Small Towns, Dark Secrets Quotes

“love my children, but I can say to them, ‘I love you but I don’t love the thing you are doing right now and I want you to stop’.”
― Eileen Ormsby, Small Towns, Dark Secrets: Social media, reality TV and murder in rural America

“Not surprisingly, the exchange of wives from couples who are often polar opposites has led to the show’s fair share of scandals. An Oklahoma man sued the show for misrepresentation and distress when his “wife” turned out to be a gay man. A man on the UK version of the show committed suicide after being humiliated when his sexual practices were made public. A participant who lost his job and received death threats after being labeled “the worst husband in America” accused the producers of manufacturing a character for him to play. He claimed that, under duress of constant cameras and the threat that he was not being entertaining enough, they persuaded him to amp up his hostility toward his swapped wife. Another participant, who was a teenager when her show aired, sued the show, claiming that she was represented in such a false light on air that she suffered bullying at school that ruined her confidence. The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed sum.”
― Eileen Ormsby, Small Towns, Dark Secrets: Social media, reality TV and murder in rural America

“Not surprisingly, the exchange of wives from couples who are often polar opposites has led to the show’s fair share of scandals. An Oklahoma man sued the show for misrepresentation and distress when his “wife” turned out to be a gay man. A man on the UK version of the show committed suicide after being humiliated when his sexual practices were made public. A participant who lost his job and received death threats after being labeled “the worst husband in America” accused the producers of manufacturing a character for him to play. He claimed that, under duress of constant cameras and the threat that he was not being entertaining enough, they persuaded him to amp up his hostility toward his swapped wife. Another participant, who was a teenager when her show aired, sued the show, claiming that she was represented in such a false light on air that she suffered bullying at school that ruined”
― Eileen Ormsby, Small Towns, Dark Secrets: Social media, reality TV and murder in rural America

“Tim and Kathy valued a good work ethic—Kathy was proud that she could gut and clean a chicken in under four minutes—and they were determined to instill their values on their children. “No one in this family gets a free ride,” Kathy would say. “The boys have to learn that the only way to succeed is by working.”
― Eileen Ormsby, Small Towns, Dark Secrets: Social media, reality TV and murder in rural America

“The boys were on a strict diet that included no sugar, wheat or junk food. Each night, Kathy insisted the boys drink a spoonful of cod-liver oil. She said that it kept their heart, bones, and brain healthy. Later, Kathy insisted the family follow the “leaky gut” diet. Leaky gut syndrome is a controversial digestive condition in which bacteria and toxins “leak” through the intestinal wall, but it is not generally recognized by mainstream medical professionals as a real condition. The diet the boys had to follow consisted of fibrous and fermented vegetables, fruits, cultured dairy products, healthy fats, and lean, unprocessed pasture-raised meats.”
― Eileen Ormsby, Small Towns, Dark Secrets: Social media, reality TV and murder in rural America

“Anything that they didn’t grow or raise themselves, they bought from or traded with other local organic farms. Processed food was banned from the house altogether. Kathy called such foods 'Frankenfoods', believing them to be science experiments gone wrong. “It is not real food for real people,” she said.”
― Eileen Ormsby, Small Towns, Dark Secrets: Social media, reality TV and murder in rural America

“Everything they need is here on the farm with their family,” Kathy claimed. They set about raising chickens, both for laying and for food, as well as cows and pigs for beef and pork. It was important to Tim and Kathy to know exactly how their food was raised and “to eat close to the land and to regain our health.”
― Eileen Ormsby, Small Towns, Dark Secrets: Social media, reality TV and murder in rural America

“The feedback provided by the jury was that those two women were every bit as guilty as the man they had just sent to prison for the rest of his life.”
― Eileen Ormsby, Small Towns, Dark Secrets: Social media, reality TV and murder in rural America

“Whereas online negativity seems to dissipate naturally in a large city, it often grates like steel wool in a small town where insults are not easily forgotten. ​— ​A.G. SULZBERGER, “IN SMALL TOWNS, GOSSIP MOVES TO THE WEB, AND TURNS VICIOUS,” THE NEW YORK TIMES, 2011”
― Eileen Ormsby, Small Towns, Dark Secrets: Social media, reality TV and murder in rural America

“As one friend put it, “If everyone was as easygoing as him, the world would be a much nicer place.”
― Eileen Ormsby, Small Towns, Dark Secrets: Social media, reality TV and murder in rural America

“UNFRIENDLY HOW A SOCIAL MEDIA FEUD LED TO A DOUBLE HOMICIDE”
― Eileen Ormsby, Small Towns, Dark Secrets: Social media, reality TV and murder in rural America

“They kept to themselves on their farm in Ohio, until an unexpected call from the producers of reality TV series Wife Swap upended their world. Was it the scrutiny of a skeptical public that led to the tragic circumstances some years later?”
― Eileen Ormsby, Small Towns, Dark Secrets: Social media, reality TV and murder in rural America

“But despite the apparently simple facade, many of these small towns are complex and layered places filled with secrets”
― Eileen Ormsby, Small Towns, Dark Secrets: Social media, reality TV and murder in rural America