Part 2: The Day I became my Mother

If you haven’t read part 1, you should read it first.

All of the mask trickery was set up before I was “officially” selected for the show. When I found out I was going to pretend to be my mother, I assumed that was what the WHOLE show was going to be about. I thought I was going to be tricking all these guys into different situations to see how they would react without them knowing it was really me.

Before I was to attempt the costume in front of the camera, the producers had me go to a local mall in Hawaii to see what it felt like being overweight and how people would react. Truthfully, it felt phony to me. I was in a fat suit and I figured most people could tell I was in a fat suit. To my surprise, some little kids were actually pointing and staring but I’ll never know if it was because I was eating a banana split or because my costume looked fake.

When the producers attempted to create the experiment of me as my mother without the guys knowing. They had the guys leave their house. When they returned from their outing. They were told by their driver they had to wait while I was saying good-bye to my mom. Little did they know the art director was dressed in my clothes with a wig and hugging me (aka my Mom).

Without air conditioning the polyester filling and cosmetic glue was killing me. I’ve never been more uncomfortable in my life.

Next were the interviews with the guys, a great example of creative editing and filming when “reality” is NOT reality. If you watched AJ: Hawii on TV it looked as if I had REALLY asked questions as my “mother”. The truth is, they guys were blinded by a bright light. They were led to believe that my “mother” was shy and didn’t want them to see me because I was embarrassed by my weight.

With the magic of editing, I would ask a question and they guys would answer. I never felt like my mother or any real person. I felt like girl on a reality dating show wearing a fat suit trying to play a part.

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