Am I the only one who wondered why Bernie stayed with Wanda?

Are you suggesting he should have left her over a disagreement about the thong or are you just using that as an example of her flagrant disregard for his rules?

It seems like men can have carte blanche in teaching their boys about life but women are supposed to acquiesce to the male "head of household" on matters concerning girls. That may or may not be the case on this show (or in that episode) but I see it all the time in real life as well.

However, the KEY difference in this show and many others like it is that the relationship between Bernie and the kids is not parent/child but he and his wife are acting as "surrogate" parents to his incarcerated sister's three children. They are mere guardians and have to walk a very fine line between caring for them and NOT stepping on their absent mother's toes. It admirable they are willing to take the kids in and it's even more admirable that one's spouse would be able to step into a role of caring/mentorship but it's not an easy task. Couples that have babies together usually have the time to discuss how they expect their lives to change and grow together in their parenthood responsibilities. A childless couple taking three children who are way beyond the infant stage are faced with all kinds of personality clashes and misunderstandings, as we see in the show. It is simply the way life is and EVERYTHING doesn't have to lead to divorce. Learning to grow, understand and settle our differences in mature, respectful and sincere ways is part of growing up. Unfortunately, some of us age but never mature.

- Get busy living, or get busy dying. Andy (The Shawshank Redemption)

in one of the episodes, Bernie starts out talking about the differences between him and Wanda and their upbringing. he made me laugh when he began with ".....all black people love fried chicken....."
he states their parenting differences.
but he also states that he loves Wanda.

Besides the fact that she was beautiful and on top of her career game, she was VERY supportive of his family's situation. Not too many people would be open to their spouse bringing all those disruptive kids into their house. Furthermore, with his career, he was in a better position to be a "house husband." She wasn't going to put her career on hold.