What is actually unrealistic about this show.

What is actually unrealistic about this show is her husband. He's either too much of a sociopath or not enough. He has all the red flags of a sociopathic con-man but he doesn't go nearly far enough. He's too old to be developing these personality traits all of a sudden.

To be realistic the whole 'project' would have to be a scam from the outset. All the money he 'lost' is part of the scam and he squirreled away in a secret bank account. Also he should be living under a false identity, because con-men don't start at 40. He'd have been caught before.