Neither of you are right, nor totally wrong.
If you are writing fiction, it will ALWAYS be unreal. In total or in part.
But, what readers want when they read something, is relatability. Something in the story must make us relate to it, realism is NOT the goal, the goal is to make us feel at least in part, that whatever is going on in the story, COULD potentially be possible. Or, we are reading Fantasy, and even there, there are limits, it has to be relatable. It is possible to create and write a story from an Alien point of view (maybe), but what would be the point? We wouldn't be able to relate to it.
So, no, Realism is NOT what is needed. And NO, escapism doesn't mean a break with reality, that would be surrealism and is not really a medium for stories to be told.
This story is loosely based on reality, YES. This story is not Real, YES.
I don't believe BGR wants realism, they want more ways to relate to the story. Which is a completely different thing.
Peace