Zach & Whitney 8: #ad, #sponsored & Whit Finds the Time!

[eljayem]

Endless possibilities of how cash could get distributed with this family - probably also unfairly and unevenly too. How wealthy are Gil and Jo? Is it possible that they "invested" into BSB which then was then funneled out to Whitney/Carlin?

Edited June 5, 2023 by eljayem

[Smoochie]

This beach hotel they're going to this week averages $400+ nightly for one room. I don't know what they've reserved, but it appears two queens is the largest room, so unless they're cramming everyone in one room, they have 2.

They may have renovated their house slowly, but, NOTHING, is entry or 'regular' level. Everything is top of the line from their sectional (I didn't look it up, but, I believe someone said $10K) to their oven ($6k I looked up the model at Lowes in Knoxville at the time), etc.

Their new SUV is also the highest end Denali Ultimate. The pricing for that specific edition is approx. $101K based on just the upgrades I can see, there may be more, but, going by the visuals. They bought the car in KY, so there's 6% tax applicable and the car seat covers from Carhartt are $1,200+ tax.

People talk about Carlin & Evan spending like drunken sailors, but, these two far outdo them and not by just a little. I don't think a TN police officer picking up shifts here and there makes that kind of coin!

Edited June 5, 2023 by Smoochie

[marmalade]

Maybe Whitney was the beneficiary of a life Insurance policy from her father? Not "set for life" money, but maybe $100k or so. I could see them blowing through that. 

[Melissa1977]

1 hour ago, Smoochie said:

I don't think a TN police officer picking up shifts here and there makes that kind of coin!

He left the police department. Now he cuts trees and works in the boutique. 

I get that youtube and the boutique may be very succesful business. But don't understand how they sell that many dresses... must be thousands, because it's two families living he rich life, plus they have employees. Maybe their money comes from youtube, but they are so dull that it's shocking...

[just_ordinary]

I wouldn’t be surprised the car might have come for free or have been cheaper in exchange for presenting it on Insta. Like an undisclosed ad. The way they showed it was basically a mini commercial. 
 

I don’t know how the rules are in the USA? Are you required to disclose ads/pr gifts/sponsorships/partnerships? The rules can vary quite a lot. In some countries you even have to disclose previous connections even if the pieces in question are bought with your own money this time. 

Edited June 5, 2023 by just_ordinary

[JermajestyDuggar]

I pointed out how insanely expensive their giant lovsac couch was when they bought it last year. I’m pretty sure she said they didn’t get the couch for free. 
 

They didn’t get that car for free. But they could have gotten a discount.

[CanadianMamam]

6 hours ago, just_ordinary said:

I wouldn’t be surprised the car might have come for free or have been cheaper in exchange for presenting it on Insta. Like an undisclosed ad. The way they showed it was basically a mini commercial. 
 

I don’t know how the rules are in the USA? Are you required to disclose ads/pr gifts/sponsorships/partnerships? The rules can vary quite a lot. In some countries you even have to disclose previous connections even if the pieces in question are bought with your own money this time. 

Instagram requires it yet. The Bates and Duggars are bad about it though. There was the speculation that was the real reason Alyssa went dark on Instagram for a while, that she got in trouble for undisclosed ads..

[0 kids n not countin]

10 hours ago, Smoochie said:

This beach hotel they're going to this week averages $400+ nightly for one room. I don't know what they've reserved, but it appears two queens is the largest room, so unless they're cramming everyone in one room, they have 2.

They may have renovated their house slowly, but, NOTHING, is entry or 'regular' level. Everything is top of the line from their sectional (I didn't look it up, but, I believe someone said $10K) to their oven ($6k I looked up the model at Lowes in Knoxville at the time), etc.

Their new SUV is also the highest end Denali Ultimate. The pricing for that specific edition is approx. $101K based on just the upgrades I can see, there may be more, but, going by the visuals. They bought the car in KY, so there's 6% tax applicable and the car seat covers from Carhartt are $1,200+ tax.

People talk about Carlin & Evan spending like drunken sailors, but, these two far outdo them and not by just a little. I don't think a TN police officer picking up shifts here and there makes that kind of coin!

Thank you, I was wondering about the cost of their beach vacation, when my spouse and I (who don't have kids) take beach or other vacations they're not exactly cheap, even when we look for deals, go off season etc.  That and eating out everyday for 6 people, surely it all adds up!!  I guess it helps if you're not worried about saving for your blessings to go to college. Whitney said she'll be 30 this year, where will she/they be 5 or 10 years from now when she's no longer a hip, young fundie mom with babies and cute, young kids? Will Christian mommies in her age group still be following her,  will they still be interested in the content she posts, will BSB still exist?  I suppose she could morph into another Braggie Abbie....🤔🤷🏽‍♀️

[lumpentheologie]

The new IBLP documentary wondered who’s sitting on the $90m that organization had. We know Gil is on the board, and Whit is essentially still working as a brand ambassador for the cult on her socials. A lot of the Bates have very very nice things nowadays. Just sayin. 

[CanadianMamam]

28 minutes ago, lumpentheologie said:

The new IBLP documentary wondered who’s sitting on the $90m that organization had. We know Gil is on the board, and Whit is essentially still working as a brand ambassador for the cult on her socials. A lot of the Bates have very very nice things nowadays. Just sayin. 

I have been thinking about this a lot. The documentary also commented that Gothard cultivated an outward appearance of modest living and his family was living Large on ILBP's dime and I definitely thought about Zach and Whitney's expensive car and kitchen Reno and all the vacations the Bates children take.

Zach and Whitney are the ones who go to Gil's church (along with Tori and Bobby), so it is very possible they are getting the make benefit from his access to IBLP cash. 

[HereticHick]

21 hours ago, JDuggs said:

Wow the Denali Ultimate SUV starts at $96,000. Whit said that this is the first  new vehicle that they’ve bought (she said bought, not leased). 

But why do we think that they bought it outright? They could be making payments for years. Lots of folks drive cars they ultimately can't afford.  Did they sell their old house, or are they possibly renting it out?

Am also wondering if the Bates bought time shares in Destin...

[JermajestyDuggar]

I do think the adult children were probably paid for doing the show. Unlike the Duggars. 

[rebeccawriter01]

44 minutes ago, HereticHick said:

But why do we think that they bought it outright? They could be making payments for years. Lots of folks drive cars they ultimately can't afford.  Did they sell their old house, or are they possibly renting it out?

Am also wondering if the Bates bought time shares in Destin...

They said they sold the previous house at one point, as they had to move out and into the Big Bates House with Kelly Jo and Gil for weeks/a month or two because the new house renovations weren't ready yet. I remember on Reddit and a few places that people thought it was bad that they didn't sell their house to Erin and Chad who weren't talking publicly about Florida and were crammed in that 900ish square foot two bedroom. 

[CanadianMamam]

1 hour ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I do think the adult children were probably paid for doing the show. Unlike the Duggars. 

Alyssa has said that they were. She, John and the kids all got paid. 

1 hour ago, HereticHick said:

 

Am also wondering if the Bates bought time shares in Destin...

Zach and Whitney are in Charleston this time. 

[JDuggs]

1 hour ago, HereticHick said:

But why do we think that they bought it outright? They could be making payments for years. Lots of folks drive cars they ultimately can't afford. 

I don’t think I indicated that they bought it outright. For a purchase that large, I would guess that they’re financing it.  It’s just a very expensive vehicle.

[Smoochie]

10 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I pointed out how insanely expensive their giant lovsac couch was when they bought it last year. I’m pretty sure she said they didn’t get the couch for free. 
 

They didn’t get that car for free. But they could have gotten a discount.

No mention of the dealer, plus she didn't post the video when Zack first took it, which would have been job #1 to get a discount, so I'm going to guess they didn't get one.

Even payments over 7-8 years are still going to be very costly, plus, the insurance for that vehicle. You can get houses in their town for not much more than that!

[Melissa1977]

9 hours ago, rebeccawriter01 said:

I remember on Reddit and a few places that people thought it was bad that they didn't sell their house to Erin and Chad

The house was urban and ordinary. Erin wanted a country cute house with enough room for the animals. She said she could buy a house, but no the kind of house she was looking for.

[formergothardite]

On 6/5/2023 at 11:39 AM, lumpentheologie said:

The new IBLP documentary wondered who’s sitting on the $90m that organization had. We know Gil is on the board, and Whit is essentially still working as a brand ambassador for the cult on her socials. A lot of the Bates have very very nice things nowadays. Just sayin. 

That was my first thought when they mentioned all the money IBLP has. Forget Jim Bob, Gil is the master manipulator and knows how to get exactly what he wants all while maintaining that “aw, shucks. I’m just a country boy.” image. And he and Kelly have trained their children well in how to behave the same way. 

[Dandruff]

52 minutes ago, formergothardite said:

That was my first thought when they mentioned all the money IBLP has. Forget Jim Bob, Gil is the master manipulator and knows how to get exactly what he wants all while maintaining that “aw, shucks. I’m just a country boy.” image. And he and Kelly have trained their children well in how to behave the same way. 

In a recent Trace & Lydia video they go down to Grandma Jane's to help with the hayin', and Gil and Warden are already there looking like they've been hard at work.

[Shannonsnarks]

59 minutes ago, formergothardite said:

That was my first thought when they mentioned all the money IBLP has. Forget Jim Bob, Gil is the master manipulator and knows how to get exactly what he wants all while maintaining that “aw, shucks. I’m just a country boy.” image. And he and Kelly have trained their children well in how to behave the same way. 

I really hope there’s a season 2 of SHP and it exposes the Bates

i think there’s a lot there 

[LillyP]

There's no doubt in my mind that BSB is making substantial money. They have a HUGE following and on multiple occasions I've looked at the site to see a lot of stuff out of stock - which means someone is buying it. Also, there's a whole generation of younger girls who probably don't remember any of the BUB era on TV and just see them as these trendy Christian girls with a boutique. 

With that being said, I think Zach and Whitney are just out here living the life they envisioned....and are finally financially in a place to do so. It's a far cry from how they grew up and also those early days of marriage. I'm sure they're doing well financially. Could they be in debt? Sure. But who knows what the rest of their bills look like? But you'd be surprised how well those kinds of businesses do when you have even the smallest a social media following. I have a friend who opened a children's pajama company (fully online) that markets to a very niche design/pattern. Basically 2 year in she tripled her teaching salary and quit her teaching job. She had a minimal following and it's taken off. Now she sells out of new drops and has them in a few boutiques as well. 

I'm the kind of person who buys a car brand new, drives it for 10 years, then trades it in for another brand new car. I'm not really a car person, but I currently drive a new Yukon Denali Diesel as well....picked out by my husband...haha. I care so little about the car I drive I didn't even know what color it was until he brought it home!  I'm sure based on outer appearances between the home/neighborhood we live in and the car I drive people are probably like "how the heck to they afford that". I know there's an assumption in our small town that we're just another young-ish couple living above our means. In reality we do very  well but people don't have any clue about our finances because we don't flash every major purchase or career victory on our social media. I might be carrying a designer bag but I have turned into finding clothes at Walmart into an olympic sport.  

[llucie]

On 6/15/2023 at 7:05 PM, Shannonsnarks said:

I really hope there’s a season 2 of SHP and it exposes the Bates

i think there’s a lot there 

I think so too. Maybe it is just a coincidence but Zach an Whitney and their kids are one of the few married couples who still attend Gil church every week. The kids are in the choir so you can clearly see them every week there. And the basketball camp Bradley recently attended and Whitney was talking about on her instagram stories is the one Gils church organizes, where he said it was a requirement to bring a bible because they would be reading from it all the time. Yay for child indoctrination.

People have this image that Zach and Whitney are super progresive because they seem like such normal couple, but that doesnt add up with them being so involved.

Tori and Bobby and their kids also seem to attend mostly Gils church, but nobody doubts that Tori is still very fundie.

[GuineaPigCourtship]

They're definitely promoting the fundy in better packaging that so many of the Bateses are good at.  I'm imagining the kids at camp praying about making baskets and rolling my eyes.

[HereticHick]

How many bedrooms does Zach & Whit's renovated farmhouse have? Why are the 3 girls going to share a room?  Are there only 4 bedrooms (mom & dad; 3 girls; boy; nursery) 

Did they not realize they would be having more kids?

 

[FiveAcres]

The girls are excited by what is apparently a beige-ish macrame garland. Rolling my eyes here.