Mother and daughter duo, Sunhe and Angelica, were a standout couple from the first season of TLC’s popular series sMothered — with viewers left aghast, and fairly grossed out, by the fact that they share both a bed and their bathwater.
Monsters and Critics had the chance to catch up with the pair for an interview ahead of the show’s Season 2 premiere this Sunday, May 24 — and we also have an exclusive clip above.
The series follows the lives of moms and daughters who are so close that they are practically attached at the hip. It explores how these inseparable pairings function, from showering together to having plastic surgery done at the same time.
Sunhe and Angelica are one of three couples returning from sMothered Season 1, with the second season also featuring three new pairings.
They made headlines when they first featured on the show after it was revealed they share the same bathwater, a practice from Sunhe’s Korean heritage.
So are they still doing that today?
“Of course!”, said Angelica. “It’s our bonding time and I don’t foresee that changing anytime soon.”
The pair were subject to quite a bit of hate online after their reality TV debut in Season 1, particularly for the bathwater-sharing, with Sunhe saying she found many people “hateful and judgmental”.
She says of the trolls, “It makes me wonder what type of relationships they had with their parents. People will judge, but I’d rather be myself and no less. I’m as real as one can get. I love my daughter and if loving my daughter is wrong, then I feel the world is completely insane.”
Angelica says she found all the name-calling “humorous”.
“These people love to hate us,” she says. “I don’t know why people feel so threatened by our relationship. I just assume no one ever loved them.”
Is Angelica scared of Sunhe?
Some viewers of the first season concluded that Sunhe and Angelica’s relationship isn’t quite as sugarcoated as it seems on the surface — with many believing Angelica is scared of her mom.
Others were quick to highlight that it’s possible to love someone too much, but Sunhe disagrees.
“If she was so scared, why is her love for me so strong?” she asks. “How can anyone look at my beautiful daughter and accuse me of suppressing and question how I raised her?
“People are delusional and have lost the meaning of tradition and family. Protecting my daughter’s well-being is controlling? My daughter is a priceless gem and she will forever be treated as such.”
Asked if there has been any change in their relationship between the first and second seasons, both are adamant that they are as close as ever.
“Nothing and no-one can tear us apart,” says Angelica. However, she does hint that it’s mom who is the boss in this relationship.
“I always want to be in a good place with my mom,” she says. “Her approval is what I’ve strived for my entire life because she is the most important person to me. And when I know she is displeased, my world is upside down.”
What sMothered Season 2 holds in store for the pair
Much of the pair’s time on Season 2 centers around Angelica’s relationship with boyfriend Jason, who Sunhe has never been particularly endeared to — especially after she found out he was still married.
In the new season, we see Jason finally ready to divorce his wife, but in a bizarre twist, Sunhe insists on attending the legal proceedings between him and his ex-wife and even serving as their witness.
After that’s finalized, Jason plans to propose to Angelica without Sunhe finding out.
So is Sunhe finally ready to share Angelica with Jason?
“I don’t have trouble with having Jason in Angelica’s life — I have trouble with his deceits about ending his divorce, so it’s not him, it’s the situation,” she says. “His constant procrastination and no end result makes me question his intentions.”
Angelica says that to start with, she was annoyed about Sunhe insisting to serve as the witness when Jason divorced his wife.
“Initially, I felt like it wasn’t really her place to do so. But I can understand why she did it,” she says. “My mom is my protector and, as such, she will always make sure I’m taken care of.”
Sunhe says that she insisted on being the witness because she wanted to make sure that the divorce between Jason and his ex happened and that he didn’t back out.
“I wanted to make sure it was going to get done and no change of minds would take place,” she says. “I believed my presence would speak for itself.”
We asked Angelica what the relationship between Jason and Sunhe is like now.
“My mom tolerates Jason because she knows how I feel about him,” she says. “The image my mom has in her mind for the type of man I should be with, Jason just doesn’t fit it. But, despite that — my mom has always thought he’s had a good heart.”
She says her mom’s lack of acceptance for her partner was “difficult” at first, but she adds, “I’ve learned to live with it. As long as she sees I’m happy, she can keep her claws halfway retracted.”
With Jason finally getting divorced, and a proposal on the horizon, what’s next? Can we expect kids, and is that something that Sunhe would allow?
“Maybe,” jokes Angelica. “We’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we!”
sMothered Season 2 premieres this Sunday, May 24, at 10 pm ET/PT on TLC.
Sunhe is mentally ill point blank period
As long as she can control her daughter Sunhe will continue to do so.. If I were Jason I would leave them for each other.. He’ll never be happy with a mother in law like that. She is disgusting…
I have no problem with the shower first then share bath water I guess. Still odd in the USA at that age. Most concerning is the control factor. I am a mother of 3 and we seem to have gravitated (they are adults) to a warm caring family adult relationship. Boundaries are important and the lack of understanding this mother daughter team have for boundaries is relationship disaster in the making with others. Interesting and sad. If I were Jason, I would run like heck. Run, Jason, Run.