My long time girlfriend soon to be wife was not to keen on having a snake in the house either. When it first came up I was in a pet store and saw a BP and said, without really thinking, "Its been a life long dream of mine to own a snake like that." She said "Really, why don't you get her right now." Here I am a 30 year old man with a stable well paying job and I said "Because they are expensive and my mom won't let........................................................" I stood there for a few minutes as it sunk in to my obviously thick skull that BP's are expensive when you are dirt poor, like I was growing up, but trivial compared to my current means. My mom hasn't had a say in the matter in 12 years. I looked at my girlfriend and asked "What do you think about having a snake in the house." She said "I hate the idea but obviously it means a lot to you so I think you should get her." Three weeks later, tons of research and a lot of restless nights later I finally brought home my first BP.
Moral of the story is this. BP's are low maintenance, safe pets. If she goes to bed early your wife might never see Kismet. Most of my friends went from fear to loving my BP in one visit. I have one friend who hasn't held her yet and has no interest. You shouldn't let Kismet come between you and your wife but if she can summon up the courage to come and visit she might find out that she really isn't as scared as she thought. If you can go from afraid to attached maybe your wife can go from phobic to indifferent. My girlfriend went from minor dislike to slight affection. I never name my pets until I have more than one. Till then its "cat" or "dog" or in this case the "snake". My girlfriend affectionately calls my BP snakey-poo, not bad for someone who never would have imagined having one in her home.