If TLC never came into their lives - Duggars

[Justme]

differ?

 

They had started building their house, but TLC finished and decorated it so they could get on with the show. I guess they would have finished it eventually. I'll bet the finishes would have been much "cheaper" and the furishing 2nd hand and miss-matched.

 

They probably wouldn't have had enough $$ for the big bus. Their traveling would have been much less. Their lives would be much simpler.

 

I wonder if Josh & Anna would have married. Boob wouldn't have had the extra $$ to support a 2nd household. Josh would have actually had to have figured a way to actually work. Maybe they would have married eventually, but not as young.

 

I wonder if little Josie would have gotten the care she needed at birth. They wouldn't have been able to afford the rental house. Maybe Mullet would have been forced to stay at a Ronald McDonald house or with another Gothard family.

[Rosa]

I don't think Josie would have been born. They wouldn't have health insurance or money, so they would have "not believed in traditional medicine" and Michelle would have been home with a lay midwife drinking cherry juice until things got so bad she had to go to the emergency room and have a c-section and hysterectomy with one of the earlier babies.

I don't think either parent is a monster, and JimBob obviously loves his wife, so it wouldn't have been one of the really awful stories of five or six days of nonprogressing labor and then a death at home.

[AtroposHeart]

I don't think Josie would have been born. They wouldn't have health insurance or money, so they would have "not believed in traditional medicine" and Michelle would have been home with a lay midwife drinking cherry juice until things got so bad she had to go to the emergency room and have a c-section and hysterectomy with one of the earlier babies.

I don't think either parent is a monster, and JimBob obviously loves his wife, so it wouldn't have been one of the really awful stories of five or six days of nonprogressing labor and then a death at home.

They have public health insurance from when Jim bob was a politican

[MrsYoungie]

They have public health insurance from when Jim bob was a politican

Why does something like this no count as "Using government money to support our family"? - something that all the fundies equate with stealing from your neighbour, as far as I can tell.

[Deleted03]

I don't think Josie would have been born. They wouldn't have health insurance or money, so they would have "not believed in traditional medicine" and Michelle would have been home with a lay midwife drinking cherry juice until things got so bad she had to go to the emergency room and have a c-section and hysterectomy with one of the earlier babies.

I don't think either parent is a monster, and JimBob obviously loves his wife, so it wouldn't have been one of the really awful stories of five or six days of nonprogressing labor and then a death at home.

Actually they're not that type of crazy fundie... She had Csections and although she wanted to have VBACs she still had most babies in the hospital. she just shops around for some OBGYN to take her.

[Jessica]

They'd still be squeezing all their prairie kids into a little 3 bedroom house while puttering around with the steel frame home here and there for years.

[lilwriter85]

They would have probably continued living in small homes and it would have taken them longer to finish the big house. They would have less money so there would be no trips and not even mission trips. They would still be shopping at thrift stores for all of their clothes. They wouldn't have a bus.

[AtroposHeart]

Why does something like this no count as "Using government money to support our family"? - something that all the fundies equate with stealing from your neighbour, as far as I can tell.

I never met an anti-government person who was willing to turn down public money when they, or their love ones needed it.

but still willing to give a stranger with a disability hell for it. Why yes, I am speaking from very personal experince.

[gilora]

Didn't Jim Bob spend one term as a state senator? Would that qualify the family for lifetime health insurance?

I suspect that if TLC never came along, Josh, John David and Jana would all be married and out of the house, scraping by somehow. As for kids, they probably would have stopped at Hannie as they'd still be crammed into a 3 bedroom house.

[xReems]

Well, they definitely would not be going on these crazy trips, like the 23 days overseas trip, nor would Famy get any sort of "recognition" for super awesome singing career.

[lilwriter85]

Didn't Jim Bob spend one term as a state senator? Would that qualify the family for lifetime health insurance?

I suspect that if TLC never came along, Josh, John David and Jana would all be married and out of the house, scraping by somehow. As for kids, they probably would have stopped at Hannie as they'd still be crammed into a 3 bedroom house.

Jim Bob did only serve one term. I kind of remember him saying something about the health insurance before Jordyn was born.

[bananacat]

They would have never finished their palace without TLC. The girls would still be wearing hand-made matching jumpers. Their education would have been even more limited because they would not have computers and access to SOS. They wouldn't be doing CollegeMinus because they wouldn't have the fame for that company to care about them and give them free resources. They certainly wouldn't have their iphones. I agree with gilora that a lot of the older kids would be married by now, just so their parents wouldn't have to feed them. They might have had 5 or 6 grandchildren by now if TLC hadn't come along.

[Kitten]

IF they ever managed to actually complete the big house, it certainly wouldn't be to the quality level it is now. Even today, when I see them eating on paper plates constantly, I wonder if that "great deal" they got on the restaurant equipment turned out to be money down the drain. Maybe they don't use regular dishes because the industrial dishwasher doesn't work? Because otherwise, I can't fathom wasting their money on paper plates. And even with TLC's money, some of the kids still sleep on the floor. So you can imagine what it would be like.

The only trips they'd be making would be to Big Sandy, and maybe a mission trip now and then (but only a few at a time, not a whole horde). No "sightseeing" trips, no special visits with celebrities (Dolly would remain blissfully ignorant of the family), no special treatment when they did travel, no lavish accommodations or freebie "extras." No big bus with bunk beds for all - just a series of crappy motorhomes like the one they had when TLC first started filming.

Josh "might" be married to Anna, but he would actually be working, not play-acting. He wouldn't have any employees, and they certainly wouldn't be eating out all the time. John-David would be okay, I think, because he's be doing pretty much what he's doing right now. He stays off-camera as much as he can. Maybe Jill would be married -- without the celebrity, JB would be more likely to approve a suitor, and Jill would be more likely to accept someone just to get out on her own. The rest of the blessings would be more thoroughly indoctrinated in the ATI way and isolated from the real world. I don't know if they would've been able to pursue even CollegeMinus - that costs money if you're not getting it for free because you're a "celebrity."

OTOH, I think more of the kids would be inclined to back off the full ATI lifestyle earlier, because they wouldn't have the luxuries and opportunities they've gotten with TLC. They wouldn't see the ATI lifestyle as particularly glamorous or desirable, because they wouldn't stand out in the ATI crowd. Right now, even though they've gotten to see more of the world, they also know that their lifestyle depends on "toeing the line" and maintaining the Duggar brand. Even if they're all secretly plotting to become mainline conservative Christians, they won't actually do anything until the honeypot goes away.

I think Michelle would have continued to have kids, but whether they like it or not, they would've been deeply in debt for the rest of their lives after Josie's birth. Unless they don't count it as "debt" if it's medical expenses. Her care had to have been in the hundreds of thousands, at a minimum. And everyone else would've stayed at home, while Michelle stayed by herself (or maybe with one of the older girls) at a Ronald McDonald house while Josie was in the NICU.

[NurseNell]

I wonder if little Josie would have gotten the care she needed at birth. They wouldn't have been able to afford the rental house. Maybe Mullet would have been forced to stay at a Ronald McDonald house or with another Gothard family.

Yes, Josie would have gotten the care. All premature babies born in this country get high quality care, paid by the state if there is no insurance. This is one group that is not denied care.

Nell

[slickcat79]

In their new book, JB mentions that he bought private insurance for the family before Josie was born. Maybe Jordyn's hospitalization after her birth convinced him that it was necessary, and the TLC money made it possible. That's probably something that they wouldn't have had if TLC had never come along. Military service members don't get lifetime insurance coverage for their families, so I doubt 2 terms as a state representative would get them that benefit. Not having insurance doesn't mean that Josie wouldn't have gotten the same care, but they would have had to take Michelle's gallbladder and HBP issues very seriously despite not having money to cover it.

I'm guessing they would have been finished the TTH by now, but I would think that Jenny (at least) would have been born before they were able to move in. Getting the structure together was time and labor intensive. Things like plumbing, electrical, and HVAC would have also taken time, and are harder to pull off with no training or experience. They might have actually had to "hire some stages done" to get them up to code, and that would require saving money first. I could also see them moving in before the house was finished and "camping out" inside while they got things done if they didn't have other housing options.

[Lillybee]

I think that one or more of the older kids would have left ATI. I wonder if Boob made a deal with them that if they stayed home for the TLC run, he would give them their share of the earnings then.

[Visionoyahweh]

I'm guessing finishing the TTH would seriously wound or kill one of the kids, given the family belief in 'safety'. The older boys would be subsiding the rest of the clan, like with the Bates.