A scramble to prepare eggs finally cracked an Oceanside resident's chance for the title of at-home living style authority on CBS television's "Wickedly Perfect" reality show. After days of living and laboring in an artificial environment, Margo Leidigh found herself on the wrong end of an elimination vote after the show's challenge to manage a bed and breakfast for a weekend.

"No sleep, no food, different personalities and all these cameras —— it was a train wreck waiting to happen," Leidigh described the pressure cooker in which she was isolated for five weeks. "Nothing can prepare you for that."

The irrepressible Leidigh made it through five episodes before being voted off one of the show's two teams, Team Artisan. The challenge to run a historical New Canaan, Conn., inn required an enormous amount of work and vigilance, she said. And growing animosity between her and a team member, Kimberly, an Atlanta homemaker, impaired the team's ability to work cohesively.

But Leidigh's unsuccessful attempt to prepare an egg breakfast for the judges was her downfall. Her individual project also didn't earn her any points, leaving her vulnerable to being voted off. The losing team's choice of who to eliminate came down to Margo or Denise, a homemaker from Los Angeles. And no one was surprised when team members Kimberly and Dawn, a first-grade teacher from Texas, sent Margo packing.

"The prize was not for me," Leidigh said. "But perhaps something better."

Leidigh had already appeared on cable's "The Christopher Lowell Show" when she learned CBS was casting for "Wickedly Perfect," a design reality show. She was thrilled to be chosen from thousands of applicants to be one of a dozen "perfectionists," as the competitors are called.

The divorced mother of three is the sole support of her children, whom she left in her mother's care for the duration. To participate, she had to request time off from her job as a purchasing supervisor but was not allowed to tell her boss why. After assuring co-workers that neither tragedy nor ill health was the reason, she was given the OK.

Producers decreed there would be no contact with the outside world and no personal possessions such as books or CDs, Leidigh said. "They said the only book I could have was a Bible, and I said, 'Got it.' So that's all I had, and it turned out it was all I needed."

The judges were "really nice people," she said. "David (Evangelista) was very kind to me. Bobby (Flay) was extremely genuine."

During production, she said, she put a lot of pressure on herself to be an example to others, and repeatedly told herself she was representing single women raising children, every black woman, every Christian. "It was a lot of pressure," she said. "And I just hope I was representing well."

Still, she's glad it's over. "I didn't realize how painful it would be to be away from my kids so long. That was the hardest part," she said. "It was tough not to be able to go to their football games and music recitals. But what a great experience. Out of those thousands of people, they picked me. No regrets."

From the show's first broadcast, Leidigh has been hosting a weekly viewing party at home for friends and family, themed to correlate with the weekly design challenge, she said. Several times on the program, she found herself in tears from the stress, Leidigh said. Viewing those shows, her brother would leave the room and her daughter would cry in sympathy. "And I'd say, 'Yes, baby, but it's not real," and point to the cozy gathering in their comfortable home. "This is what's real."

In the end, her children, Adam, 17, Christopher, 15, and Phylicia, 13, thought Leidigh's being on the show was pretty cool.

"To them, it didn't matter if I won it or not,' she said. "Because Momma's Momma —— and 'What's for dinner?'"

Christopher saluted his mom's bravery: "Personally, I think she should have won because she has the heart to do that."

And daughter Phylicia said, "I didn't realize how big the place (the house) was and what she had to do. It was very hard."

But it felt really good to have her mom back, Phylicia added. "She's always cheerful. She's always a positive influence. She doesn't talk about people behind their backs. She won't disappoint anybody."

Leidigh said she has asked herself why she served the ill-fated breakfast, and the answer is, "I don't know." Looking back, it seems it should have been easy. But simple things are less so in the cauldron of competition.

"It's amazing," she said. "It's extreme circumstances, so things are going to happen."

Four episodes are still to come, and she is constrained by a confidentiality agreement from discussing anything that hasn't already been aired. The agreement also gave producers a free hand to edit the show in any way they chose, portraying contestants' personalities any way they wanted.

Since participating in "Wickedly Perfect," Leidigh has been busy, returning to her job and continuing to build a client base for her growing home-decorating business.

She also had a guest spot in a parody of the show on VH1's "Best Week Ever." And she's had other offers for print and television work.

"My parting words were, 'I've lost nothing,'" she said. "It was just an egg. That's what life is, anyway —— just what you make it."

Contact staff writer Agnes Diggs at (760) 740-3511 or adiggs@nctimes.com.