cereality

He did. Apparently cheated on his ex wife - that's what the ex wife has said. IDK if that means he moved back in but given how these people are - i.e. Evan's unmarried sisters live at home - maybe he did in fact move home. Or maybe Carlin is keen on HER man NOT being around such an influence who'd cheat on his wife. But in her heart of hearts you know Carlin is relieved. This validates her decision to boo hoo for 4 yrs until her man gave up being an electrician + show him the art of the grift/social media so that he'd never want to go to a job ever again and BAM she watches over her man 24-7 so ain't no time for him to ever chat with another woman.

K&T don't even realize how lame and out of step they are with people their own age. I mean most 21-22 year olds associate apartment living to living with their college buddies with more college friends next door, maybe studying/working hard but partying and having fun. Meanwhile cue K&T - OMG those people don't know the meaning of life we are MARRIED and PARENTS - and we've done entire YT videos on going to Home Depot to find the exact right fertilizer to revive our lawn or the exact right Christmas lights . . . . They live like they're 45 years old. I'm sure the indignity of apartment living is beneath Trav. I mean he's a rich kid - grew up with his own bedroom/bathroom in mom and dad's McMansion. Then moved out to get married into his own home paid for in cash by mom and dad, which he gut renovated with the highest end fixtures. Now he has to live someplace with no yard for his kid or dog, where people dare walk by their apartment to get to their own apartments and he hears footsteps or talking!? I'm sure they'd never say the quiet part out loud but I wonder if they are a little bit shocked by seeing others in the apartment complex. Even in a very white area like Rocky Top, apartment complexes are more "diverse." You're going to have single moms, single dads, gasp black or Hispanic people, immigrants who are working and saving up to buy their own house years down the road. I imagine Katie is going to start pressing for a house SOON to make this move permanent. She'll boo-hoo like Carlin did about how they'll never get a house, it's soooo hard to live in an apartment with a baby and dog blah blah. I imagine Trav was probably interested in getting a house upon the move - not to make the move permanent but to spare himself the indignity of apartment life - but let's be real HE isn't rich, his parents are. I imagine his parents did not and will not pony up the money for him to be able to buy a house free and clear in Knoxville. I can't imagine they're super thrilled about their son and DIL - children that they are - moving away from family support that the Clarks know they need. Which is fine Trav can use the monthly checks from his parents' school/rental income from NJ to save up a down payment take a mortgage like the rest of us . . . . I mean Evan managed to do it. But I think Carlin/Evan do have money stress - as in what if we don't make enough via YT this month etc. That's something Trav has never experienced. Trav would have to double down on YT + his wife's shilling + making some $ from music + making sure the rental home is always occupied so rent is flowing in.

It's interesting that they are 26 and 29 years old with a home and family of their own and they are still SO caught up in their own selves, that they can't read the room. Evan stood there bragging about free weeks at his parents - literally - hahah I don't have to pay for food, nor lodging, nor anything else and I even line up behind my sisters when we go to Sbux so they'll buy for me. Uh hello if you're NOT paying, someone else is?! And your parents are retired?! IDK Stewart family dynamics and not all parents would feel ok with a grown kid saying ok we're visiting this week so here's $200 to cover the added food, water bill from our showers etc. BUT when you're a grown up who pays your own bills, you realize this stuff costs money so you cover it quietly. If you're staying for a week+ - you grab takeout for everyone a few times that YOU pay for, to save MIL the cooking and to cover the cost for a few meals; you run to the grocery store and pick up some essentials when running low without seeking reimbursement; perish the thought you even put a meal or two together yourself for everyone. You could even throw your sheets/towels in the laundry. Instead they act like college freshman who are home on vacation, not a care in the world. And they continue to act like that until they are called out about it, and then they get offended and go running home and relations chill. It's no different than last Nov/Dec, when they showed up at K&T's house in NJ during/after her kidney stone issues ready to party. Evan literally filmed outside their house on a Thursday being like yeah we'll be here through at least next weekend, expecting 10+ days of party party. Then Trav comes out and says 'uh yeah last time you were here was insane running to NYC with Katie about to deliver, we won't be doing that, we'll be sticking close to home this time" and legit takes Evan out to the gym once on Friday and church on the weekend and that's it. So when C&E realize that K&T and Trav's wallet won't be "partying," this trip - they legit hit the road by Tuesday and never went back to NJ again. Even now K&T have been living in Knox for a few weeks and we've seen NO meetups besides church for Easter + C&E showing up the day they arrived. Not suggesting that K&T hate them bc I really do think Trav likes the "excitement" that Evan brings - compared to his own more quiet family - BUT I think he likes it in limited doses and prioritizes HIS wife/kid first. So they're likely making efforts to NOT make themselves available to C&E 24-7 now that they've moved bc they know then it'll be the expectations of staying at each others' homes until midnight or running out for ice cream at midnight, kids sleeping on the floor - and K&T seem to NOT be cool with raising H like that.

How long have K&T lived in Knoxville now? Few weeks? What exactly are they doing? They moved because Trav had some big upcoming music career yet all we seem to see is him putting things in their storage unit + going down the apartment playground slide with Hailey mid day. I get if they won't show actual meetings in Nashville etc., but shouldn't he be NOT at home so much if he needed to be in Nashville to make his music career work? No real hanging out with C&E yet either. They saw each other at church for Easter + C&E showed up the day they moved in, but outside of that we haven't seen any party party hang outs. I wonder if K&T are taking that slow bc they know as soon as they agree to spend an entire day with C&E, it'll forever be expected that they be up for midnight ice cream runs etc. -- and K&T have shown they live according to Hailey's schedule.

So are C&E on the outs with the Stewarts? They were home from Christmas by Dec 26-27. Didn’t go to Nashville for either kid’s birthday - not even before or after for a family party as they always have done. And now Easter seemed like just the 4 of them at church + photo shoot number 8000 + tiny little backyard egg hunt. What on earth happened?? These people use to take long weekends at the in-laws that were routinely 6-8 days long. Did MIL/FIL lay down some rules like you must contribute while you’re here say by cooking or cleaning up the kitchen a few times? Did MIL/FIL say absolutely no filming in our house so now C&E can’t go there much since they are always “working” — ie they need to film daily to catch something in their boring lives to make a 20-30 min weekly YT. Or is Carlin keeping Evan away after he started saying he misses his family and would love to think about living in Nashville?

So Alyssa continues to be a douchebag - or whatever the female equivalent is. Posted an IG with Rhett walking around under the dining table w a can of Hormel chili in hand. Apparently he went into the pantry, grabbed a can, is walking all over with it and won’t let anyone touch it. Cue Alyssa - omg BOYS are sooooo funny. Uh 1 yr olds grab things and get possessive about them - it isn’t a boy thing. If your girls didn’t do it, well maybe you blanket trained the life out of them so they dared not grab anything from the pantry or walk anyplace in the house except where you told them to stay?!

I agree. I wasn't suggesting the baseball cake was a bakery special order, it was just a grocery store cake. It's just that 1 kid got a nice looking cake that went with the theme of his party. The other 4 it was like - eh just give me the smallest 4 cakes you have, in 4 different colors so we can say it's special for each kid but it really is the same cake just one pink, blue, purple, or yellow ring at the bottom.

My guess is that the pettiness runs in both directions. As an older daughter/holier than though, Erin ALWAYS expected to have the best of everything. The first one to marry, traditionally good looking husband, spitting out babies as the Lord wants, I legit think she expected her life to be better than her sisters. Now she's beyond annoyed that annoying middle sister Carlin ended up with "more" - a better wedding; a middle class life; owning a home while Erin/Chad continue to rent and stack kids like firewood; a business that ended up successful even though Erin had to leave it - likely bc Chad wanted her to; a husband who is modern - i.e. will take a mortgage, allows his wife to do whatever she wants whether girls trips or wearing tight pants, allows kids in activities, takes vacations bc he's found ways to make $ even if it is by exploiting kids. Meanwhile I don't think we've seen Chad/Erin take a vacation in years though I guess they used to drive to Fla. occasionally before moving; but when Erin went to her bro's wedding in Cali - she couldn't even bring her whole family. But it's not like Carlin isn't a petty bitch. At the I Love You Day party, at one point Carlin/Evan and family are approaching, so Carson holds the door open for them. They legit did NOT acknowledge Carson - didn't look at him; didn't say hi; didn't say "Layla do you remember cousin Carson, say hi"; didn't even say thank you!? It was ridiculous to see a 26 and 29 yr old snub a 9 yr old like that who was just trying to be polite. We've seen the same before too. While Carlin/Josie relations thawed - it seems after their uncle in South Carolina died and Layla now goes on about Willow being her best friend - the Christmas prior to that we saw Carlin/Evan acting the exact same way with Willow. At some point in the Bates Christmas party, they were outside, their kids on the swings. Willow wanders out - neither Carlin/Evan acknowledges her or says hi or tries to make some conversation between Willow and Layla akin to "say hi to cousin Willow" or "isn't cousin's Christmas dress so pretty?" I think all these kids grew up in a hyper competitive - who is my bestie vs. who do I hate; who am I jealous of - environment, that they take adult pettiness to the next level. I imagine it's also because they have zero real world exposure. When your whole world = family, you can act like this bc what is a sister going to do? And frankly if something big happens that shows you the meaning of life and you want relations to thaw (like Josie and Carlin), most siblings will allow that - at least to some level. Had they spent ANY time in the real world, they would realize that even if you are at odds with people, you can't freeze them out and act like a bitch and expect reconciliation when/if you want it. I mean who among us didn't have a college roommate or classmate we didn't like, but we had to make it work for that year/semester? Who among us didn't have a coworker or boss we hated but again you made it work bc you knew you were going to have to deal with them until/unless one of you switched jobs. These are the day to day life things the Bates kids and their spouses who also sit home attached to their wives' hips - missed.

What a cheap ass party. I assume A&J didn't feel like they had to do/spend much bc . . . girls PLUS they're lucky they're getting a party outside the home, what else do they need?? I mean it's hard enough to throw a combined party for 4 kids when the ages range from 3-9. Even harder in a church hall. The only way to pull off a fun party with such wide age ranges is at some kind of play place bc they'll have activities/games for toddlers and for older kids. But seriously A&J couldn't spring for better food other than piles of goldfish, packaged muffins, and packaged rice krispy treats? I realize there was pizza and small veggie and fruit trays but come on?? Couldn't have a few trays of chicken nuggets or cater in a few BBQ chicken trays or something like that for a 6-8 pm party? Couldn't have some activities beyond every child getting 1 polaroid + 1 balloon?? IDK what activities could be held in a church conference room appealing to ages 3 and 9. In normal world, the 9 yr old and her friends would be turning on Taylor Swift music and singing and dancing and the 3 yr old crowd would try to keep up. But lol in a fundie church - def not. While Alyssa is saying the girls wanted to invite soooo many people, but the looks of the sad cake/cupcake table, it doesn't look like they got to invite sooo many people. There were 4 tiny little cakes for each girl + cupcakes for the crowd, and it didn't appear like there were THAT many cupcakes. When you count Erin's brood of 7 + Carlin's family of 4 + Jackson/Emerson - that accounts for a dozen cupcakes right there; add in John's siblings and their families as I'm sure most attended bc they're local - uh yeah I think that was pretty much the attendance. Maybe each girl got to invite 1 church/coop friend or something but I wouldn't even count on that. And IDK why the cakes annoy me so much but they do. The day before this sad party, Rhett gets a great looking baseball cake - that he likely made a mess of. These 4 girls get the smallest cakes the grocery store had and the only thing that made it "theirs" was each was a different color. You can't tell me that 4 kids all like the same type of cake best. In any group - you have some kids that like chocolate cake vs. vanilla; someone wants a cake with fruit on it while others don't; someone is eh on traditional cake but love cookie cake. But then that would involve A&J knowing each girl and giving a damn what she lives AND spending money on said thing. Wonder if Rhett gave each of his sisters a gift, like they "got to" give him a gift the day before. Lol doubt A&J would spring for that. Or if there was a gift from Rhett, watch it was one thing to be shared by all the girls - like a tea set that'll appeal to younger kids that Ally will shrug at. It's interesting how certain Bates kids hate how their parents raised them and are adamant to do it differently/better [Jackson; Zach - doesn't say it but he's def raising the kids as individuals]. Meanwhile Alyssa claims to hate her upbringing but is just perpetuating it. But hey in 10-12 more years, the site of Friday's bday party will be the site of Ally's wedding to whatever boy looks at her first as she runs away from her parents and from being a sister mom.

They've said it before on their various Q&As. Alyssa directly said that he made so little money when they were married and had the first couple kids that thank goodness she knew how to stretch a dollar. John looked totally emasculated that she said it so directly. They've also said that it's better/more money now but they still have to watch their budget. John has said before that while yeah they have their own business HVAC is a very competitive business in Fla and if a potential customer calls you and you aren't there to answer the phone and send out a crew ASAP, they are moving to the next company and not calling you back. They'll also said before that they are bad with budgeting. So I guess the money that does come in maybe isn't spent wisely and/or husband/wife are at odds on how to spend. For example clearly John does not see spending money on the girls beyond basic food and shelter as worthwhile . . . .Cue a princess party for FOUR daughters of varying ages. And by the looks of it, the party is fairly cheap. Carlin is posting pics of the party set up. Sure they rented a room but I question whether it's just a room at a church hall that they booked for free/nominal fee. Beyond that it's piles and piles of packaged snacks, which they prob got in bulk at Costco. Zade is sitting in Jackson's lap eating and his plate = packaged rice krispy treats + packaged mini muffins + goldfish. Good eatin' as far as Carlin's kids are concerned but IDK seems kind of chinzy even for a kid party. Now to give them the benefit of the doubt, this party goes from 6-8 pm. For whatever reason the family has been there since 1 pm - prob bc Alyssa needs everyone out of the house and was like "ok let's go set up . . . all day." In the background you can see some fruit skewers and a vegetable tray so it's possible that Alyssa is allowing people to bust into the piles of packaged snacks all day but limited fruit/vegetables + probably ordered in pizza will be for dinner. And you can see the cake table - they sprang for the tinest cake for each girl + cupcakes for every guest. So yeah I mean this either is a couple that isn't rolling in it or is a couple that doesn't want to waste it on their girls, or both. I mean the 1 yr old boy who won't remember a thing got a better looking cake than his 4 sisters. His was actually a decorated baseball cake while theirs just looks like Alyssa went up to the bakery counter at Walmart and asked for the 4 smallest cakes in different colors so she could say ok the pink one is Zoey and the purple one is Ally or whatever. Like zero thought went into it.

And #2 is on its way - due Fall 2024.

Country clubs in the south tend to be old money - along the lines of my father was Wallace Edwards IV and he owned much of what has now become southern Knoxville or we're a 4th generation family with a kid going to Vanderbilt to be a surgeon or Knoxville's biggest law firm is named after our family. No one is letting in boorish uneducated content creators with feral children. They would NEVER join any kind of public pool bc let's be real Carlin (and Katie; Tori; Erin; etc.) are all terrified of their men being around any other women. And at a pool you get scantily clad women. What if Evan gets a hard on? I'm convinced all of Carlin's getting up at 6 am and crying bc Evan had to leave the house to go to school/apprenticeship for 4 yrs was the ingrained fear of OMG what if there's a woman in his class? What if there are women at whatever hospital building his apprenticeship is at? What if he speaks to another woman? All these hussies are out their in the world trying to steal MY MAN. I mean she had all this in her head having gotten married like 2 mos after Bobby and Tori came running back to Knox because Bobby did whatever he did in Nashville when he was let out of Tori's sight. So pretty sure Carlin made it her mission to make sure that HER man wouldn't spend ANY time away from her, let alone 40 hrs/wk. I mean this is the family where if the McDonalds drive thru female employee dares smiles at Trav and says "nice weather today" - Katie goes into bitch mode and holds up her ring to make sure they know it's HER MAN. So yeah . . . pretty sure these chicks would never let their husbands near any kind of public pool. Sure they'd go to the pool together but when you spend the day at the pool, at some point he's going to go to the snack bar while you watch the kids at the pool, she's going to go to the restroom - what if some hussy gets hot for his dad bod??? And the pragmatic reality given that their income = content - while they don't care and will put bikini pics of Layla on YT starting this summer, many/most other people DO care and would have huge objections at having their swim suit clad kids on someone's YT videos; so yeah they'd be blurring a ton of people out/getting releases etc. What's the point of a pool day if you can't get a Saturday video out of it - which is what they're going to do for months once the pool is in.

They didn't say sports pool but let's be real, Carlin was like "is he called a pool guy or does he have a professional name" and Evan responds "the company probably has a name but IDK it." So yeah these aren't people who are great on the details. All they specified was that the pool will have a tanning ledge that's about a ft of water for Carlin to lay in or the kids to play in + a kid friendly pool, not a teenagers' pool for people to dive in + very much a pool for the ages they are at/fun for them NOW + Evan goes "it'll be about 4 ft deep if you want to hit a little volleyball." I really don't get this particular investment esp for a house they say isn't their forever home. Who on earth is looking to buy a home with a small non standard pool that's good for little kids. And why are they not considering that little kids grow into preteens/teens pretty quick!? Like who cares if the pool is fun for them NOW - are they just gonna out there by themselves NOW to enjoy it?

IDK why it made me sad to see that Christine posted that she made Garrison's favorite breakfast today - mock tapioca pudding - tinted green for St. Patricks. Seems like it's a cream of wheat based dessert, but I definitely remember it from the show as being the older kids' favorite that Christine used to make for them - teenage Logan going on about how Christine would make a stock pot full and the kids just loved it. Her post mentions that they're working on grieving while still trying to embrace daily life and holidays - this will probably be the balance for them for the rest of their lives, esp. for Janelle and Christine. It's just sad.

So the pool is going to be a "little kid pool" not one teenagers would use - only 4ft or so deep. Uh bc little kids don't grow up to be teenagers in a hot second? But Mr. and Mrs. Moneybags with ALL their investments can't think beyond TODAY and in their minds, they're gonna be out of this house in under a decade and prob more like in 5 years anyway so whatever. And because they can't plan their way out of a paper bag, I guess they aren't thinking property value. Pools are one of things that buyers either really want or they absolutely do not - as in they won't even go tour a house with a pool. Only thing that makes this worse is having a non standard sized pool - bc some buyers may be like we'd go for a house with a pool but not an odd little, shallow pool - that someone can hurt themselves trying to dive into. I mean perish the thought the buyers could have teens OR could be thinking - our little kids will be teens in 5 yrs, then what? They say the in ground pool will be done in 3 weeks once they start - so party party at Carlin and Evan's house all summer. Funny that she explicitly mentioned Josie more than once in this YT - how Josie/Katie/Carlin will all be 5-10 min away and can hang here all summer + Layla prays for best friends Willow and Khole. Me thinks grifters Carlin and Evan are thinking ahead - make nice with J&K, invite them over a lot for the pool, eventually Kelton will be bringing over cuts of meat and grilling at C&E's house so no worries anymore about what to feed the kids . . . . Except I don't see that happening. If Josie wants to take the girls and hang with her sister, I don't think Kelton would have a problem with it, BUT I don't see him coming over all the time either. I see it being a weekday thing where Josie and the kids hang with C&E while Kelton earns a living and then when the nights/weekends roll around it's family time as usual for J&K with just their kids. Sure Kelton may agree to 1-2 pool days/BBQs in the entire summer where he comes and hangs out and cooks at C&E's house esp if Z&W, Bobby/Tori, Michael/Brandon etc. will be there BUT I think C&E's vision that Kelton shows up every weekend and spends 16 hrs per weekend hanging out and cooking at C&E's is pure fantasy. By the way these 2 idiots who can barely manage their kids with a pool?? Sounds super safe . . . . I know Layla is in swim class and Zade is on the waiting list for one . . . but still IDK a pool with little kids is a responsibility. But I guess Alyssa has one and doesn't seem to give a damn so C&E probably think NBD.

Well they had to disappear for a bit to drum up interest in the fakest vlog in the world. Ended up watching this week as I was working out and IDK what it was but they seemed SO FAKE - 100% trying to respond to all the criticisms out there. Evan does a TON of media side projects and is being approached by sooo many businesses in the community to make videos and is being asked to do soooo many weddings. But oh yeah he's keeping his union credential alive/paying his dues just in case his passion goes back to electrician work. They apparently have another investment business that is doing soooo well. Lol. They totally aren't ready for kid #3 but have been told by drs that it's totally safe and they can go for it anytime. They're going for an in ground pool not above ground and are sooo excited that Katie and Josie and Carlin will all be 5-10 min from each other so best summer ever incoming at Carlin/Evan's house. Drama with her siblings esp once people got married and went their own ways bc all these new backgrounds came into the family but they all love each other . . . . Seems like the whole Q&A was to quash all the criticism of them - that Evan is lazy, doesn't work; finances; beef with her siblings; desperate for a baby etc. But then their own insecurities came out too - they LOVE their house but this isn't a forever home, esp if the lord gives them more children. Code for - we ain't staying in our first home when we know Josie & Kelton will be buying a McMansion or custom building a house in the near future . . . . And I'm not sure why they needed to get into the fact that 4 yr old Layla still is in pull ups at night and they don't know how to get her nighttime trained!? I'm sure 15 year old Layla will be thrilled they put that out there.

I'm sure Josie is just being social media conscious given all the criticism that Alyssa got for saying "that's just how boys get treated" when she was talking about how she'd spoil her son over her daughters and how much criticism A&J get overall for basically dropping the girls when they got their precious boy - but Josie and Kelton seem NOT to be ignoring their girls, which somewhat shocks me. Since the boy has been born, Josie has said yeah they love their brother but it's been an adjustment so we're trying to give them a lot of attention. And we've seen Kelton sitting and reading to the girls; Josie taking one daughter with her to the son's drs appt - the daughter who I guess acted like she wanted to go as the big helper; Kelton taking the younger daughter out by himself to go grocery shopping; Kelton cooking with one of the girls; the girls playing tea party with dad and Grandpa Balka. And in all of these instances except for the boy's dr appt, J&K didn't make it about the boy. Color me shocked . . . . I mean I'm sure they desperately wanted a boy as heir to the plumbing empire, another penis in the house etc. but wow they aren't altogether ignoring their girls or telling them them they MUST sit by their brother and smile 24-7 to get any attention from mom and dad. Way different than Alyssa - when Zoey (I think) was saying she was having palpitations/chest discomfort, she said when it happened all she wanted to do was go sit by Rhett - ahem likely bc Alyssa was sitting by Rhett and she knew that that was the only way to be near mom . . . .

Not sure about Aurora and Garrison but re-watching that dinner at Garrison's house, it was interesting to me that Garrison, Gabe, and Gwen all said they missed Robyn's kid. Who would think after the drama with Robyn which took away their dad - but I guess they did grow up with Robyn's kids. Garrison at one point said he missed Dayton and wanted to reconnect with him - but not with Robyn there. Gwen said she missed Aurora and Gabe said he sees Aurora at college and has gone up to her and given hugs and said he loves her. And in her interview Aurora even said that Gabe will come say hi and I love you at school and he's been nothing but kind to her. Savannah was the only one who was like - nope I don't talk to Briana, we ignore each other in the halls. But that may have been a function of being in high school too. So IDK if Aurora and Garrison hung out but I feel like the kids were open to hanging out if the parents weren't there - which is fairly normal anyway at 25 yrs old. Looks like Janelle is at the beach as Maddie posted a pic. I'm guessing Janelle left with Maddie after the funeral - probably just needing to get out of her house, Flagstaff etc. I hope Gabe is ok though and not left alone feeling like - ok well mom left, nor is Savannah sitting alone in Janelle's house. Though they're a tight family so I wouldn't be shocked if Gabe and Savannah also came to NC or if Gabe went to Logan/Hunter in Vegas or went with Christine and Savannah may likely be with Christine if not with her mom.

@Lotusflower - I wasn’t suggesting that Kody was father of the year. The kids are who they are entirely bc of Janelle, Christine and also each other. That being said there’s no denying that he was around in Vegas in a way that he isn’t in Flagstaff. No he wasn’t doing the heavy lifting like getting the kids ready for school or meals but he at least saw the kids and had some clue what they were up to. When they moved to Vegas and then 14 yr old Hunter was miserable and barely coming out of his room, Kody at least knew that and was trying to talk to him about how he needed to live life and do things he liked and got him connected with a wrestling team, went to practices with him. Fast forward 7 years when Gabe was complaining that moving his junior/senior year was terrible bc he’d worked so hard and now he’d miss out on being captain of the wrestling team, Kody didn’t want to hear it and the messaging was - shrug this is what Robyn wants bc she doesn’t want Dayton going to college alone so deal with it. Watched the episode from last season where Garrison buys a house and has dinner with Janelle, Christine, Gabe, Savannah, and Gwen and it was heartbreaking as it was after Christmas and Garrison was like - haven’t talked to dad since before Thanksgiving and since I spoke to him I’ve bought a house, started school, and gotten a car, he doesn’t know or care. I feel like a decade prior, Kody would’ve known which kid started college and what they were majoring in and what car they bought and he would’ve come toured their house i mean the dude doesn’t work - it’s interesting that we NEVER see him visiting his grown kids, ever. What’s stopping him from going to Vegas for a weekend and hanging with Logan and Hunter or Utah to see Aspen, Mkelti and the grandkids there or going to NC once or twice a yr to see Madison and those grandkids? None of these kids live with their moms so it isn’t a - awkward to see my ex wives issue. It’s simply that he sees his family as Robyn and her kids and has dropped his 13 other kids.

THIS is what I don't understand. Sure maybe he fell out of love with his other wives or whatever, people divorce, but who on earth goes from being an involved father to basically just dropping his 13 other children because his new wife said HER kids were to be more important? I mean as much as he's an asshole husband, Janelle/Christine weren't trying to keep their kids away from Kody at all. In fact Christine has said - she wants Truely to have a relationship with her dad; Ysabel needed her dad for major surgery; that she didn't believe Garrison when he said - we don't need a dad/father figure, we're grown. Kody and Robyn married in 2010 - Garrison was 11 and Gabe 9. I get the sense that until 2018 - until Flagstaff - he was reasonably available to his kids - so until Garrison was 19 and Gabe was 17. I mean not saying Vegas was perfect - things were definitely starting to chill the entire time there, as he was spending more and more time with Robyn and getting less and less interested in Christine/Janelle, but it seems like he still kept some kind of schedule going to Christine/Janelle's homes to spend time with the kids. We used to see him going to Hunter's wrestling meetings, we saw him attending a party for Garrison when he finished basic training - and really being thrilled to see Garrison, not just attending as a polite guest. Then BAM these kids turn 19 and 17, you move to Arizona, decide you don't want to bother seeing them or their moms, nor do you want to hear normal things like Gabe complaining about how getting ripped away from his old high school means he won't get to be wrestling captain in his senior year - so you start to check out. And BAM 2 years later, Covid gives you the full excuse to just act like these other 13 kids don't exist at all and when you acknowledge them you do so in derogatory ways putting them down [ahem - Gabe and Garrison wanted to see their girlfriends to get their pencils wet?!] I mean what parent can just cut their kids out like that? And give me a break, it wasn't about covid. I say that as someone who is covid conscious still. Even if they couldn't figure out a safe way to hold Christmases/Thanksgivings for 4 years, Kody couldn't see his kids 1:1? Ever? Really? Can't go hiking with the boys or work on the property? Can't bring over lunch or a pizza and eat outdoors with them? Did he even realize Garrison's hobby was photography and astronomy - couldn't be in the great outdoors with him as he took pics/showed you the stars and you showed some interest in what he was doing? Really? And if your new wife says nooooo - you wouldn't tell her to back off - you'd just agree with her and drop your dozen+ kids??

I don't understand how this whole thing will work realistically. Of course K&T have never lived in reality so they can't plan like most other 23 year olds would. Most 23 year olds will tell you that living 3 hrs away from school/work is FAR and not something you want to do. If you are really trying to make a go at school/work, you live near that thing and commute to see the family 1-2x/month, not the other way around. Of course Katie has never gone to school or worked - or maybe she went to Crown 5 miles away for a yr or two - and Trav always had mommy and daddy's school 5 min from home. Are they considering just how competitive Nashville is? I realize Trav and his music have a bit of a social media following and he is reasonably talented and that's great - but neither of those is an anomaly in Nashville. He is still an unknown enough artist that he will have to take ANY meeting, ANY writing or recording session he is offered in order to get a foothold into the industry there. Cue his clingy wife. How well is it going to work when he drives 3 hrs and does an all day writing session on Monday and in doing that someone at his studio says - you know x artist will be here on Wed. and that'd be a good collaboration, you should plan to be here Wed. He drives 3 hrs home, tells Katie that, and she starts boohooing that he was gone ALL DAY today and he REALLY has to go back again in a day and a half - it's soooo hard with Hailey + the inevitable other kids or pregnancy, she misses him sooooo much blah blah. I mean how much is this going to differ from Carlin crying every day at 6 am bc Evan had to go to school/apprenticeship for the 4 yrs he did that? Or does Katie think she'll go to every meeting and writing and recording session with Trav with Hailey in tow? Bc that'll go over big with the studios. . . . But really how will she be able to "allow" him to go without her? I mean this is the chick who gets jealous if the drive thru woman at McDonalds dares smiles and says hi to HER MAN to the point where she needs to hold up her hand so they know, this is HER HUSBAND. Uh sweetie when your husband shows up at a recording session at 10 am, guess what they'll all take a break and sit around the studio and eat lunch at 1 pm, and guess what they'll chat and smile and talk about their lives and yes women do work at Nashville studios. Cue more boohooing from Katie as she worries if she'll be the next Tori (as Bobby's alleged cheating was when he was working days away from her) or Grace Hadden (Evan's ex-SIL who just divorced Evan's brother who cheated). Though I'm guessing Carlin and Kelly are in Katie's ear already. Use this Nashville music thing to get Trav to move to Knoxville. Sure he'll try to pursue music for the first 6 months but be in his ear about how the commute is too much, it's too hard to be alone with Hailey all day esp when pregnant (hint hint get pregnant ASAP), guilt him into turning down some meetings he may get in Nashville - making it harder for him to get future meetings, and in the meantime show him the art of the grift. Show him how great Evan and Gil's lives are doing nothing and how that's the life we should be setting up -- i.e. full time YT, maybe pull him into BSB (which may be plausible esp if Z&W feel done wit it and want out - K&T can be the new sibling partners).

The sad thing here is despite how dysfunctional the family got with Kody and Robyn and Kody using covid as a reason to stop seeing the rest of the family and divorce the other wives and just be with Robyn, Garrison and Gabe STILL wanted the larger family in tact and still wanted to see everyone. I feel like lots of 22 and 25 year old guys would be like - whatever - we have our mom, our siblings, our girlfriends/future gfs/future wives - dad can split and go be with whomever he wants. But in reality Kody apparently wasn't a dysfunctional dad to his kids until Robyn came along + he decided he only wanted to be with Robyn and would force all the other wives/kids out. So these kids had YEARS of a family with mom + dad and then that started to fizzle and suddenly got taken away when they were 18 and 21 years old. It's much different than someone whose dad goes off and has an affair when the kid is 12. I keep thinking back to the fights they had about covid. In one episode Gabe and Garrison are out on the property with Kody who is basically coming up with any reason for the family not to gather and when Kody goes "well you have rules at work, why can't you have covid rules at home" - Gabe or Garrison (I can't remember who) scream out BECAUSE WE'RE A FAMILY. I know Covid was divisive for lots of families but it's heartbreaking that the Brown family - where the kids seemed like they WANTED to gather - did not gather for Thanksgiving or Christmas for 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023. That's EIGHT holidays all the kids could have spent with their brother and he would have enjoyed their company too. I feel like we saw 1-2 Christmases that were just Janelle's kids but IIRC it seems like the majority of the holidays were spent with Christine + Janelle + their kids together - which I'm sure Christine/Janelle/all the siblings will take some comfort in since Janelle's kids have always been super close with Christine and her kids. And in that episode where he bought his first house and had Janelle, Christine and siblings over for dinner where Garrison is saying "Robyn and his kids can have him, we don't need a dad, we don't need a father figure, we're grown," it breaks my heart that Christine in her interview clearly said she didn't believe him and that she's 50+ and still needs her dad. I mean it just shows how deeply Christine knows Janelle's kids - who she raised like her own - that she knows immediately when they are saying things to convince themselves etc.

So it looks like Garrison wasn't living with Gabe and Isabel? I feel like the last episode I watched of them - Garrison had bought his own house and his roommates were going to be Gabe and one of Christine's daughters - presumably Isabel? Was that just a plan or did the other kids move away to do their own things? Bc the article above says Gabe made it back to Flagstaff Tuesday - suggesting he lives elsewhere now. And the article mentions roommates who don't sound like family members. Feel terrible for Janelle and Christine - I mean Janelle is his mother and Christine had a huge part in raising all the kids. And also for Gabe - not only because he found Garrison which is awful in and of itself but because I think Gabe and Garrison were fairly close, as Logan and Hunter are older and were off at college and the military academy, Madison married and moved to NC, and Savannah is younger and still with her mom. Seems like Gabe and Garrison were doing life together in some ways - college for Gabe/military for Garrison, living together at times etc.

Surface level close is an excellent way to say it. Frankly they only seem to be interested in hanging with each other in the good times - ILY Days, a thousand weddings and wedding showers and baby showers, vacations, ski trips, showing up at the hospital for a new baby. But when it comes to the tough times or the drudgery of life, you're on your own. The Clark family seems the opposite. Sure we do see them vacation, but aside from that it seems like they stop by each others' homes just because - not because there's a wedding shower or baby shower or event to attend. And in that stopping by is when the grandparents get on the floor and play with Hailey or help whip up dinner or whatever daily life thing is going on. All of this speaks to how much awareness Katie lacks. I think she genuinely believes her family is sooo close because . . . ILY Day or Christmas party or whatever. But she doesn't see the difference between those special occassions (or even the "special" occassion of her visiting for 3 days when people will drop things to play board games until midnight and go on midnight ice cream runs) vs. real life. I mean Carlin's health issues were about 2 yrs ago - shortly after Katie's wedding. Did Katie not notice that they spent a lot of that time in Nashville, not with G&K? You can't tell me she didn't watch the IGs/YTs of Evan's dad at their house moving belt/back brace on, moving his son/DIL from their rental that they had to leave into their new house. Where were G&K? Hell Katie still lived at home pre-marriage when Erin suffered with covid/long covid/a few surgeries. I know she doesn't talk to Erin but living at home - come on - she must've heard that Erin's MIL moved in with them to help. She lived at home in 2019 during both of Alyssa's heart surgeries too - she obviously knew that her parents went down to Fla for like 1 day each time and were not there for Alyssa's recovery. Despite all this, she thinks her family is soooo close and supportive?? While she has a MIL living 5 min away who camped out on her sofa for a week or two so she could recover after having H and who brought her meals constantly while she was recovering from birth, having kidney stones etc?! Katie clearly doesn't see what she doesn't want to see and I think whined enough to Travis about missing her family that he finally relented - even if he suspects they're leaving a good thing behind.

Trav turns 23 this week. He's always lived at home until he moved into a house that his parents bought for him, as his parents helped him navigate being a married man and father and he has always had his brother close by too. I imagine his is terrified - not only being without his parents and brother, being responsible for his wife and child, and now having his own bills like rent in Knoxville. I realize his monthly trust fund/school checks don't go away but those checks now need to cover the house in NJ where they aren't living + rent in Knox + costs of commuting and doing business in Nashville. I imagine Katie will start making nice with Law/Tiff so that Trav can crash there at times but I don't sense that Katie and Law are close at all so why would Law bend over backwards? It's totally easy for him to be be like nah can't do next week, we won't be here, we'll be in Cali and then Trav ends up driving Knox to Nash multiple times in a week if he has meetings or whatever. I don't think Trav necessarily understands what he's signed up for. I think he must think - ok so I'm leaving my family, but it's ok we'll have her family to help us. Lol we've all seen G&K's idea of helping their kids. And party party Carlin and Evan - also lol. I realize Michael cares for Josie's kids so she doesn't have a ton of free time but if Katie knows what's good for her, she'll be re-kindling a relationship with Michael - you never know when you'll need a sitter for date night or pregnancy appt number 8000 or whatever it may be or just another adult to step in and help you. I assume Trav also thinks his parents will be around all the time. I can see Mama Clark coming for 2 weeks whenever Katie has the next baby or coming for a week for Hailey's bday or whatever but that still isn't the same as her moving in for a few weeks to help out or dropping off dinner bc Katie has been ill with kidney stones or whatever. As for this music thing - we'll see how it goes but I suspect it'll be harder than Trav thinks. Sure he is talented and has a social media following and has already made a decent start in music - but there are a TON of young artists in Nashville who fit that same criteria. And they're IN NASHVILLE, while he will be running back and forth 3 hrs one way with a clingy wife who'll be like - do you REALLY have to go again tomorrow, you were just there 3 days ago. Let's be real as a nothing artist, he'll need to take any meeting, writing session etc. he can get without the excuses of . . . my wife, my baby, blah blah . . . bc if he turns things down, there are a 1000 other young artists jumping at the opportunity. The Bates girls make any career harder with their clinginess - and once they introduce their men to the grift in which they grew up, men like Evan, Trav etc. are even less inclined to want to work long hours, commute etc. I agree with whoever above said that Evan sold him on the whole "oh Nashville is close by, you don't have to live there, you can live in Knox and commute easily, we go all the time." Uh yeah except you go to your parents' house, show up whenever you want, have a place to crash and eat free for a week at a time. Little bit different from someone who needs to make the 3 hr drive on a Monday morning to arrive in time for a 10 am meeting.