Welcome to the recap for Wife Swap: The Real Housewives Edition Episode 4, the finale! Last week, Real Housewives of Orange County star Emily Simpson realized she needed to step it up with household duties and family time. Now we end this surprisingly endearing series with Real Housewives of Potomac star Dr. Wendy Osefo. While Wendy is currently facing fraud allegations, let’s rewind to a simpler time for the professor and her family. Here’s exactly what went down in Wife Swap: The Real Housewives Edition Episode 4: “All Is Ferret in Love and War.”
What happened in Wife Swap: The Real Housewives Edition Episode 4?
Wendy walked into a world with a family that did whatever they pleased, and for the first time in her life she literally had nothing to do. Meanwhile, Althea had to follow Wendy’s strict schedule, which gave her PTSD from her past life. But the two learned that there is a happy medium between planning your life versus not planning it at all.
Dr. Wendy swapped with Dr. Doolittle
RHOP star Wendy loves a strict schedule. Her husband, Eddie Osefo, and her children, Karter, Kruz, and Kamrynn, are up at the crack of dawn and have their day planned until bedtime. After all, you don’t get four degrees by sleeping in!
It was clear, though, that the kids needed some freedom. They would sneak things like chips when Wendy wanted them to eat apples. Eddie also wanted some “balance.” But Wendy thought everything was good. She was more worried about who she was swapping with.
Wendy shared, “Worst case scenario, I swap lives with someone who has no rules whatsoever. Yeah, count me out.” And of course, that’s exactly what she got.
Meet Althea and her family, the Shapiros, in Naples, Florida. Her husband is Craig, and their children are Hailey, Dylan, Shane, and Skyler. There’s also a menagerie of animals all over the house. Althea announced she is proud of her “low-demand parenting style.” She used to be a PTA mom, but now she’s stress-free.
While the kids enjoyed being free range and playing basketball in the house, they ultimately craved structure. Her sons just wanted a home-cooked meal. Skyler shared, “And also a mom that’s not lazy.” The shade!
Now it was time to swap and abide by each other’s rules. For Wendy, that meant picking up ferret poop, wearing cozy sweats, and learning to crochet. Low-demand parenting FTW, y’all. And for Althea, that meant dressing fancy, vacuuming in heels, and keeping on schedule.
Wendy wasn’t sure if she could handle so much free time and the Dr. Doolittle of it all. And Althea was dreading the 5:30am wake-up call. This was definitely going to be a challenge.
Wendy’s mom Susan did not approve of Althea’s ways
Althea welcomed Wendy’s family with big hugs. When Eddie learned about Althea’s parenting style, he was shook. No alarm clock? However, Wendy’s son was ready to embrace her no-rules style. He wondered why they couldn’t have ATVs in their yard too. But for now it was still Wendy’s rules, so Althea set her alarm clock and threw on a suit.
Eddie introduced her to Wendy’s mom, Susan. He said in his confessional that Susan’s “very loving, but she’s not going to shy away from telling you her opinion.” And fans of RHOP know you don’t mess with Susan.
As they cooked okra soup for dinner, Susan was horrified that Althea’s version of cooking was ordering from DoorDash. And worst of all, she did not enforce homework. Susan asked, “And you just stay in bed? What kind of person are you?” Althea also failed to impress when she explained her mom taught the kids how to cook. Susan concluded, “You’re kind of lazy.”
Meanwhile, Wendy was at a loss over what to do. She’d never had so much free time in her life. During dinner, Wendy wasn’t thrilled the fine china was paper plates. But worse was the kids were allowed to use their phones. Craig quipped it worked for them, but Wendy noticed they were losing out on valuable family time.
Skyler then spilled more tea on his mom. He shared that the dad did all the work around the house and picked him up from his games. He said, “Unlike Mom, she just leaves me there.” Clearly Skyler had major beef with his mom’s parenting style. But Wendy was ready to give the kids the one-on-one time they needed.
Althea’s no rules caused chaos
At last it was time to change rules. Althea tossed Wendy’s rules onto the ground, where they would no doubt remain for the rest of her time there. She grabbed some blankets and threw them down so the kids could sit on them to do arts and crafts. Althea reasoned crochet and painting would release the stress they had from such a rigid schedule.
Eddie watched on nervously. He knew something would go wrong, and it did. Kruz accidentally knocked over some red paint onto their white rug. Then the finger-pointing began. Althea threw her hands up. It wasn’t her!
Dinner was also on the floor, and everyone ate out of fast food containers, so there was no dishwashing. Then the kids ran off to play basketball inside the house … all night long. Eddie was exhausted.
Wendy had a much different day. Her dress and heels were back on, and it was time to get to business. Each kid needed some one-on-one time and that’s what Wendy gave them. As Hailey taught her how to crochet, she told Wendy that their mom used to be more involved when she was growing up. Wendy noted, “Hailey has to be a mom because her mom isn’t stepping up to the plate.”
Later on, Wendy had everyone help make dinner. She definitely knows how to throw a get-together! They fought it at first, but Grandma laid down the rules. Once they were at the table, sans phones, everyone had fun. It was cute to see them getting some family time and enjoying each other’s company.
Wendy schools Althea in Real Housewives 101
Althea wanted to emphasize spontaneity, so she took Eddie and the kids to an alpaca farm. She noted there are other ways to enrich your life other than school. Don’t let Susan hear that.
Wendy also got more time with the animals when Shane had her cuddle with Breck, their ferret. Then it was time for goodbyes. Both families were thankful for the experience and wanted to implement more time together, albeit in different ways.
Once Wendy arrived at her house, Kamrynn tattled on her brother for spilling the red paint. Kruz then pointed at Eddie. Wendy’s eyes almost popped out when she saw the stain. Althea shrugged her shoulders. Welcome home!
Wendy got right down to it, which threw Althea off. She was not trained in the art of Real Housewives warfare. Wendy said, “I got that you do your own thing, you take up space in the house, and everyone revolves around you.” Wendy also brought up Hailey acting as a mom and Craig doing all the chores.
Althea got the memo and jumped right in. She said, “I want you to build in some more flexible free time so that they can find their passions … and they can find joy.” Wendy stated, “Flexibility, fun, and free time. I love that.”
At the end, Althea spent more time with her kids and helped Craig around the house. While Wendy gave her kids some more flexibility. But keeping that basketball hoop in the house was out of the question.
Wife Swap: The Real Housewives Edition airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Bravo and streams on Peacock.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF WIFE SWAP: THE REAL HOUSEWIVES EDITION EPISODE 4? DO YOU AGREE WITH ALTHEA’S LOW-DEMAND PARENTING?
