The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
MHS alumni swaps wives
Family will appear on ABC hit reality show during summer sweeps
By Daniel Lai, Editor
PUBLISHED: May 1, 2008
Manchester High School alumni Tom Tassie and his family will appear on the hit ABC reality show "Wife Swap" May 7.
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Each week, the show follows two women from across the country, with very different values to take part in a two-week long challenge. The wives from these two families exchange husbands, children and lives to discover what it's like to live another woman's life.
"At first we were nervous about it," Terri Tassie said. "But after going through it, the kids were happy to do it. They got their 10 minutes of fame."
In the episode, Tassie travels to the unkempt, chaotic Michigan home of Todd and Michelle Tyson.
According to an ABC press release, bounty hunter Todd Tyson is on call 24/7 and leaves home at a moment's notice leaving his wife to look after the couple's four out-of-control children. The family does whatever they want, whenever they want and family meal times often degenerate into food fights. The family is happy with the C's and D's on the children's report cards as long as the kids worked really hard for it.
Tassie said living with the Tysons was a big challenge.
"It was total chaos," she said. "They ate nothing but fast food and the swearing was ridiculous."
Tassie said during her stint on the show, she tried to restore order to the family.
"It was rough. The husband doesn't take orders from a woman. They threw me out of the house once but they had to let me back in because of the contract they signed," she said.
In contrast, Michelle Tyson travels to the Tassie home in Ohio and finds a well-kept military-style family.
"We expect our children to have their feet hit the floor by 7 a.m. every morning," Tassie said. "Chores must be done before school and everyone's beds must be made; if there is anything wrong, they have to do it over again."
Tassie said the family has no time for silliness or immaturity.
"I was raised in a military family and we have passed that a long to our kids," she said. "The result is that we have very good kids. "
Tassie said there is no shame in being a controlling overprotective parent and she and her husband are determined to raise perfectly coiffed, high performing children, just like themselves.
"Kids don't just become good for no reason; it takes strong rules and discipline," she said.
Tassie said after two weeks with the Tysons, she is glad to be back home.
"I think I really missed my kids more than anything," she said. "When you sign on to do the show, they take away your computer, cell phone and any contact with outside family members."
However, her experience with the Tyson family did help Tassie to see a different side to family life, she said.
"We realized we need to spend more time with the kids," she said. "We didn't end up changing so much. The house still has to be cleaned and the kids still have to follow rules."
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