Is 'House of Stassi' Reality TV's Most Unfiltered Look at Motherhood?

I’ve never watched Vanderpump Rules, so I don’t know the full range of Stassi Schroeder’s lore. Yet even without all the context, I’m watching her new show, House of Stassi…and I’m kind of hooked.

When people talk about what makes this show feel different, they often reference the frequent fourth-wall-breaking that happens. For me, though? What I’m really struck by is how honest, sometimes brutally so, this show gets about motherhood. Specifically, what it does to your marriage, your friendships, your ambition, your view of herself, and so much more.

Schroeder and her husband are clearly feeling some strain in their marriage, especially as they work to figure out what roles they each play in their family. And they're not making any effort to hide this: Schroeder is on a wild ride of professional success; her husband is a stay-at-home dad who wants to return to paid work, yet Schroeder wants him to remain at home since his contributions enable her to do what she does for their family.

It’s such a testament to how nothing works without unpaid labor, yet it begs the question: Why do we have to see a man taking on this unpaid labor — the type of labor that is typically shouldered by women — to have this experience highlighted in this way?

But it’s not just that this couple does things in a nontraditional way, with the woman out in the world making the money and letting her ambition run wild, and the man holding it down and home and wondering if his identity has vanished. It’s also about how this show really hones in how parenthood can rock other parts of your world…like your friendships.

Both Schroeder and her husband have lost touch with close friends, and when they hash out this distance, they both call out the fact that it just felt like their friends couldn’t understand their new realities as busy parents. And you know what? There’s something to this. Your friendships can take a hit when one of you becomes a parent and the other doesn’t.

Watching this show, I don’t always agree with Schroeder. But here’s what I will give her: She’s honest. She isn’t holding back. She showed the camera the truth, even the ugliest parts of it…even the parts that may lead people to call her selfish or controlling…or yes, unmaternal.