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Thanks, I Hate It

Years before she and her daughter Cristina starred in TLC's 'sMothered,' Kathy Crispino was a guest on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show.'

Published on February 13, 2024

Before she was a TLC star, Kathy Crispino from sMothered was an unhappy football widow. The big-haired mom from Chicago vented about her husband’s obsession with sports during an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show more than two decades ago. 

Kathy Crispino from ‘sMothered’ felt ‘shut out’ by her husband Joe’s sports obsession

Kathy and her husband Joe Crispino were guests on a 1993 episode of Oprah, where they discussed Joe’s fervent football fandom. The appearance was actually their second on the show. In 1990, the couple invited the talk show’s cameras into their home, where Kathy – sporting a denim jumpsuit with a white belt – showed off Joe’s state-of-the-art sports-watching setup. It included one large and three smaller TVs, as well as an at-home sports ticker that displayed the latest scores every five minutes. 

A few years later, Joe’s mancave was even more elaborate. 

“The TVs got bigger,” Kathy told Oprah. 

The future reality star was frustrated by how much time her husband devoted to watching sports. 

“I feel shut out,” Kathy explained. “I’m just really disgusted with it. I’m just so sick of it. It’s ridiculous.”  

The TLC star’s husband said following sports was like ‘watching a soap opera’

Kathy had a sympathetic ear in Oprah, who struggled to understand why Joe was so fascinated with football and other sports. 

For Joe, the appeal of sports was simple: It was entertaining, and no game was ever the same as the last. 

“If you like sports, each sport, each time you turn on a game, and it’s a new game, it’s a new drama,” he explained when Oprah asked him if all the games tended to “run together.” 

“It’s the same thing you get from watching a soap opera,” he said, adding that each game is a “different story.”

Kathy’s husband Joe died in 2019 

sMothered fans may be wondering why Joe doesn’t appear on the show. Unfortunately, Kathy’s husband died in September 2019, shortly after sMothered’s first season debuted on TLC. 

Kathy posted a loving tribute to her husband on Instagram after his death.  

“This is the way I met you and the way I will always remember you,” she captioned a photo of her husband as a younger man. “Young Strong and handsome. You gave me a wonderful life and wonderful children I will be forever grateful and you will be always be in my heart. Thank you Joe for everything! Until we meet again!”

The sMothered Season 5 finale airs Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on TLC. Episodes also stream on Max and discovery+.

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