São Paulo
Imagine arriving on a paradisiacal island with your spouse, expecting good drinks, nights of love and fun… until you see your mother-in-law arriving, all happy, by boat. It’s then that the dreamed-of rest promises to turn into a succession of bullshit and washing dirty laundry.
At least in the new Netflix reality show, Ilhados com a Sogra, which premieres this Monday (9). The program brings together six couples who will have to shed a lot of tears and spend gogó if they want to win the R$500,000 prize.
The person in charge of the attraction is Fernanda Souza, 39, who, unlike the participants, claims to have no resentment or memories of hairy moments with any ex-mother-in-law. “I don’t have any story similar to what the characters lived”, she tells F5. “I really was very lucky because the relationship I had with them was wonderful and they became mothers to me.”
In fact, in reality, there are many fights that daughters-in-law and sons-in-law get into. One of the participants has his first meeting with his wife’s mother right there, on the island, and that’s when the disagreements begin. To help the lovebirds and their mothers deal with turbulence, the program has a therapist. And this was one of the differences that the actress says made her agree to be the presenter.
“These dynamics are present in many people’s homes, the relationship with father and mother can be a bit challenging”, he assesses. “When she treats some dynamic that is there and that you identify with, in some way, she is treating you too.”
Even though Ilhados’ proposal may seem a little old-fashioned (after all, how many mother-in-law jokes have you heard out there?), she claims that the program can make some people review their behavior.
“It helps to lose that stigma about therapy: ‘Oh, no, imagine, people will be born and die like this, they won’t change’, especially when talking about an older generation”, he says. “Although the relationship with the mother-in-law always involves a bit of joking, we treat it with respect.”
He also talked about the fact that Fernanda likes “different” things (“I’m a Gemini with an Aquarius ascendant”, she says with a laugh) and that she is a fan of the reality TV genre. She says she had to control herself so as not to let her feelings contaminate her exemption from her role as presenter.
“I’m an emotional person, free in my feelings”, he comments. “I have to press the button, there are tears rolling down and I’m here reading. So I was able to deliver this, at times I had to be more firm and at others I could act as a spectator.”
