Throwback Thursday! Kate Gosselin and Kendra Wilkinson Once Switched Lives on ‘Wife Swap’
It’s pure TV gold. In honor of Throwback Thursday, we’re looking back at the time when Jon & Kate Plus 8 star Kate Gosselin switched lives with Girls Next Door star Kendra Wilkinson on Celebrity Wife Swap. The ladies were put to the ultimate test while having to take on new responsibilities as the cameras were rolling.
At the time, Kendra was still married to former NFL star Hank Baskett and they lived with their son, Hank Baskett IV, in the sunny city of Los Angeles. On the other hand, Kate was holding down the fort as a single mom in Pennsylvania with eight kids.
“Can I open a bottle of wine please?” the E! alum said on the February 2013 episode, after finding out she was going to be watching so many children for the week.
Both of the famous moms traveled over 2,000 miles to their new homes and they both had entirely different approaches to their roles as parents. “I live life not by the book, so I’m going to go in and enforce that,” Kendra said while anticipating her arrival.
Kate had a very regimented daily routine and she gave the former Playboy model a breakdown of tasks to do, which started at 5:30 in the morning. Kendra got a kick out of the fact that she was told the kids come down stairs at 6:03 a.m. on the dot.
Of course, the TLC star was also just as bewildered by Kendra’s lifestyle. “This is crazy,” the mother of eight said after reading her more relaxed schedule. “I don’t think that you could have any more opposite than my life. She’s in for a really, really rude awakening.”
Kendra admitted the experience of meeting Kate’s kids was “very” nerve-wracking, but interestingly, one of her children had already seen the reality star on television before. “I knew who Kendra was,” Mady Gosselin said. “I knew she had a show and when I was younger, I used to sneak down to the basement and watch her a little bit.”
Over at the Baskett household, it was starting to be a lot more structured. “This week we’re going to live without the luxury of [the nanny] Rosa,” Kate told Hank and his son. “Our days will be scheduled from beginning to end.”
Despite their differences, both Kate and Kendra enjoyed the experience and it taught them a lot about themselves. “We got a taste of each other’s lives,” the Dancing With the Stars alum later told PEOPLE about the Kate Plus Date star.
“We got really close and really in-depth,” Kendra added, noting how it was very beneficial. “People should do these swaps more often. Not just for show, but you really just find this appreciation for your neighbors through this.”
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