Okay, before I start this blog, I will warn you that if you LOVE House Hunters, then I am going to burst your bubble and your eyes will be opened to the reality of this reality show. You have been warned! (P.S. I still love it despite what I know).
At the beginning on the school year, we found out that a local couple had done House Hunters International here in Muscat (so excited cause I LOVE this show). One of our teacher's sons went to the lady (Eliza) for guitar lessons and had been briefly taped during his lesson, so the word quickly spread that we would get to watch the episode later this spring, which turned out to be in April, and that Ethan might make an appearance (he did).
SO, the time finally arrived and one of my friends, Melanie, hosted a small get together for any ladies who wanted to come watch it at her house, and Eliza would be in attendance (since Eliza continued to teach guitar to other students and had gotten to know more of our staff). We all were super excited for the night we could all gather and watch, and get some "insider details" on this TV show we all loved. We didn't know what we were in for.
As we prepped to watch the show, Eliza let us in on the details, and our poor eyes got wider as we learned about the truth behind it all. My friend Kelly about had a heart attack knowing her show was a sham. * I guess we all knew it couldn't be 100% real, but we had no idea.
So, Eliza and her husband had been contacted by the show to be on it. They never applied. House Hunters producers had found them through Eliza's blog (see below) and wanted to tape in Muscat. When they contacted her, Eliza said they weren't looking to move and already had a place. The producers quickly told them, "That is okay, you don't have to move. We can still do the taping and you go see different places. In the end, you just pick the house you already live in and we'll empty it out for the taping so it looks for sale." Aaaaaahhhhhh!
If you are hyperventilating at this point, catch you breath before moving on.
Here are the rest of the sad details:
- Eliza was flown home to America to tape with family AS IF she was getting ready to move with her husband to Oman, although she's already lived her a few years. It shows her talking to her family and friends and them asking her about Oman.
- Most of their belongings were moved out and the large furniture left in, which on the show, was explained as it was a "partially furnished" unit.
- One of the houses they went to look at "for sale" was actually HER FRIEND'S HOUSE that they also emptied out and was altered in some of its details. Like, it's actually a 5 bedroom but since 2 rooms were storing all the furniture/boxes, it was listed as a 3 bedroom. And the monthly rental price was also altered much lower for dramatic effect of a "great deal".
- They were told to always find something they liked and didn't like for each place they saw.
- The entire show they had to talk as if Eliza was still going to move there from the US and was only visiting to find the house. There is a scene when they are walking on the beach and her husband asks if she can see herself living there.
- It took 5 days of filming to do the show.
- They were not compensated for doing the show, except for Eliza's ticket to the US and back for taping, and all their food was paid for while shooting.
Okay, so there it is. Do you feel deceived? I know we all did. BUT in the end, we watched it and loved it. And, reality is, we will still watch the series and love it. Because isn't that what good reality TV is? Directed and scripted reality.
If you want to read more about Eliza and their experience and to see pictures, you can find it on her blog here:
http://pumpkinpolarbear.blogspot.com/2012/10/house-hunters-in-oman.html
Here is the HGTV website info on the show and air dates (showing again in June if you want to watch it):
http://www.hgtv.com/house-hunters-international/leaving-cape-cod-for-muscat-oman/index.html
* Okay, so maybe it's not ALWAYS a sham. We all agreed that the International series is probably mostly like this with the different buying/renting situations in each country. If you look up "house hunters international fake" online, you'll get plenty of articles confirming the fact and other examples. The one filmed in the US may not be that way and much more "real". Well, we hope.
At the beginning on the school year, we found out that a local couple had done House Hunters International here in Muscat (so excited cause I LOVE this show). One of our teacher's sons went to the lady (Eliza) for guitar lessons and had been briefly taped during his lesson, so the word quickly spread that we would get to watch the episode later this spring, which turned out to be in April, and that Ethan might make an appearance (he did).
SO, the time finally arrived and one of my friends, Melanie, hosted a small get together for any ladies who wanted to come watch it at her house, and Eliza would be in attendance (since Eliza continued to teach guitar to other students and had gotten to know more of our staff). We all were super excited for the night we could all gather and watch, and get some "insider details" on this TV show we all loved. We didn't know what we were in for.
As we prepped to watch the show, Eliza let us in on the details, and our poor eyes got wider as we learned about the truth behind it all. My friend Kelly about had a heart attack knowing her show was a sham. * I guess we all knew it couldn't be 100% real, but we had no idea.
So, Eliza and her husband had been contacted by the show to be on it. They never applied. House Hunters producers had found them through Eliza's blog (see below) and wanted to tape in Muscat. When they contacted her, Eliza said they weren't looking to move and already had a place. The producers quickly told them, "That is okay, you don't have to move. We can still do the taping and you go see different places. In the end, you just pick the house you already live in and we'll empty it out for the taping so it looks for sale." Aaaaaahhhhhh!
If you are hyperventilating at this point, catch you breath before moving on.
Here are the rest of the sad details:
- Eliza was flown home to America to tape with family AS IF she was getting ready to move with her husband to Oman, although she's already lived her a few years. It shows her talking to her family and friends and them asking her about Oman.
- Most of their belongings were moved out and the large furniture left in, which on the show, was explained as it was a "partially furnished" unit.
- One of the houses they went to look at "for sale" was actually HER FRIEND'S HOUSE that they also emptied out and was altered in some of its details. Like, it's actually a 5 bedroom but since 2 rooms were storing all the furniture/boxes, it was listed as a 3 bedroom. And the monthly rental price was also altered much lower for dramatic effect of a "great deal".
- They were told to always find something they liked and didn't like for each place they saw.
- The entire show they had to talk as if Eliza was still going to move there from the US and was only visiting to find the house. There is a scene when they are walking on the beach and her husband asks if she can see herself living there.
- It took 5 days of filming to do the show.
- They were not compensated for doing the show, except for Eliza's ticket to the US and back for taping, and all their food was paid for while shooting.
Okay, so there it is. Do you feel deceived? I know we all did. BUT in the end, we watched it and loved it. And, reality is, we will still watch the series and love it. Because isn't that what good reality TV is? Directed and scripted reality.
If you want to read more about Eliza and their experience and to see pictures, you can find it on her blog here:
http://pumpkinpolarbear.blogspot.com/2012/10/house-hunters-in-oman.html
Here is the HGTV website info on the show and air dates (showing again in June if you want to watch it):
http://www.hgtv.com/house-hunters-international/leaving-cape-cod-for-muscat-oman/index.html
* Okay, so maybe it's not ALWAYS a sham. We all agreed that the International series is probably mostly like this with the different buying/renting situations in each country. If you look up "house hunters international fake" online, you'll get plenty of articles confirming the fact and other examples. The one filmed in the US may not be that way and much more "real". Well, we hope.
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