Here Come the Newly Weds

So, I'll admit it, I am at times guilty of watching TV shows of questionable substance. My hubby and I inadvertently got hooked on "Here Come the Newly Weds," a new reality game show that aired late Sunday nights on ABC. Here's the gist: a bunch of newly married couples from varying backgrounds are chosen to live in a house together and compete for a big pot of money. In the end, there can only be one winning couple. Each time the couples compete and do well, more money is added to the pot. The "Challenges" are questions and/or games that test how well the couples know each other and how well they communicate. At the end of every show one couple is voted off by the others. The final episode just aired and the winning couple took home a whopping $465,000 (!!!) just for doing what they do best...being themselves. Social politics obviously played a bit of a role as well.

We watched it randomly the first time it aired, and it turned out to be really fun for us to play the games with them. We found out we would have kicked butt on the show! (Well, on most challenges at least...one of the challenges the men were sent into the grocery store and the wives had a huge list and had to communicate to their men over the phone what they wanted from the store--the catch, they couldn't use the actual word of the item, but had to describe it. The couple with the most items in the basket won (and it was a timed event). I have a pretty good feeling my hubby and I would have done more arguing and less selecting on that task...particularly since he does the grocery shopping and I have no idea where products are even located!)

The challenges ranged from questions about sexual habits (how many times a week is "just right," how long should foreplay last) to children (how many do they want, what gender and how soon) to finances (how much is too much to spend on certain items). One challenge was a pickler! The men had to circle areas on a mannequin that they thought their wifes would want to change about themselves. At the same time, the women were in a separate room marking on a card the things they would like to change about their own appearance...then, on national TV, the men and women had to compare notes. The couple with the most matching answers won. (My hubby and I actually would have won that one. I made him do it with me and we had the same answers! So, not as horrific as the task sounded...well, except for one couple who called his wife thunder thighs and circled the whole upper leg area, though her card indicated she did not view her legs as a "problem" area. Can we say awkward!)

If you think it sounds fun to be on the show, they are currently accepting applications for Season 2. The only requirement is that you must be married for less than 2 years. So, if you are newly married or soon to be wed here's your shot at winning the big bucks...and maybe finding out a lot about your partner along the way. The most cited phrase from contestants was how much they had learned and grown through the process. Notice: the shy, private or socially awkward need not apply. Click here to view the website.