
daughter is following in her footsteps swaps lives with a feminist
Mom who homeschools her kids and disapproves of makeup and beauty, on
the season premiere of "Wife Swap," WEDNESDAY JANUARY 2 (8:00-9:00
p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Each week from across the country, two families with very different
values are chosen to take part in a two-week long challenge. The
wives from these two families exchange husbands, children and lives
(but not bedrooms) to discover just what it's like to live another
woman's life. It's a mind-blowing experiment that often ends up
changing their lives forever.

Upstate New York mom Karen Gustaferro (54) has made her home fit for
a queen -- a pageant queen that is. A former pageant contestant
herself, Karen waits on her daughter Alisha (15) hand and foot. Their
home is a shrine to beauty, pageant trophies and sparkle. Alisha has
been winning pageants since she was 11 months old and says she "feels
sorry for anyone who's not gorgeous." Anything Alisha wants, Alisha
gets, including a gift every single day under the Gustaferro's year-
round Christmas tree. Ralph (61) works tirelessly to keep up with
Alisha'a $100,000 a year pageant lifestyle. He loves his pageant
princess and wants to make her happy all the time, allowing
her "choreless" schedule of pageants, social activities and
cheerleading to run their lives. At school, Alisha is one of the most
popular girls, and the family embraces that, playing chauffeur to her
and all her friends.

Karen travels to the Indiana home of the Boss Family, where wife
Angie (36), husband DuWain (41) and their daughters, Kaylyn (12),
Clara (6), and Katy (2), live a modest and religious life. Angie is a
feminist who teaches her girls how to live a life free from pop
culture and typical female stereotypes. She homeschools her children
and teaches them to be strong, academic and independent. They're told
not to rely on men, and have been taught auto mechanics so they can
change the oil and flat tire of a car in case of emergency. DuWain is
a special education teacher whose personal hero is Mr. Rogers. He is
super strict with his daughters and says, only half jokingly, that
his daughters will not be able to date until they're 30. Kaylyn is
very sheltered and thinks having a lot of friends would cause a lot
of problems. Clara, on the other hand, is just waiting to break out
from under her mom's iron fist and secretly dreams of being a pop
star.

In the first week of the swap, Karen can't hide her dislike of the
Boss' "boring" lifestyle and Kaylyn tries to convince her of the
dangers of negative representations of women in media ads, but Karen
just complains that they have no sparkle in their life. When Karen
breaks the rules and paints Clara's nails and Karen calls Kaylyn
a "geek," Kaylyn tattles to DuWain. Meanwhile in the Gustaferro
household, Angie is appalled by Alisha's entitled and spoiled
behavior at the local diner and is disgusted by Ralph's attitude to
women and his belief that beauty is more important than brains.

In the second week of the swap, when the wives change the rules and
turn the tables, Karen and DuWain cross swords when Karen brings
beauty pageant gowns and makeup into the house to prep Clara for her
first pageant. DuWain storms out of the house with the girls, but his
attitude starts to change when he sees his daughter compete in her
first beauty pageant. Meanwhile, an angry Ralph kicks Angie out of
the house after she rips up one of Alisha's promo shots. Eventually
he allows Angie to return, and she tries to teach Alisha how to be
independent by finding her a job as a waitress and teaching her how
to cook a meal for her father. While she and Alisha bond over
cooking, there's no love lost between Angie and Ralph when Angie
confronts him about his sexist views and bullying ways.

At the end of the swap, when the couples are reunited, will Karen
realize that looks aren't everything and that her daughter's
lifestyle is overpowering their own? Will Angie let her girls be more
girly and let a little sparkle into their lives?

"Wife Swap" is an RDF Media production. It was created by Stephen
Lambert ("Faking It" and "Junkyard Wars") and is executive-produced
by Stef Wagstaffe and Michael Davies ("Who Wants to be a
Millionaire"). Mike Gamson, Stephanie Schwam Adams and Mitchell
Rosenbaum are the co-executive producers.

"Wife Swap" is broadcast with Spanish subtitles via secondary closed
captioning. A TV parental guideline will be assigned closer to
airdate.

Source: ABC Press Release