Bates Family - Part 4

[IReallyAmHopewell]

I think Brandon and Michaela are the ones marinated and baked for 24 hours in the ATI koolaid, but at least Michaela seems to genuinely like children, so I'm hopeful she'll actually raise them herself rather than sistermomming them out and won't resort to crap like blanket training. She'll be 26 at the youngest when her first is born though, so I think we'll see something more like 10 from her (if we say a kid every second year until 44, about when the ovaries say ENOUGH) not 19 like her mom.

Alyssa and Zach seem to have remained conservative Christian, but don't seem to have bought into the ATI coolaid, especially given that Zach worked for a 'real' job and Alyssa is wouldn't look out of place hanging out with me and my friends.

Erin....I always thought she was a little marinated in the Koolaid, but I think her health problems made her step back and re-evaluate the quiverfull beliefs, and luckily, she hit the fundie husband jackpot with Chad. No way will he risk her life for a quiver. I could see one more in a couple of years time, MAYBE a third, but I can easily see '2 and done' here.

The Bates had to get some kids off the payroll. Alyssa was smart--she made a guy from a wealthy family fall for her-lol.... Just like a Victorian maiden! Michal and Brandan will do their tours of duty at HQ [i'm sure the Cult provides housing]. She will birth babies regularly with Priscilla and Kendalyn and show up in their blog posts any moment. Lawson is doing his best to leave and be a singer [i think its Lawson??} Nathan...? Carlin? the others? Who knows, but I don't imagine they'll all be working at HG.

[HereticHick]

So do you think a Bates kid might be shipped to work at Gothard HQ sometime in the next few years? Especially with Michaella & Brandon to watch over them? Which one? Perhaps Josie? Or if Tori really does want to postpone marrying for a couple of years (she has said so in UpTV interviews), she could do a HQ tour of duty after finishing at Crown?

I suspect that Trace and Nathan are needed to help dad with the tree service; its a very physical job. I'm Gil's age, & I certainly don't feel as fit as in my 20s!

[19 cats and counting]

Has a Bates kid previously been shipped to work at Gothard HQ? Pre marriage Michael or Erin? I'm not sure what Carlin is up to but I can see her getting shipped off. She (and Tori) are very spunky and have big mouths, and I can see them shipping either off to get them to keep sweet.

Isn't Nathan the one who's smitten with that NYC girl? I'm really wondering if there's a courtship brewing for him.

[HereticHick]

As far as I can tell, no Bates kid has been shipped to HQ yet, which is odd since Gil is on the board. The Paines have sent several kids to HQ (including Chad) & I just noticed on their blog that their 21 daughter Abby is back home from a stint at HQ.

If BrandonMichaella get a house w/ enough room, I can see a Bates girl being shipped to HQ for a while. She could live with them & also help with child care whenever blessing #1 arrives (I expect an announcement by the end of the year on that).

[Dandruff]

Maybe they're keeping all but the married daughters home for the show (though this wouldn't explain keeping them home before the show). I'm sure a kid at HQ would not be a storyline they'd want covered on TV.

[JMO]

Any guesses on the number of Bates pregnancy announcements before 2016? Michaella is an obvious one, although she's only going to be married 4 1/2 months and may either not yet be pregnant or may not want to reveal yet. Hopefully Erin will wait. Bradley is turning one soon, so Whitney is due to make an announcement. And Alyssa is definitely in the running for another blessing. I'm actually hoping for no announcements.

[clueliss]

Whit and Zach shipped little Bradley off to the grandparents place for a little 1:1 time with Zach yesterday per IG so I'll begin any mental counting now.

[IReallyAmHopewell]

Maybe they're keeping all but the married daughters home for the show (though this wouldn't explain keeping them home before the show). I'm sure a kid at HQ would not be a storyline they'd want covered on TV.

They'd cover it as working in a "ministry" but not show anything at HQ perhaps. Show all the great fellowship with wholesome families like Davy & Pris and Kendalynn and Robert.

I just hope they don't re-do the Duggars world tour though it would be GREAT for those kids to see another type life. Maybe if they do, the tone will be more respectful?

Has anyone seen whether more companies are picking up the UP Network now that the Bates are the only "Christian" big family? Just curious.

[Kylolo]

I'm from Chicago and we moved to the East coast in part because it was pricey to live there, but it was the commute and traffic that did us in. Housing is much more expensive where we live now, but our taxes are way less than they were in Illinois where the taxing bodies are a mess. From what I can tell of the interiors of the houses from the pictures they've posted (I am thinking the Wallers and the Staddons for example), they live in older ranches that are fixed up but definitely not ones that were part of the massive suburban sprawl of subdivisions that sprung up in the '90s in places like Plainfield and Naperville.

It is possible IBLP bought a stock of houses in the area a couple of decades ago - I did a search for David Waller and Robert Staddon and they are listed as in houses in Hinsdale and Oak Brook respectively, with the Staddon house worth about $600K per Zillow and the address listed for Waller as oddly a strip of land with no house (also per Zillow) but which revealed the house next door as "TP-d" [toilet paper in the trees] on the day the Google street view car drove by. It is highly doubtful that either of these two IBLP toadies would ever be able to live in these houses on the salaries they draw from IBLP, so there must be some sort of housing perk, either by providing housing or seriously subsidizing it.

I've gone down this tangenital rabbit hole and my research shows the Wallers' house is owned by the couple next door and has been since 2004. They may or may not be ATI connected, I have no idea.

Interestingly, I can find nothing at all for the newlyweds in IL. If he was living there before they married then he had no bills or even mail in his name.

[TXGirlInAMaterialWorld]

It's strange to think that in a few years the Bates could have 5-6 grandkids being born per year. I shudder to think how many Bateses' there will be in 2020.....

[formergothardite]

I'm not sure if they have worked at training centers, but the Bates daughters did travel with Gothard on several mission trips. According to their friend who was posting here at that time Gothard paid for all their trips so they could travel with him.

[lizzybee]

I've gone down this tangenital rabbit hole and my research shows the Wallers' house is owned by the couple next door and has been since 2004. They may or may not be ATI connected, I have no idea.

Interestingly, I can find nothing at all for the newlyweds in IL. If he was living there before they married then he had no bills or even mail in his name.

Just to corroborate this: I was snooping around on their youtube channel, and Priscilla says in this video about 3:10ish that they're renting.

youtube.com/watch?v=jx1038M4Fy8

[HarleyQuinn]

I've been in the FJ rabbit hole for a few days regarding Whitney Bates' adopted vs bio parents. (Stuff like that always fascinates me) Is the general consensus still that there's some sort of rift with the adopted ones? I have to admit, I always assumed her bio parents were dead, but after reading old posts I see that's not the case. I don't know why I'm so nosy about this. lol

[HermioneSparrow]

I've been in the FJ rabbit hole for a few days regarding Whitney Bates' adopted vs bio parents. (Stuff like that always fascinates me) Is the general consensus still that there's some sort of rift with the adopted ones? I have to admit, I always assumed her bio parents were dead, but after reading old posts I see that's not the case. I don't know why I'm so nosy about this. lol

OT but I have to say as a DC Comics lover fella... I LOOOOOOOVE your username and avatar!!! I think Margot Robbie rocks.

[SavageMom]

I've been in the FJ rabbit hole for a few days regarding Whitney Bates' adopted vs bio parents. (Stuff like that always fascinates me) Is the general consensus still that there's some sort of rift with the adopted ones? I have to admit, I always assumed her bio parents were dead, but after reading old posts I see that's not the case. I don't know why I'm so nosy about this. lol

Yeah so I've been trying to find info on the situation. What is the story as far as we know? Which last name did she use before she got married?

[grandmadugger]

Yeah so I've been trying to find info on the situation. What is the story as far as we know? Which last name did she use before she got married?

I'm curious too!

[Seren Ann]

Yeah so I've been trying to find info on the situation. What is the story as far as we know? Which last name did she use before she got married?

She used the last name Perkins. That's all I know...

[HarleyQuinn]

Yeah so I've been trying to find info on the situation. What is the story as far as we know? Which last name did she use before she got married?

HermioneSparrow I LOOOVVEEE Harry Potter too. And Robbie is going to slay Harley, I can't wait to see her.

Her maiden name was Perkins, which was also her bio parents' name. Seems like she was using that. Her adoptive parents were Owens. There's a lot of conflicting information out there. I found a forum saying her family died in a car crash, but that was actually a bio daughter of her adoptive parents that died in one. Then there's another discussion saying Whitney's bio parents beat her up, and one that she stole from her adopted mother.

[JillyO]

She used the last name Perkins. That's all I know...

I don't know much, and am curious about this as well. What I do know is that her adoptive father was the one who walked her down the aisle, and her bio parents were not even at the wedding, IIRC. Now, when Bradley was born, Whitney all of as sudden starting talking about how great it is to have her dad/parents (?) around for this special time. The man in the pictures was definitely not the same man who walked her down the aisle, so presumably her bio dad. I haven't seen anything about her adoptive parents since. Does anyone know if the house with the pool the Bateses were using for the little girls' pool party belonged to Whit's bio or adoptive parents?

[NotALoserLikeYou]

I've been in the FJ rabbit hole for a few days regarding Whitney Bates' adopted vs bio parents. (Stuff like that always fascinates me) Is the general consensus still that there's some sort of rift with the adopted ones? I have to admit, I always assumed her bio parents were dead, but after reading old posts I see that's not the case. I don't know why I'm so nosy about this. lol

She does not talk to the adoptive parents anymore. No contact. The Bates encouraged her to reconcile with her bio parents, who physically abused her her whole life. Bio parents don't want her to talk to adoptive parents. She is now heavily devoted to being a member of the Bates family. I got all of this from a conversation with the adoptive mom herself. She did not have one bad word to say about Whitney.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

Her maiden name was perkins, the bio name. Adoptive is Owens. The Owens attended the wedding and he walked her down the aisle. Bio parents weren't even invited. I get the feeling whit was really guilted into forgiving them. Honoring your father and mother is of huge importance to fundamental christians and ATI. The adoptive parents threw her a baby shower. The bio parents were present at Bradley's birth.

[nokidsmom]

Unfortunate that Whit's adoptive parents are shut out. That has to be hard.

Hearing about Whit's painful past explains to me why she's gone more fundie. Marrying into this big seemingly loving family must have been getting the loving family she probably always wanted. Don't know where it puts the adoptive family, the adoptive parents seemed ok to me. I hope that it was Whit's own decision to reestablish contact with her birth family, even if it is a result of embracing her in-law's beliefs, and not something that was foisted on her.

[EmmieJ]

She does not talk to the adoptive parents anymore. No contact. The Bates encouraged her to reconcile with her bio parents, who physically abused her her whole life. Bio parents don't want her to talk to adoptive parents. She is now heavily devoted to being a member of the Bates family. I got all of this from a conversation with the adoptive mom herself. She did not have one bad word to say about Whitney.

If this is true, then I am very sad for the adoptive parents. Assuming the adoptive parents were loving, kind parents, I cannot imagine how painful it must be for them to have Whitney cut them out of her life entirely. I don't understand how the Bates and Whitney can consider themselves Christian, yet do things that are so opposite of what I would consider Christ-like.

[nokidsmom]

If Whit was adopted with both bio parents still living, that suggests to me that parental rights were severed so the adoption could take place. I would think some serious abuse had to have gone down for that to happen.

Seems that Whit has a had a difficult life for someone so young; A lot seems to had happened to her in a very short time. Going fundie probably holds a lot of answers for her right now.

My cousin went fundie after her parents' divorce following a childhood where she and her brothers were pretty much neglected. Meeting up with her fundie future husband sent her down the path where she thought she found answers. I am wondering if the same is happening to Whit too.

[Fundie Bunny]

Oh my god, that is so sad. I can't imagine all of what she has been through. And she is only 21, no wonder why she looks older. Poor thing