Bates 23: Waiting on the Next Wedding

[neurogirl]

How much you want to bet Kelly writes a more excited insta post about this vs Tori's graduation? 

Also, very QF language. "“We’re having a baby! We are thrilled that God has blessed us with this amazing privilege, and we cannot wait to meet our precious little gift from Him,” the reality TV star exclusively tells Us Weekly. “We’re on the edge of our seats to see whether it’s a boy or a girl!”"

So was Michael not godly enough to be gifted or???? (obviously total sarcasm from me. Idk how they can still talk about being blessed by God when their sister is hurting)

[Bugaboo]

Yawn. NOBODY saw that one coming...

[JermajestyDuggar]

OMG a couple in their early 20s who think birth control is the devil are now pregnant!!!! What!?!?! I’m so shocked!!!!!

[candygirl200413]

She held her diploma just so in the photos so it made all the sense!

[haroldtheyrefundies]

I'm guessing the baby is going to be born in September based if they got pregnant right away after the wedding. Kinda wished they waited a little longer, but what could you expect from fundies?  

[VBOY9977]

6 minutes ago, haroldtheyrefundies said:

I'm guessing the baby is going to be born in September based if they got pregnant right away after the wedding. Kinda wished they waited a little longer, but what could you expect from fundies?  

They just posted on Instagram that she’s due November 

[JermajestyDuggar]

So Whit is most likely the next to announce. I’m guessing she won’t be far behind Tori.

[OyToTheVey]

I knew it. She looked pregnant during the sit down interviews. Just gave off a vibe when she was sitting next to Erin. 

[TatiFish9]

The bowling pic gave it away for me. She looked so much like Kelly in that photo. I knew something had changed. Then someone pointed out the maternity shirt. Dead giveaway.

One day this family really is going to surprise us news (hopefully good news). Until then, it's courting, getting married and baby making as usual. The grad photos were a breath of fresh air.

[JermajestyDuggar]

Now that those three have graduated, is Katie the only Bates attending Crown? And she might be the only one for the next couple of years.

[VBOY9977]

1 minute ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

Now that those three have graduated, is Katie the only Bates attending Crown? And she might be the only one for the next couple of years.

Carlin’s still there, not for long though

[JermajestyDuggar]

6 minutes ago, VBOY9977 said:

Carlin’s still there, not for long though

Plus Katie is only doing that one year bible course. She wants to be a nurse. Hopefully she will go to another college after she completes that one year degree. And carlin will probably graduate by then. The three boys in a row may have little interest in a year long bible course that Gil and Kelly seem to push.

[haroldtheyrefundies]

1 hour ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

Plus Katie is only doing that one year bible course. She wants to be a nurse. Hopefully she will go to another college after she completes that one year degree. And carlin will probably graduate by then. The three boys in a row may have little interest in a year long bible course that Gil and Kelly seem to push.

In a Facebook live Katie said that this is her last semester of taking Crown courses and that next semester she's going to be studying Nursing. 

[Oh_Dear!]

So we had a Bates daughter announce a pregnancy on Mother’s Day.

 I’m wondering if they’ll announce some Carlin/Evan and/or Josie/Kelton engagements during the wedding special or a Bates son courtship (Nathan or Trace) or pregnancy (Zach/Whitney) on Father’s Day. 

Not a bad marketing scheme if you ask me.. 

[Eternalbluepearl]

Sometimes I feel jealous of the Bates. Their family dynamic is always so happy, light and fun. While we love each other, my family is so different. My dad doesn't get misty-eyed giving praises on birthdays. The Bates really show a good fantasy (at least to me.) Is it real? Just good actors? What does FJ think? When I think about how there isn't much reality in reality tv I start to wonder if the Bates are different off camera. 

[BeccaGrim]

@Eternalbluepearl I think you are being misled by their television show. They are not at all light weight with each other. In fact, they are anything but. I can't imagine the hard-hard life they have with each other. Children encouraged to report on each other, to 'watch' each other. The blanket training. The poverty they had when they were younger before the show.  (Remember the Duggars had to fix their house for them). Fire and brimstone coming out of Dad's mouth if you dared to disagree...

[JermajestyDuggar]

I imagine things were really difficult and quite horrible when they had only 8 or 9 young kids.  I think Alyssa probably couldn’t stand being crammed into a tiny house with a ton of loud children with no where to escape (like public school). 

[HereticHick]

Before we know it, social life in the Bates and Duggar universe will consist solely of baby showers, wedding showers, weddings and jinder reveal parties.

[melon]

1 hour ago, BeccaGrim said:

@Eternalbluepearl I think you are being misled by their television show. They are not at all light weight with each other. In fact, they are anything but. I can't imagine the hard-hard life they have with each other. Children encouraged to report on each other, to 'watch' each other. The blanket training. The poverty they had when they were younger before the show.  (Remember the Duggars had to fix their house for them). Fire and brimstone coming out of Dad's mouth if you dared to disagree...

Yes,I think Kelly said 8 or 9 children in a 800 square feet house????Our previous home was 900 square feet..with first 1,then 2, then 3...and it was too small for the 5 of us!

[singsingsing]

Even the happy polished image the Bateses (try to) project to the public is incredibly off-putting to me. I find them totally obnoxious, and for me, being around them would be exhausting and migraine-inducing. I've never watched their show, so when I do see videos and such of them it's even more glaring. There's just something... off about them. I can't even explain it. Like that video of Tori and Bobby announcing their pregnancy - I kept thinking, "What's up with them? Something's really weird about these people."

They all seem like... fake people? Like robots pretending to be humans. Or Stepford Wives. Actually, no, I've got it - does anyone remember that politician Ben Wyatt was working for in Parks & Rec? Congressman Murray?

Like a combination of that guy and teen stars from the Disney Channel or something. Marjorie Jackson definitely should've courted a Bates and not a Duggar, she would've fit right in.

[OyToTheVey]

Honestly, I kinda understand why someone would feel like the family dynamic of the Bates is attractive. I'm an only child and don't talk to any of my first or second cousins(all but one live in other countries). It gets lonely sometimes. I mean it's obvious that not all the siblings get along but it would be nice to have someone there all the time even if it's forced from an early age. Going places alone is kinda isolating. Even if that person has to be there at least you're not eating alone, going to the movies alone, taking a trip alone. It sounds nice. 

[formergothardite]

2 hours ago, Eternalbluepearl said:

Is it real?

No. It can't be. We aren't seeing what is even close to reality. Their old blog was closer to reality than the current one, but even that was just showing the happy side. Gil and Kelly mounted cameras all over their house so they can constantly monitor their children. That is not a sign of a happy, carefree family. Let's not forget that before they became media savvy Kelly admitted she struggled to list her children's names*.  This wasn't done as a joke, it was in an interview where the journalist asked Kelly to name all the kids and she said she couldn't, but Gil could. 

They are selling the fantasy of a quiverfull family. The reality is that children were forced to raise children. On their old blog it discussed how young some of the  girls were when they were handed a sibling to raise. They were just children, yet being forced to parent. It showed how young Alyssa had to spend huge parts of her day cooking for her entire family. 

Their social appearances are nothing but smoke and mirrors what a true fundamental, quiverfull family is like. 

*I think she knows her kids names, but I do think she is distant enough from some of the children that she knows she might forget a kid or two when put on the spot to name them. 

[Palimpsest]

2 hours ago, Eternalbluepearl said:

Is it real? Just good actors? What does FJ think? When I think about how there isn't much reality in reality tv I start to wonder if the Bates are different off camera. 

There's some insight into the Bateses in the wild on the IBLP conference thread.    Starting around here:  

As an introvert and one of only two children of undemonstrative parents, who had very little to do with her cousins, the Bates family would drive me nuts.  Way too much noise, drama, activity and forced togetherness.  Especially when forced to be your siblings' "best friends."

And their family is far from the squeaky clean, happy happy family depicted on the show.  Kelly has taken down the worst of the child training and obviously neglectful parenting stuff on her blog too. 

 

[Nikedagain?]

2 hours ago, Eternalbluepearl said:

Sometimes I feel jealous of the Bates. Their family dynamic is always so happy, light and fun. While we love each other, my family is so different. My dad doesn't get misty-eyed giving praises on birthdays. The Bates really show a good fantasy (at least to me.) Is it real? Just good actors? What does FJ think? When I think about how there isn't much reality in reality tv I start to wonder if the Bates are different off camera. 

On the few occasions that I have been slightly sucked in by the Bateseses' charm (ugh), I remind myself that they are homophobic assholes that glorify the KKK and vote for Trump. Then I'm good.

[NachosFlandersStyle]

1 hour ago, melon said:

Yes,I think Kelly said 8 or 9 children in a 800 square feet house????Our previous home was 900 square feet..with first 1,then 2, then 3...and it was too small for the 5 of us!

Ok, this is the first I've heard of that, and... how??? My 800 SF apartment is 1br and our dining area is just big enough to have 4 people around the table, but it's tight. I can imagine it being 2br if we had a smaller bedroom/ living room but I still don't understand where you would put, like, 9 beds, even if they were bunk beds. Or where everyone would have space to sit, when they weren't in bed.