When fastidious working mom Jennifer Galvan of Modesto found out her family had been picked for the ABC reality show "Wife Swap," she worried about one thing.
"My worst fear was going to a farm. I thought I'd have to shovel poop and that I'd break a nail," said the mother of two and self-described "control freak."
Galvan, her husband, Richard Galvan Jr., and family will appear on the reality series at 8 p.m. Wednesday on ABC.
The show has two families with different lifestyles switch for a two-week challenge. The wives exchange husbands, children and lives (but not bedrooms). At the end of the swap, each family receives $20,000.
Jennifer was flown from Modesto to Toledo, Ohio, in March to begin filming. When she arrived, she was relieved to discover it wasn't a farm. What she found was just as surprising.
"My first impression was this was the worst house I'd ever seen in my life. There were orange peels on the couch, confetti everywhere, food on the countertop," she said. "Then I walked into basement and saw all the magic stuff."
Yes, magic. Jennifer had been swapped with a family of magicians. As in hocus-pocus, abracadabra and watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat.
The Galvans of Modesto -- Jennifer, 31, Richard, 32, Ricky, 13, and Elena, 9 -- swapped with the Martin-Portalas from Toledo -- Melissa, 44, Andrew, 45, Eli, 10, and Emma, 8.
The Martin-Portala clan is into magic -- Andrew has been a magician for 25 years, Eli began at 18 months, Emma appears in the acts and Melissa manages their careers. The father never had held another job, and the mother didn't clean or cook.
In contrast, the Galvan household is conventional and structured. Richard is an auto assembler in Fremont, Jennifer is an event planner, and eighth- grader Ricky and fourth-grader Elena are expected to complete chores and homework like clockwork. Even their toothbrushes have timers on them.
Opposites are chosen
The Galvans said they have been regular watchers of "Wife Swap" for a few years. In the summer of 2006, they saw an announcement at the end of an episode that asked for applicants.
Richard called immediately and left a message. Jennifer said she thought he was joking.
"But I was serious; I just wanted to see what they'd think," he said. "We started off as a young couple and had our son in high school. But we've been able to make it. We wanted to show that we worked hard and that just because we were young doesn't mean we're not responsible."
"Wife Swap" Executive Pro-ducer Stef Wagstaffe said opposites are picked to expose the myriad ways families organize their lives and raise their children.
"It's like a jigsaw. We wanted a family that was very structured and organized with a different plan for what they wanted from their kids from the Martin- Portalas, who had a particular view of what childhood and freedom means," she said.
"The Galvan family fitted that mold. They are very committed to their kids and doing all they can to propel their children to be successful in life."
It was about Thanksgiving 2006 the Galvans received a second call, saying a family had been found for them. They had to complete a second in-home interview as well as a 600-question psyche evaluation, health tests, medical screenings, background checks and a psychologist visit.
They were told nothing about the other family, where Jennifer was going or even what to pack. Still, everyone had their expectations.
"The only thing I thought was that (the other mom) was going to be messy," said Richard. So when Melissa walked in, he thought "she was very plain. She didn't dress nice. I thought it was a homely lady."
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