Family gets real on national TV
BOXBOROUGH -- Tearing a sealed envelope to pieces, the woman begins to scream, ''They're tampering with the dark side. This is tainted. I am a God warrior, and I don't want anyone tainted doing anything with my family!"
The scene, a preview of the season premiere of the Fox Broadcasting Co. reality show ''Trading Spouses," features Marguerite Perrin of Ponchatoula, La., and has been relentlessly promoted during Fox programs and on its website. What isn't well known is that the object of Perrin's wrath is the Flisher family of Boxborough.
Jeanne D'Amico Flisher, her husband, Chris Flisher, and their four children will appear in the two-part episode of the show, which begins Wednesday. Though Perrin's visit to Boxborough had its rough spots, the Flishers said they were surprised by the force of her tantrum.
''I think it was the stress of the experience," Chris said last week at the family's home.
''You would never think she would act like that from the way she acted at our home," said Miles, 13.
The rules of the show are simple: Two spouses (usually wives) spend six days with the other's family, each living as her counterpart lives. Each woman receives $50,000 at the end of the process, along with instructions from the other woman on how to spend it.
D'Amico Flisher's instructions to Perrin, however, were in the torn envelope and never saw the light of day.
The Flishers' involvement in the show began last February, when Chris received an e-mail from an online group stating that Fox was auditioning families involved in astrology for the show. Jeanne, a hypnotherapist, and Chris, an astrologer, applied immediately. After almost five months of screening and auditioning, the Flishers received a call that a crew would be arriving in a week.
A trailer was parked in the front yard, cameras were placed all over the house, and art and photos that had not been approved by the network were covered or removed. Each family member was handed a microphone and instructed to wear it at all times. As many as 40 Fox crew members were in the house and yard at once.
At first, it was difficult to adjust. Jeanne said that on the morning of the first day, Fox cameramen popped the lock on her bedroom door and began filming the couple as they were still ''naked in bed."
After a day at home, Jeanne was flown to Louisiana, where she moved in with Perrin's husband, daughter, and granddaughter and helped run Perrin's dance studio.
Meanwhile, Chris Flisher and the children -- Matthew, Elliot, and Emma White, and Miles Flisher -- welcomed Perrin, who joined Chris on the local radio show he hosted with Jeanne at the time, ''Love Talk USA."
The Flishers' spirituality is apparent: Tibetan prayer flags hang over their front door, and a Wiccan star hangs on their garage. During Perrin's visit, Chris hosted a solstice celebration that included a bonfire and drum playing. ''Earthy crunchy stuff," he said.
It was at that point, he said, that Perrin began to react negatively. The next day, when she met a ''Christian astrologer" on the radio show, she stormed out in the middle of the show.
''Anytime someone said astrology or gargoyle, she would flip out," said Emma, 13.
''She bristled just at the word astrology," Chris said. On the way home from the show, she said, 'From now on, we're doing things my way.' "
The next day, instead of going to an acupuncturist, as she and Chris had planned, Perrin took the Flisher family to a Roman Catholic church in the area.
Jeanne, meanwhile, was having an easier time. She went to church with the family, performed hypnotherapy on Perrin's daughter to help her with weight loss, and met Perrin's friends.
The producers made Jeanne leave Louisiana early to exchange letters with Perrin in Boxborough.
Jeanne said their meeting was cordial and friendly, and Marguerite seemed pleased when she heard about her daughter's hypnotherapy. It offered no hint of the flare-up that occurred when Marguerite returned to Louisiana.
Both Jeanne and Chris said the producers didn't put pressure on them to act a certain way or do certain things, but Chris was concerned about how the show will portray them once it is edited.
''I'm completely confident in what I said and did, but with editing, I could be on the grassy knoll shooting JFK," he said.
Jeanne did not feel anxiety, though she recalled that she did not have a chance to say a proper goodbye to her hosts in Louisiana, and began to cry at the memory.
''It is reality," she said. ''It was very hard to leave."
