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King George family swaps wife, way of life King George family survives "Wife Swap" experience
Date published: 4/10/2009
BY EDIE GROSS
Generally, the sight of something furry in Steve Hickman's hen house would be cause for alarm. But Hickman was more amused than anything else as the woman from New Jersey attempted to clean his chicken coop while decked out in a full-length beaver fur coat. The woman, Shannon Nicole Burroughs, was a guest in Hickman's King George log cabin for two weeks in February as part of the ABC series "Wife Swap." Hickman's eminently more practical wife, DeLaura Padovan, spent two weeks at the Burroughs mansion in New Jersey, learning to walk in 4-inch heels and enduring plastic surgery consultations. "Their casting department really did their homework," said Padovan, 46. "They could not have picked a more opposite family." The reality show engineers fish-out-of-water drama, matching health-food nuts with fried-food addicts, workaholics with daydreamers, and penny-pinchers with extravagant spenders. In each episode, the wives swap homes for two weeks, living by their host family's rules the first week and imposing their own standards the next. CULTURE SHOCK Padovan, Hickman and their two youngest daughters live in a rustic log cabin that Hickman built with friends more than 20 years ago. They grow their own vegetables and share their 57-acre wooded spread with chickens that provide eggs and goats that produce milk for yogurt and cheese. They have no electricity, using head lamps and flashlights at night, and they re-use bath water for conservation purposes. When they shop, they hit local thrift stores. Meanwhile, Shannon Nicole Burroughs "loves big diamonds, big furs and big hair," according to an ABC press release. She's a fan of cosmetic surgery, and spends roughly 90 minutes each morning applying makeup. She and husband Shannon Michael are raising their 6-year-old twins in a "wow house" in New Jersey, designed around a high-wattage chandelier whose glow can be seen from the street. The Burroughs family declined to comment through ABC's publicist, Virginia Mastroianni. But the experience for both families provided plenty of culture shock, said Padovan. "It's like we were on one side of the scale and they were on the other," she said. "Our whole life as a family is the essence of being together and doing things together, and their whole essence is what does it look like from the outside--when you look at me, what do you see?" A DIFFERENT KIND OF GIG
Read more stories about Fredericksburg Date published: 4/10/2009
We are glad to see so many wonderful posts about this
family. After knowing them for several years, we wish we
could live like them with two very intelligent girls. In our own
small ways, we have followed their example. It's harder than
it looks-yes, we have electricity. What's the alternative? 90
minutes applying makeup?? That's nuts! Think about how
much she is missing out on with her own kids during that
time.
We're big-city folks who depend on the grid, but we are amazed and inspired by the life that DeLaura, Steve, and their kids have constructed for themselves -- and for the beneficial impact they strive to have on the world as a whole. And how are they exploiting their new-found TV celebrity? By hosting a benefit for the KG Food Bank! Way to go!
It is Funny at times..... I would not mind living in a cabin in the woods like the Hickmans... I bet the Family is closer and more happy than most Families,, Even if some of You Snobs won't admit it, I bet the Hickmans are Much Happier than You... Live and Let Live......
And... as far as the kids, thier lives are far more wholesome and healthy that the many that you see these days with smoking parents who choose to smoke in the house/car, and the kids who are allowed to drink soda and eat the way they do.
Before you go flaming my words, be sure to read the post closely, as I have noticed that many seem to pick certain words and misinterpret the whole concept.
For some reason, these days are filled with folks who have been taught that if another lives without internet/electricity/produces thier own food/etc... are wierd sociopathic misfits of society and don't play by the rules. One day, when the big "reset" button on the world is set, folks like this will be successful and survive because they have learned and mastered the skills to be self-sufficient.
It's really sad that some of you think that thier children are less off because they live like this.
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