How Do the Duggars Act Off Camera

[luckylassie]

I know we may never truly know the answer to this but if you had to guess......what do you think Michelle is like off camera when nobody else is watching. Do you think they really are the happy, huge, family with the mom that is sweeter than sugared honey? Or perhaps not.

[lilwriter85]

Rachel333 posted about her experiences with the Duggars on the old FJ. She said that Michelle has been rude with people and she talked about Josh acting like an ass at a graduation and she mentioned Boob off camera.

http://freejinger.yuku.com/topic/6510/M ... ars?page=1

You could probably find blog postings from people who have meet the family but usually those postings talk about experiences at book signings, homeschooling conventions and similar places and there was a blogger Lyndsie who met the Duggars at the filming of Sherwood Baptist Church's new movie Courageous. Lyndsie took down her blog but in her posting she said that Boob, Josh and some of the kids were nice. She didn't meet Mullet. I do think the Duggars put up an act at certain events where they know their fundie followers are.

[debrand]

I've wondered the same thing.

[auntdoc]

If I were Michelle I'd be a grouch, rude and tired. I really can't imagine being happy with all that noise, questions from kids, being a good wife, no end in site raising kids and having more, etc.

[bananacat]

I have always suspected that there are two strong tempers behind all that hair and hairspray. JB seems like the yelling type and Michelle seems like the spanking type. This is all idle speculation, of course. But I can definitely see Michelle giving a quick smack to anyone who gets in her way or annoys her. There was one episode where she told a boy to go get some book or worksheet or whatever and he didn't obey right away. She was in front of the cameras and she was trying very hard to keep her cool. I don't think she was used to handling that kind of thing in a camera-appropriate way.

[Maggie Mae]

One of my friends in jr high had, like, 8 brothers and sisters. I'm not actually sure, they had a lot of small children. Her mom was SO MEAN. I was always confused as to why everyone seemed so happy and loving in that house when the matriarch was always pregnant or nursing and always bossing everyone around. Not to mention the fact that she was stricter than anyone i've ever met in my life. I've often wondered if Michelle was more like THAT - the bossy, strict, not very sweet parent, then what is portrayed on TV.

[IReallyAmHopewell]

My guess is they are pretty "normal" in that:

a) Mom and Dad are distracted by their work (real estate and dealing with the media)

b) the kids bicker and annoy each other (the middle ones)

c) someone is usually crying or about to (little ones)

d) whoever makes dinner is ready to scream with the third kid asking "what's for dinner?"

e) the little boys probably drive everyone nuts with fart noises, stupid jokes and NOISE

f) someone is getting "corrected" about any minute Mom or Dad is available to do so

g) the girls probably try to spend every minute they can AWAY from the little ones

h) Grandma hides in her room or the laundry mat for some peace.

i) the lucky people are the two or three who get to run errands!!!

[luckylassie]

On two other forums, a couple of posters said that Michelle pretty much stays in her bedroom and lets the older girls run the ship. One poster read their newest book and one was a former A.T.I. fundy. The former fundy did say (her post was dated back in 06') that Josh was engaged and it was for two years. When you look at J and A's website it said that they met in o6' and married in 08' so the timing is accurate. Who knows? Maybe Josh and Anna were promised to each other way before the "proposal" episode by Anna's dad?