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What would happen if Michelle died during pregnancy?


ProfessorLongbottom

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I think that if M died during a pregnancy, JB would be married within a year. I think he'd go for a young fundie, but I think he'd settle for a SAHD in the older (25 and up) category. He sees himself as a young stud, and we've seen the competitions he gets into with his sons... now, if JB would die, M would stay single, I think. She would, at least, finally stop the "I'll accept more children" routine, since no man equals no babies.. she'll write books, make personal appearances, and generally ignore the children.. and Josh or John David will become the patriarch.

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I think that if M died during a pregnancy, JB would be married within a year. I think he'd go for a young fundie, but I think he'd settle for a SAHD in the older (25 and up) category. He sees himself as a young stud, and we've seen the competitions he gets into with his sons... now, if JB would die, M would stay single, I think. She would, at least, finally stop the "I'll accept more children" routine, since no man equals no babies.. she'll write books, make personal appearances, and generally ignore the children.. and Josh or John David will become the patriarch.

Maybe JB would "save" Sarah Maxwell. Though I think JB is too liberal for the Maxwells now that I've started to educate myself on them.

Josh or John David as the patriarch of the family might shake things up. I don't think either are as invested in the family beliefs as the family wants us to believe. I see both more as fundie-lite. It would interesting anyway.

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I don't get how remarriage after death goes with fundie religion. I thought that the person you marry is your second half and that even in the after life you'll be paired with them, so what happens if you have two? Actually, I don't even know how this works in my own religion. I should find out. :think:

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People have a funny way of reacting to the death of a spouse sometimes.

On the one hand, I think Jim Bob would grieve Michelle deeply. But he also might make up his mind that at this point in his life, he doesn't know how to be alone, and would end up with a rebound wife fairly quickly, if only for the physical companionship.

How well he could keep the youngest kids trained to continue to be sister moms would depend on the newest wife's views, I think. Michelle uses guilt as a catalyst in order to get the older kids to care for the younger ones. The second wife might want to actually raise her own children.

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I can't imagine JB with a really young wife. As much as I hate the lifestyle they've forced their kids into, I think he really loves his wife and that if he remarried ever, that he would find someone his own age. Or maybe just stay single and turn recruiting new Bins for Josie and Hannie into a full-time job.

On the flip side...if anything happened to JB, I think Michelle would remarry in a hot second. I think she would LOSE IT on her own. That woman is already hanging on by a thread. And if Jinger and Jana (and Joyanna before long) get married off and she's stuck with a bunch of useless teenage boys who have no desire to do all of the work the oldest daughters got suckered into...I don't know. I think she would have a real breakdown. It will be very hard to be a mom in your 50s with 10+ children at home.

I sort of feel sympathetic for Michelle. I want to hate her but she seems so delusional that it's hard not to think something must have gone very wrong that made her and her family's life have this trajectory. Sometimes when she is talking about her childhood (and when she saw her old best friend) she just seems so happy and full of life, and she loses that vacant dead stare and the weird high pitched robot mom voice. Whatever happened, it's just a shame. :(

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I completely agree about Michelle becoming unhinged if JB died. In that case, I don't believe Jana would ever marry, she would just take over running the household completely (which would include what little she isn't already handling regarding raising her siblings, planning the meals, etc. - she already does so much).

I'm not sure if any of the Duggar assets are in Michelle's name. I know there's a trust, but if Jim Bob dies, I wonder how his assets and business holdings would be treated in the courts.

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In Arkansas she'd get everything unless there was something in his will or trust that directed otherwise. At least that's what I was told by a lawyer there.

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I find it much easier to think of how JB would react if Michelle died. He's the ~man~ who seems to believe that being emotional is something that women deal with more than men, but through watching the show I feel like JB is much more emotionally engaged than Michelle is. He displays his love for Michelle not just through words, but body language, emotional responses (tearing up and voice breaking when things are difficult, like Michelle in the hospital), crying over the death of his father, getting teary over the prospect of his daughters marrying and moving away, etc. What I also thought was interesting was that when Derick asked JimBob if he could court Jill, while JB was alone with her in Nepal, he really hedged about it because Michelle wasn't there to discuss the question with. But the only time I've noticed Michelle being emotional was the stuff related to Jubilee, never to her relationship with JimBob or to her family (her father also died during the course of the show but we never heard about it). I think JimBob would have a really difficult time getting his life together if he lost Michelle, but I can't even really picture what Michelle's response would be. I think it's possible he would get remarried eventually, but I honestly think it would be several years before that would be a real possibility for him because I think he really loves Michelle. You can't just get over something like that and soldier on to your next wife, there'd need to be recovery time. Michelle's emotional life has been suppressed to the point that I have no idea how she'd handle a similar situation.

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There was a small bit where J'chelle talked about her dad's declining health and death on one of the episodes, but I think it was right in the middle of all the Josie miracle baby episodes so it just kind of got swept up in that. I think the show even mentioned her flying out for the funeral and then coming back same day to care for Josie more.

But I definitely agree that it's a lot easier to figure out how Boob would react rather than J'chelle because she is so emotionally detached. Sometimes she does kind of light up around him, but it's never really noticeable enough to suggest the kind of devotion Boob has for her. Plus she's just unhinged enough that she could get really freaking scary religious crazy.

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I think either way Jana won't marry and will continue running everything. I could see Jim Bob remarrying but not Michelle. I think Michelle will either completely loose it or she'll write books and such. I don't think they would end the show because of it unless Michelle became completely unhinged and needed to be hidden away. I think it would be several VSE plus the focus for the next season. And if one of the children died I think they'd milk it for all it was worth and Michelle wouldn't seem that upset unless it was Josh or Josie.

I'm not sure what would happen if Michelle was told abort or die. I mean they kind of took a major risk of Josie not making it when they delivered her early would they have still just induced labor if Michelle had been a few weeks behind and there was no chance? I'm not sure.

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If Michelle died, I think JimBob would expect his mother, his sister and probably Jana to step in and take charge of the household. He would probably throw himself into some kind of work for a distraction, and to get out of the house. I could see him hiring some kind of nanny/housekeeper to really keep the house running.

I cannot imagine JB remarrying but I might be very wrong on that score. No matter what, JB is not going to do anything to monkey with the show. The conflicts inherent with a stepmother, all the sadness from Michelle's passing... Michelle would be catapulted into Super Sainthood Martyrdom, constantly referred to on the show.. no I simply cannot imagine bringing in another woman to "replace" Michelle.

If JB passed, Michelle would lose her mind, rock endlessly in her little bedroom, cry over baby pictures, clutch a baby doll, and Josh would have swoop in to save the day. Probably someone else in the family is going to have to rise up to become the TLC person and keep the family on track with the show.

It would near to impossible for either of them to remarry and retain the show. That's just not going to go over with viewers.

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But in the gothard cult, you give away pieces of your heart if you have a crush. You give away a whole heart when your married and with children. I wonder if gothard thinks widow people are used and nobody wants them.

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One reason I voted the way I did in terms of JB quickly finding someone new is because it's how I've seen it play out in real life on two different occasions.

I knew one guy whose wife passed away, they were both in their 60s. They had a long, devoted relationship to one another, but after she passed, he began dating about a month later. He actually began womanizing, something that all of us, including his kids, found completely revolting. Talk about your drama llama, some of these women came to blows over him. :ew: He has since remarried.

Another woman I know is in her 50s. Her husband passed after a long illness, and she had a new boyfriend a couple of months later. It was a surprise when I found out, but I know part of that had to do with being celibate while she was married because her husband was too ill to make love for a long time, so I can't really blame her for that one.

At any rate, I guess this is just one of those things where one's mileage really does vary. People grieve in different ways, and they handle the stress of being widowed differently. I was a little shocked at how quickly these two seemed to move on and in what way, but I can't say how I'd act in a similar situation.

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There is no doubt in my mind that they would do an episode. They milked Jubilees death for all it was worth and poor grandpa was paraded around even before his death seemingly against his will.

Someone above said they wonder what would happen what Michelle would do if there was a situation where she had to abort a child that would never be able to survive. I think Michelle would just continue with the pregnancy, even if it meant her death. I don't think she could could live with being known as a woman who had an abortion.

I actually joined just to reply to this comment.

I think the statement that she "milked" her miscarriage for all it was worth is incredibly insensitive. I'm not condoning their lifestyle but I think that anyone who has experienced a loss of family or close friends or even had a miscarriage of a planned baby knows just how sad you feel. Ordinary people have funerals all the time to help grieve and say goodbye to the person they lost, are you really expecting the duggars who believe their baby is as much a human as you and I to write it off as nothing? I'm sure that they were very devastated and Michelle probably felt a lot of guilt thinking she did something to make Mr. God mad and punish her even though there was probably just something wrong with the baby because of her advanced maternal age.

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Do you really think Gothard is JB's fault? I always thought it was Michelle who was head over heels in love with the fundie thing to begin with. I think JB likes the power he has and his ability to be someone with in the religion but I get the feeling Michelle lead them there.

I wonder what Michelle would do if something, God forbid, happened to JB? Would she go back to work as a real estate agent? Would she rely on sons and sons in law to provide an income? I would think they would need to continue to invest in order to keep their lifestyle up.

They're worth 3.5 million. I think she'd be okay!

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If JB passed and there was any justice in the world Michelle would be stuck in some laundry room endlessly doing laundry.

Not even being funny here, but I genuinely think it would push her over the edge. Baby voiced sweetness would be GONE.

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I see Michelle going one of two ways if Jim Bob dies in the next five to ten years. I think she'll either withdraw to her room and tune out the rest of the world or she'll turn to her long time friends and begin really living again including updating her hair, her clothes, and going fundie lite to standard SBC.

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Michelle seems like such a robot to me. I really can't tell if she would be okay or completely need to go to a psych ward if her husband or one of her children passed away. She just never behaves like any person I've ever known even with the heavy TLC editing.

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I think there would be an "outpouring of support" during which a horde of babysitters would show up, and JB would marry one of them within 18 months. I think he'd go for early thirties so she could still get pregnant but isn't so young they could be one of his own kids twins. She'd probably be a widower and have at least one kid already so he could get his coveted "20 KAC" title with the wedding. They'd go on a long honeymoon before returning home and then make a big deal about buy a new "marriage bed". The older girls will hate her but pretend to adore her for the camera, creepy fake smiles and all.

I don't think any of the kids would leave for it. I think they'd see their mom as a martyr and be very proud of her for it. They'd grieve their fetal sibling as much as they'd grieve their mother. The mother/baby funeral would be "beautiful". My only hope is that Moochelle would be buried with her nursing pillow and cover. :lol:

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I think there would be an "outpouring of support" during which a horde of babysitters would show up, and JB would marry one of them within 18 months. I think he'd go for early thirties so she could still get pregnant but isn't so young they could be one of his own kids twins. She'd probably be a widower and have at least one kid already so he could get his coveted "20 KAC" title with the wedding. They'd go on a long honeymoon before returning home and then make a big deal about buy a new "marriage bed". The older girls will hate her but pretend to adore her for the camera, creepy fake smiles and all.

I don't think any of the kids would leave for it. I think they'd see their mom as a martyr and be very proud of her for it. They'd grieve their fetal sibling as much as they'd grieve their mother. The mother/baby funeral would be "beautiful". My only hope is that Moochelle would be buried with her nursing pillow and cover. :lol:

Now just think if she didn't make it but the baby did I don't know what would happen. I think the baby would be handed straight over to Jill to raise as her own.

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As sweet a thought it would be if Jim Bob loved Michelle enough to never re-marry do you think he could go another [potential] 20-40 years without ever having sex again?

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Now just think if she didn't make it but the baby did I don't know what would happen. I think the baby would be handed straight over to Jill to raise as her own.

I think the baby would be handed over to Jana and she'd become JBs pseudo-wife. I don't think JB could hand over parenting that directly and obviously. If Jill took the kid it'd be out of the house and then there's no denying that JB doesn't really parent.

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I think the baby would be handed over to Jana and she'd become JBs pseudo-wife. I don't think JB could hand over parenting that directly and obviously. If Jill took the kid it'd be out of the house and then there's no denying that JB doesn't really parent.

maybe I figured Jill as Jill would probably have a baby around that age and be able to BF her new sibling along with her own child which would be the excuse JB used.

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maybe I figured Jill as Jill would probably have a baby around that age and be able to BF her new sibling along with her own child which would be the excuse JB used.

I just assumed they'd stick the kid on formula. Anna has advertised it on the show, and michele already weans the kids to it when she gets pregnant. I know they're okay with breastfeeding but I don't think they care that much about it. I'm sure Jill would be willing to nurse her sibling, though. As a midwifery student I'd think she'd understand the values of breastfeeding well enough to do it for them.

The question is, I think, what would Jim Boob think was best for the cameras?

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