Michaela and Brandon Are Engaged!

[jerkit]

Oh thank god. This has gone on for what feels like forever.

[Howl]

re: Brandon and Michaela

Which one belongs to which family?

[Mela99]

I'm gonna be the shallow one here and say that's a really weird looking ring. Cushion center is pretty but IDK what's going on with the band

/jewelrysnob.

[16strong]

Wow. Michael really front-hugged the shit out of Brandon, didn't she?

[sadiZ]

I'm gonna be the shallow one here and say that's a really weird looking ring. Cushion center is pretty but IDK what's going on with the band

/jewelrysnob.

I agree. Lovely center stone, but the weird things on the side are.... interesting. Maybe it is the angle?

Also - last pic - is that Brandon's mother? What the hell is up with her hair? Is that a wig? It looks really strange and unnatural....

[Closed Womb]

I think the ring is fine. Not what I would have chosen, but my own wedding rings are not what I would have chosen (I LOVE them, it's just that I needed a custom band and I would have chosen something I could wear without my diamond.)

Anyway, Michael has adamantly stated that she didn't even need a ring, so I'm sure she's over the moon in love with it.

[tralala]

I'm in love with the ring he got her. Plain ol solitaires don't do a thing for me, you gotta mix it up ;). They both seem happy, hope all goes well for them :clap:

[Alexa]

Congrats to the happy couple. They seem really happy together and they've known each other for a long time. The ring isn't my style, but I be Michael is in seventh heaven.

It will be interesting to see whether the Bates of the Duggars end up with more grandchildren. If Tori and Joseph are in a courtship or about to be, that will make it even more interesting.

[eh02]

They look happy. I can't say I can feel as excited about them together as Zach & Whitney, Erin & Chad or Alyssa & John. All three of those couples seemed like really perfect fits to me. I guess maybe Michael and Brandon are great fits but I just don't especially find either of them very charming :| They will definitely be the ones to stay most hardcore ATI.

Hopefully Michael will not have any issues conceiving or carrying out a healthy pregnancy like Erin, because I think it would be absolutely devastating to her - she already seems to think she was seconds away from old maid status and is running out of time to give her mom a run for her money. :roll:

I still get bad vibes from Brandon. Maybe it's just in comparison to guys like Chad Paine or John Webster who seem so comfortable with themselves, which probably translates to how respectful they seem toward their wives. They might have messed up, old fashioned views on gender roles, but I do think despite the line they draw between the gender roles, they view the spouses as equals. I got that impression from Kelly and Gil too. They might be messed up in all sorts of other ways, but Gil does seem to really love and respect Kelly and she does not seem like an especially submissive wife.

I can easily envision Brandon being your typical fundie Headship who's terrified of anything that might seem emasculating and constantly has to try to assert his masculinity and dominance over people around him. Hopefully for Michael's sake that's not true, though she seems pretty into the idea of being a submissive wife and mom.

[divadivine]

I agree. Lovely center stone, but the weird things on the side are.... interesting. Maybe it is the angle?

Also - last pic - is that Brandon's mother? What the hell is up with her hair? Is that a wig? It looks really strange and unnatural....

I'm wondering if the sides of the ring are supposed to look like an infinity symbol? I'm really tired, so I could be cray-cray.

[Bethella]

That and two grandchildren less than a week apart. Makes me wonder what the next one upping each other will be? Bates boy (Lawson or Nathan) courting? Jessa or Whitney pregnant?

That said, it's about time.

The next one upping will be the next grandbabies- Erin in June and Anna in July, followed quickly by Jessa and Whitney's upcoming (or just not announced yet) pregnancies.

[Shirley Blest]

I would hope that they actually know each other...given they have been special friends for a while now.

[ariel9]

Does anyone find it odd that Josiah Duggar is courting now Michaela is engaged? I mean it seems like these 2 families really are competing

My projected thoughts exactly like" I see your courtship and we raise you michaelas engagement".

[ViolaSebastian]

I'm wondering if the sides of the ring are supposed to look like an infinity symbol? I'm really tired, so I could be cray-cray.

If you're cray cray, then so am I, because that's what I thought of as well.

[maple802]

The ring appears to be one that came with a matching band based on the notches that I see on either side in the picture that's been posted. In other words, she has it on with the wrong side facing out.

[Jana814]

Can someone tell me more about this guy. Like is he from a large family as well & does anyone know how old he is.

[Snarfblatt]

I like the ring. I would not have picked it but I like it.

I am happy for her. I always have a soft spot for the oldest daughter in a large family.

[antwan]

So not happy for her. To be clear, I absolutely wish her the best, and I hope the best for her, too. However, Brandon does NOT seem as into her as she is toward him. He certainly doesn't seem engaged as Chad, or even Derick or Ben are with their women. I fear a disappointing marriage relationship for Michaela. I hope I'm wrong.

[DaffyDill]

Can someone tell me more about this guy. Like is he from a large family as well & does anyone know how old he is.

Jana - have a look here:

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=25345&hilit=keilen+family&start=140#p899063

Brandon is the eighth child of ten. There's a photo of him, with his brothers and sisters at that post I linked to above.

[Ursula]

Ahh, Craig Keilen. Still would.

And Brandon is the same age as Girl Michael. He actually shares a birthday with one of the littlest Bates boys, September 15th. So he'll turn 26 this year and Girl Michael will turn 26 a few months later in January 2016. Thank fucking goodness that some of these fruitcakes wait until they're a reasonable age, like, I dunno, LEGAL ADULTHOOD (looking at you Marge and Josiah) to become engaged/get married.

I really wish I could watch Bringing Up Bates episodes on YouTube (really, you can find virtually EVERY episode of the Duggar's show on there and TLC doesn't seem to give a rat's ass, but Up TV has BUB episodes pulled almost instantly, boo) to get a better feel of Brandon. As much as one can get from what you see on a 30 minute a week program, that is :P But Girl Michael is SO happy so I am happy for her. I'm extra happy that even if she gets pregnant on her wedding night she won't be delivering her first child until she's a few months into being 26 years old at the earliest which will limit her to 13-15 blessings, TOPS. I'm sure she's not happy about that with her crazy baby fever, but the less innocent children born into the fundie mess the better!

[JillyO]

Interesting. The engagement does seem very recent, too (since the trees are in full bloom). I'm just saying that because some of us were speculating that they had been engaged for a while and just hadn't announced.

Brandon strikes me as SO weird. I've only seen the first five episodes of BUB, though, so I don't have a very good feel for him either. I wish we could find links somewhere. Ugh!!

Anyway, congratulations to these two. I hope I'm wrong about Brandon, and that he's as much in love with her as Michael clearly is with him.

[Justme]

I'm thinking a July/August wedding, depending on when Erin's due. Hopefully, they won't plan the wedding to close to her due date. I also agree she'll get pregnant fairly quickly. I'm guessing a mid summer birth, when she's 26.5.

[jerkit]

The ring is definitely not my style

[Jana814]

Jana - have a look here:

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=25345&hilit=keilen+family&start=140#p899063

Brandon is the eighth child of ten. There's a photo of him, with his brothers and sisters at that post I linked to above.

Thanks!!

[Howl]

Hmmm. Branchaela. Doesn't have quite the same cachet as Brangelina, but jeesh these two are going to have beautiful kids.