Although The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’s Angie Katsanevas has been married to Shawn Trujillo for more than 26 years, the couple never realized how much they still had to learn about each other until they embarked on the eye-opening experience of Wife Swap: The Real Housewives Edition — and Shawn revealed some of his true thoughts on his wife’s tidy nature.
“Angie, you know, when she gives directions, you start to feel like there’s maybe some micromanagement that happens,” he shared during a confessional interview with Angie in Season 1, Episode 1. “Some people run on the treadmill. Some people run their mouth.”
But Angie argued, “Being the bossy, Greek wife that I am, I find that sometimes Shawn doesn’t do things just the way I like it. So I just get in there, and do it myself. So I know it’s done right.”
While Angie posed the question, “Am I OCD, or am I just a person that has a gift of making things perfect?” Shawn later answered bluntly, “I don’t feel like Angie has any chill.”
After Angie turned down relaxing with Shawn and their 13-year-old daughter Elektra in order to do laundry and make phone calls, Shawn shared his hopes for their family during the Wife Swap experience.
“The struggle for her is just being able to kind of sit together, hang out as a family,” Shawn shared. “For me, that’s precious time. I wish Angie would join us in that a little bit more. I’m hoping from this swap that Angie can learn it is okay to chill out.”
Shawn Trujillo learns how much “pressure” Angie Katsanevas is under on Wife Swap: The Real Housewives Edition
Angie swapped lives with Lindsay Flake from Challis, Idaho. Lindsay, her husband Tanner, and their three kids live off the grid, and without utilities like running water and electricity. As Lindsay worked her way through Angie’s “house rules,” which included nightly deep cleaning and vacuuming her $4.5 million Salt Lake City mansion, she confessed she felt “sad for Angie.”
“Like, cleaning her [sunglasses] is more important than sitting on the couch with her family? That’s just crazy,” Lindsay confessed on the Oct. 21 episode.
RELATED: Angie Katsanevas Shares New Looks Inside Her “Dreamy” Life With Husband Shawn Trujillo
But as Lindsay lived Angie’s daily house rules of a made-up face, manicured nails, and styled hair, she suspected there was more to Angie than what was on the gleaming surface.
“It just seems like Angie’s all put together, all the time. I couldn’t imagine how exhausting that would be, on top of all my other duties as a mom,” Lindsay admitted.
Lindsay also learned more about the Housewife while reading her instructional scroll, which included the words, “I’m not sure they understand what it takes for me to keep it all together at the level I do.”
Lindsay decided to bring up Angie’s words with Shawn, telling him, “There’s a part of it that she had mentioned all the work it takes going into the house, and sometimes not being seen and appreciated.”
Shawn agreed, “Just the constant upkeep, you know? I think there could be a lot of pressure in that.”
Shawn admitted that Lindsay “opened up” his eyes about Angie. He added, “I definitely think Angie’s nagging and perfectionism comes from a good place. And I need to get better at letting her know that she is seen. And she is the backbone of this family.”
Angie Katsanevas has realization about her family during Wife Swap: The Real Housewives Edition
As Angie stepped into Lindsay’s shoes in Idaho, and spent time parenting small children again, it forced her to realize that her own daughter was growing up.
“I felt like I went back in time and was reminded of what’s important in life,” Angie confessed on the Oct. 21 episode. “It’s the moments. It’s the memories. And Elektra’s growing up so fast and I want to spend as much time as I can with her.”
RELATED: Angie Katsanevas Shares the Status of Her Home For Sale: “Going with the Flow” (EXCLUSIVE)
Just as Shawn hoped, Angie realized she needed to make some changes to help her marriage and family. “My biggest thing is I just want to connect more. Just as a family,” Angie told Lindsay when the housewives met for the first time in person.
Producers noted since the Wife Swap, “Angie has made an effort to spend more time with the family doing on-the-grid activities.”
“I’m leaving a better person than I was when I came. Like I’m standing here, bare-faced, and not worrying about like, ‘What if my skin doesn’t look good? Or what if you can see wrinkles under my eyes?’ It’s kind of like, ‘Who cares? Let it go.’ And it felt good to just let it go,” Angie admitted.
Don’t miss Angie’s exclusive update on where she stands with RHOSLC’s Lisa Barlow now.
