War of the Roses (radio show)

War of the Roses are segments typically involve a person in a committed relationship - the initiator - who believes that he or she is being cheated on. With the initiator silent on the phone, the host of the show calls the suspected party using a ruse to get them to talk - usually claiming that the suspect has just won a free dozen roses as part of a promotion to be delivered to anyone of his or her choice, with no other obligation other than to "please tell a friend about our great service".

During the phone call, the host asks the suspect questions that will hopefully reveal the identity of the subject of their affair, and other questions that may help understand the nature of it. For example, the host will typically ask the suspect for one or two sentences to be used as an optional "personal message" to be included with the gift, before asking for the name of the desired recipient. Once the suspect gives up the name and reveals the secret relationship, the spouse or significant other is free to jump in and chastise the guilty party over the phone.

The ruse may be improvised depending on what is believed to most likely attract the suspect's attention. Examples used include free concert tickets for a man who "couldn't stop talking about how Beyoncé is coming to town next week but who still hasn't asked [his wife] to go" with him, orioloi; a purported call from a venereal disease clinic. The VD ruse involved stating that "someone with a disease listed you as a recent sexual partner, but we can only tell you more (for confidentiality reasons) if you can tell us the name of the person who might have referred you".

Often, suspects are confused and bewildered when confronted on the phone, because they are unaware that they've been taken in by a ruse, and often believe their significant other is really at home listening on an extension. Suspects who believe this continue with the prize dialogue with the radio station host and continue to embarrass themselves, unaware that the entire call is a prank.

Other suspects turn out to not be cheating at all, and end up sending the roses - and the embarrassment along with them - to their significant other who initiated the call.

One of the earliest known segments was done in 1996 on Andy Savage's radio program "The Edge" based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Station List

• La jungla de la mañana en la nueva mega 94.9 en Miami, FL

• The Stick on the Radio Show on WXXL in Orlando, FL

• The Rise Guys Morning Show on WTPT in Greenville, SC

• The Kane Show on WIHT in Washington, DC

• The Dave Ryan in The Morning Show on KDWB in Minneapolis, MN

• The Roula & Ryan Show on KRBE in Houston, TX
  

• JohnJay And Rich Show KISS FM in Phoenix, AZ
  

• The Mojo Morning Show on KBFM in the Rio Grande Valley, TX

• Afentra's Big Fat Morning Buzz on 96.5 the Buzz (Kansas City, Mo.)

• Magic Mornings with Jagger and Kristi on Magic 92.5 XHRM in San Diego, Ca

• Brotha Fred's A.M. Mayhem WIBT 96.1 The Beat in Charlotte, NC

• Hollywood Hamilton and Goumba Johnny Show on WKTU 103.5FM in New York, NY.

• The Mojo in the Morning Show on Channel 955 WKQI in Detroit, MI