Carlin and Evan: But Mostly Carlin!

[Salacious Kitty]

They're grifters and proud of it. 

[cereality]

3 hours ago, BitterApple said:

Here's what I don't get: why are people so willing to become the Stewarts' flunkies? There is absolutely nothing extraordinary about Evan or Carlin that would make me want to sacrifice my time and energy to help them. 

I could understand a guy putting up Christmas lights for a single mom, a friend who is ill or disabled, elderly neighbors or anyone else who genuinely needs the help, but Evan is perfectly capable. And not for nothing, but most grown men would bristle at the thought of not being able to handle things for their family. Evan seems to embrace it. 

So the only place they go is church - that's where they're meeting these friends. Mega churches in the bible belt are huge. People want to develop a social life thru church but it can be hard bc they're big and a lot of the population will be much older. So here's this young loud fun seeming couple about your age with kids your kids' ages. Great. Friend potential.

New friends right off the bat invite you over but stick you with a task - hang up my Christmas lights, cook dinner on my new grill bc IDK how (they did this w some other church couple and the husband of that couple was out there cooking up fried rice as they likely realized if they didn't cook, there'd be no food - C&E didn't even have ingredients ready; this couple had already arrived and Evan was coming home with groceries that included basics like salt); help watch my kids or scrub my tub bc we've moved (that woman from when Carlin was unwell - Chrissy? Catlin? Can't remember). So people do it bc they've already committed to coming over, hey friends help each other, they'll be there for us too. Then they quickly realize that C&E aren't coming to your house next week to hang your Christmas lights or cook you dinner and they certainly are NEVER watching your kids or scrubbing your tub. And then we never see these people again as they realize it is just a grift not a friendship.

As time has gone by we see them hanging out with fewer and fewer people their own age. I'm guessing bc their reputation has gotten around at church.

[AstridM]

4 hours ago, BitterApple said:

Here's what I don't get: why are people so willing to become the Stewarts' flunkies? There is absolutely nothing extraordinary about Evan or Carlin that would make me want to sacrifice my time and energy to help them. 

I could understand a guy putting up Christmas lights for a single mom, a friend who is ill or disabled, elderly neighbors or anyone else who genuinely needs the help, but Evan is perfectly capable. And not for nothing, but most grown men would bristle at the thought of not being able to handle things for their family. Evan seems to embrace it. 

IKR? They are boorish, immature, self absorbed, and annoying as fuck. 

[andromeda331]

The same reason the Bates's always had helpers except Evan and Carlin are burning through people faster than her parents' did. Evan and Carlin might need to learn from her parents' how to keep that going.

[cereality]

So Carlin and Evan came off more cringey than ever in their Vols football game IG this weekend. Woohoo tailgating. Woohoo sideline passes for the warmup. Evan was salivating about how cool and once in a lifetime this whole thing was. Uh had you gone to college instead of running to marry at 21 and 24 - and basically sitting around until those ages so you'd be allowed to marry - you would have been doing this every weekend with a bunch of buddies.

Evan came off like a douchebag - a stereotypically feminine one at that - as he apparently can't go anywhere without shopping and talking about shopping. He's holding a huge bag of crap he'd already bought from the UTenn store, then holding a huge water cup he had to have, debating with Carlin whether to get Zade a jersey with #1 or a current player's number or Peyton Manning's # - which of course Carlin said would slay. Uh pretty sure that's not how you use that word.

I realize that esp in the south and in Big 10 country, tons of people are fans of flagship state u football teams even if they didn't go to school there. But it's even more amusing that Josie & Kelton and Evan & Carlin go to these games and have soooo much fun "tailgating" with energy drinks and love it sooooo much, but if any of their kids wanted to go to UTenn. Oh hell no. I mean girls - def not - they are raising them to do online or unaccredited college like their mamas if they want and get married off. Boys will be pushed into the trades - so Kelton's boy can take his biz and Evan's boy has a backup just like daddy did. I mean maybe just maybe they'd allow a boy to go to UTenn if he had dreams that required a real education like being a doctor but let's be real they're also setting them up to not have those dreams/not be capable of those dreams bc k-12 "school" with Josie and Carlin in no way prepares you to handle college freshman biology or chemistry, let alone medical school.

Interesting thawing of relations between J&K and C&E. At first it seemed like it was just Carlin and Josie only for the benefit of the kids having "best friends" - and that was noticeable after they had a relative in South Carolina pass. It kind of seemed like it was maybe just seeing big picture. Then there came the influencer collaboration relationship - i.e. the trip to New England - as it seems both of their sales are falling. But now the husbands are tolerating each other!? It may very well be Josie convincing Kelton that she needs to influencer collab with Carlin so he needs to deal with Evan. Bc usually with these things you see Kelton ignoring Evan - but this time they took some pics together, Kelton was weighing in on what Evan should buy the kids.

And I guess Carlin is good to go health wise bc given her issues - energy drinks?? 

[BitterApple]

I think Josie and Carlin have figured out collaborating is good for both their brands. Not saying they secretly hate each other, but this newfound friendship has an underlying whiff of phoniness. Also, very interesting how on that girls' trip, Katie was the third wheel. It was all Carlin and Josie, yukking it up like lifelong besties, shilling their crappy merch. 

And yeah, none of those kids are going to UT. Layla and Zade are both way behind developmentally. Carlin posted reels of Khloe and Layla together recently and the differences were striking. If Layla does twenty minutes of school a day, I'd be shocked. 

 

[Meow Mix]

Late to the party on this, but I was looking at that screenshot from the video of Evan and his flat top grill.  That thing is filthy.  I guess Zach hasn't been by lately to clean it because Evan certainly isn't going to.

I can't imagine living like these two do.  What kind of future will Layla and Zade have with very little education and being so far behind developmentally?  It's just so sad to see.  

[BitterApple]

Damn. Someone on Reddit spilled a bit of tea!

Their daughter is in the same ballet class as Layla, and she posted on a thread featuring a picture of Layla at the studio.  Among the gems:

Carlin and Evan are as absentee as you'd expect. Michael used to bring Layla to class, the few times E&C showed up, they were glued to their phones and didn't pay attention to their kid at all. The instructor can never find them when Layla needs to use the bathroom, because they sit in their car (as opposed to the lobby where the other parents wait). 

Layla always seems sad. OP said she was supposed to be in costume the day that photo was taken, but E&C forgot (big shocker). She inferred without being mean that Layla is not the most well behaved child (again, shocker). 

OP acknowledged that parents are allowed to film/take pictures one day a month to record progress, but was furious that Carlin keeps posting without editing/blurring the other children. OP spoke to the owner and her complaints fell on deaf ears (I guess the grifter with 450k Instagram followers is more important). She said she's allowing her daughter to finish the session and then moving her to a different studio. 

So in conclusion, the "happy family obsessed with making memories" facade they act out for social media is total bullshit. I knew it, lol. 

[farmgal4]

On 11/15/2024 at 3:56 PM, BitterApple said:

Damn. Someone on Reddit spilled a bit of tea!

Their daughter is in the same ballet class as Layla, and she posted on a thread featuring a picture of Layla at the studio.  Among the gems:

Carlin and Evan are as absentee as you'd expect. Michael used to bring Layla to class, the few times E&C showed up, they were glued to their phones and didn't pay attention to their kid at all. The instructor can never find them when Layla needs to use the bathroom, because they sit in their car (as opposed to the lobby where the other parents wait). 

Layla always seems sad. OP said she was supposed to be in costume the day that photo was taken, but E&C forgot (big shocker). She inferred without being mean that Layla is not the most well behaved child (again, shocker). 

OP acknowledged that parents are allowed to film/take pictures one day a month to record progress, but was furious that Carlin keeps posting without editing/blurring the other children. OP spoke to the owner and her complaints fell on deaf ears (I guess the grifter with 450k Instagram followers is more important). She said she's allowing her daughter to finish the session and then moving her to a different studio. 

So in conclusion, the "happy family obsessed with making memories" facade they act out for social media is total bullshit. I knew it, lol. 

I’ve looked all over Reddit and can’t find that post anywhere.  Was it deleted?

[BitterApple]

2 hours ago, farmgal4 said:

I’ve looked all over Reddit and can’t find that post anywhere.  Was it deleted?

Here's the link. The tea is in the comments.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BatesSnark/comments/1gq15jd/drempt/

 

[cereality]

Who are these Sophia and Taylor Watts people whose home in ATL Whit and Carlin and their husbands/kids just went and stayed at? Hanger oners? People who want their goods featured at BSB? Fellow YouTubers/influencers? IDK how they'd have sweet friends from church in Atlanta.

I assume they're headed back to Knox bc they've made their stop at the convenience store with kids standing in the candy aisle picking out bottles of sugar. Def a special treat bc of a road trip, these kids don't even get sugar otherwise 🙄

[BitterApple]

They're fellow Influencers. The relationship is one big circle jerk where they're all mutually using each other to boost their engagement and followings. 

[AstridM]

7 hours ago, cereality said:

Who are these Sophia and Taylor Watts people whose home in ATL Whit and Carlin and their husbands/kids just went and stayed at? Hanger oners? People who want their goods featured at BSB? Fellow YouTubers/influencers? IDK how they'd have sweet friends from church in Atlanta.

I assume they're headed back to Knox bc they've made their stop at the convenience store with kids standing in the candy aisle picking out bottles of sugar. Def a special treat bc of a road trip, these kids don't even get sugar otherwise 🙄

I thought the only “goods” featured at BSB were fast fashion junk from China.

[cereality]

On 11/12/2024 at 11:09 AM, BitterApple said:

And yeah, none of those kids are going to UT. Layla and Zade are both way behind developmentally. Carlin posted reels of Khloe and Layla together recently and the differences were striking. If Layla does twenty minutes of school a day, I'd be shocked. 

 

IDK how C&E don't look at Z&W's kids and feel like their own kids are a disaster. But then that would involve thinking about something other themselves and filming for 2 seconds.

Which of Z&W's kids just had a birthday? IDK if it was the girl who is Layla's bestie or the other one. But the birthday child next to Layla was ridiculous. She is at least a foot taller than Layla. Beyond that just the way that she was saying thank you to Carlin/Evan for saying happy birthday and for her gifts seemed light years beyond where Layla is. Meanwhile Layla was pulling stuff out of the child's gift bag in the parking lot saying - we got you this, we got you that etc. - and as always you really couldn't understand what she was saying because even at nearly 5 she still doesn't speak clearly.

Whit took her older kids plus Layla - who always arrives with her entire family of 4 - to Disney on Ice. Whit's kids sit there in their own seats watching the show. Layla OTOH is all over the place - in Carlin's lap, in Whit's lap, in her own seat performing animatedly for Carlin's camera. And of course bc no outing is complete without it, chowing down on a HUGE bag of cotton candy, while dropping pieces down the front of her dress, digging around inside her dress the way you'd imagine an 80 yr old lady on a sitcom digging around her brassiere to pull something out. All while Carlin films and is like omg she's such a mood 🙄.

Interesting that Z&W's kids didn't appear to be snacking at all during the show. But then I imagine Z&W fed them lunch before the show and didn't expect snacks at the show to be lunch. I highly doubt Whit would deny her kids a treat at a birthday outing if they wanted it, but I guess since they aren't parented by being ignored and then having sugar thrown to them to shut them up -- they possibly don't want snacks all the time; or maybe they got one bag to share between 3 siblings, had a few pieces and gave it to mom to hold.

And did anyone catch the recent IG with Zade standing outside the doctor's office? They're going on about how they found a new dr so the kid's checkup was delayed but the other one was too far. Too far? You're unemployed - is driving 15 min extra for your child that big of a deal? I'm guessing they are being dropped by providers when douchebag Evan comes with to a doctor's office with a camera around his neck and then they film in exam rooms, likely even after they are warned not to. It was interesting that this time we didn't get film of Zade snacking on the exam table or any other filming in the drs office. I'm guessing they decided not to chance it with the new dr on appointment #1.

But Carlin makes this big production of - oh he's totally fine, dr. said he doesn't need speech therapy AT ALL, BUT we got him a speech therapy appointment anyway. SURE. We totally believe that you are going to spend $$$ on your kid's development if he doesn't need it.

Meanwhile this kid is 2.6 years old and you cannot understand a word he says. She legit posted an IG this morning and according to her he is saying something like - I love you to the moon and the trees and the stars - you cannot make out one word of it. At Disney on Ice he was screaming out to Mickey Mouse - as Maa Maa. Layla was the same way at that age too and even at almost 5 not super clear. What on earth is going on in the household!?

19 hours ago, AstridM said:

I thought the only “goods” featured at BSB were fast fashion junk from China.

Wonder if they even know about the tariffs their boy has planned? Businesses that sell goods are planning for it - either expediting inventory purchases to buy more now or by trying to source inventory from other places.

Edited November 19 by cereality

[Salacious Kitty]

These morons probably think the tariffs won't affect them. If they even know about them. 

[Absolom]

Would they understand what a tariff is even if they heard Trump wanted them?

[BitterApple]

With regards to parenting, I think it's like others on here have said: if the cameras aren't rolling, Carlin tosses a bag of Doritos and an iPad at them and calls it a day. I don't think they encourage any learning. With Layla, it's just princess dresses and mugging for the cameras. Zade is a total afterthought. Every minute in that house revolves around making content. A good part of that is the constant road trips, which means 'school' doesn't happen for four or five days at a time. There's no way Layla is retaining anything with such a chaotic schedule. In contrast, Alyssa is probably the most unhappy mother on the planet and even her kids have a dedicated school routine. Evan and Carlin are failing miserably.

Edited November 19 by BitterApple

[65mickey]

16 hours ago, BitterApple said:

Alyssa is probably the most unhappy mother on the planet and even her kids have a dedicated school routine. Evan and Carlin are failing miserably

Yes and Maci is a year younger then Layla and speaks very clearly. I think a large part of the Stewart kid's problems with speaking is that the parents do not speak to them like adults so as to keep them in the baby stage as long as they can. 

[cereality]

So these two morons are headed to Dubai, first class. Lol. It's the hot place for influencers now - they'll all been flocking there in the last year since Beyonce did the concert there for the opening of the Atlantis hotel. Wanna bet they had to look on a map to see where Dubai even is and they seem like the types who prob don't realize it's not a country, it's a city. I mean the Middle East . . . Muslims, omg. But fear not you can make your Dubai experience 1000% western so all they're going to do is eat in hotel restaurants, which will have any type of burger or pizza you want, and go to the luxury shopping malls gawking at how shiny they are and how high end the goods are. They ain't stopping by a mosque for a tour or to Old Dubai for a tea and Knafeh or to an old school Arab souk market where you see average ppl and ppl loudly haggling for goods in Arabic - though Old Dubai does have a touristy Sbux so we may see them there.

Wonder who is comping this - they didn't tag the airlines so it's not free tix from Air France (and airlines tend not to be desperate for free advertising anyway so it makes no sense to give first class tix to these nothing influencers). Bc if they are laying out their own money and credit card points for this uh good luck bc the insta in Dubai trend is like a year old. No one is eagerly waiting to watch this as brand new footage.

Oh and douchebag Evan got flagged for additional security at the airport. Uh maybe having a camera and mic around your neck was the tip off? You really can't even put that in the bag as you go thru TSA?

Edited December 5 by cereality

[BitterApple]

Wow, that's kind of shocking.

I'm genuinely curious to see who comped this. Dubai is for flashy Influencer types eager to flex designer labels and throw their money around. It's also a mecca for Instagram 'models' who get flown out to do 'promotional work,' (cough, cough, wink, wink). The whole vibe is way out of Evan and Carlin's league.  

If they did spend their own money, my guess is their motivation was to one-up the Balkas. 

[ranchgirl]

I'm honestly flabbergasted.  1st class to Dubai?  I guess they really are rolling in the money.  I mean, how many places have they been in just the last 6 months and now this.  I don't know if I could swing 1st class to Dubai and I am way older than these two.

In the meantime, Whitney is taking her mom, Bradley and Kaci to NYC.  

I think it's time for me to step away.  

[realitycat]

9 hours ago, ranchgirl said:

I'm honestly flabbergasted.  1st class to Dubai?  I guess they really are rolling in the money.  I mean, how many places have they been in just the last 6 months and now this.  I don't know if I could swing 1st class to Dubai and I am way older than these two.

In the meantime, Whitney is taking her mom, Bradley and Kaci to NYC.  

I think it's time for me to step away.  

Why are you stepping away because they're taking trips?  

[floridamom]

These two must have nothing saved for their future. It seems like they spend everything they make. Just watching their YouTubes gets me exhausted. Their children have no real down time; always on the go. I think Carlin and Evan have an issue being in their own home without "something exciting" going on. Always needing others to be around, etc... Not a good sign. They don't concentrate at all on their childrens' needs.

[BetyBee]

58 minutes ago, floridamom said:

These two must have nothing saved for their future. It seems like they spend everything they make. Just watching their YouTubes gets me exhausted. Their children have no real down time; always on the go. I think Carlin and Evan have an issue being in their own home without "something exciting" going on. Always needing others to be around, etc... Not a good sign. They don't concentrate at all on their childrens' needs.

They are following Carlin's parents' "Godly" parenting style. Layla doesn't need a real education in order to marry young and reproduce. Not sure what Z's future looks like at this point. 

[3 is enough]

The choice of Dubai as a destination is baffling to me.  But the first post was essentially a GRWM so I do wonder if there is some sort of sponsorship involved.

As far as the go, go, go lifestyle is concerned, they are influencers. They have to keep people’s interest. I’m not defending them, it’s definitely detrimental to Layla and Zade, but if they had a normal routine they would lose followers and income. 
Alyssa is constantly criticized for her boring content because “it’s always the same thing” and “ she never takes the kids anywhere”.

So they are damned if they do, and damned if they don’t. 🤷🏼‍♀️

ETA: she is promoting the hotel in her stories. I’m guessing it’s some sort of sponsorship. First up: couples massage at the spa. And looks like they are eating margharita pizza and steak. Adventurous choices. 😂

 

 

Edited December 6 by 3 is enough

[cereality]

36 minutes ago, 3 is enough said:

The choice of Dubai as a destination is baffling to me.  But the first post was essentially a GRWM so I do wonder if there is some sort of sponsorship involved.

As far as the go, go, go lifestyle is concerned, they are influencers. They have to keep people’s interest. I’m not defending them, it’s definitely detrimental to Layla and Zade, but if they had a normal routine they would lose followers and income. 
Alyssa is constantly criticized for her boring content because “it’s always the same thing” and “ she never takes the kids anywhere”.

So they are damned if they do, and damned if they don’t. 🤷🏼‍♀️

ETA: she is promoting the hotel in her stories. I’m guessing it’s some sort of sponsorship. First up: couples massage at the spa. And looks like they are eating margharita pizza and steak. Adventurous choices. 😂

 

 

Yep some kind of sponsorship with the W as she's mentioned the W 8000 times in one day. And did the W have pics of her kids up in the hotel room - lol - guess it's part of the - aww we knew we'd miss our kiddos sooo much, we had pics sent to the hotel to have them tacked up before we came.

But lol totally worthwhile to fly around the world for a W hotel - which looks exactly like the ones in NYC and ATL - and the W spa which again they have in NYC; and to eat steak, fries, and margherita pizza and drink chamomile tea at night and hotel coffee on the balcony in the morning. Lol. I realize they're playing the awww we're jet lagged card. But I suspect we'll see one mall after the next as Dubai has a lot of those as well as meals at Ruth Chris, Cheesecake Factory, and McDonalds . . . all chains that have made it there. Can't imagine going that far and not eating kabobs and pita and hummus at most meals followed by Arab desserts and coffee and no you don't even need to go to hole in the ground establishments to get that - your hotel will have that albeit not the most authentic. But I can see Carlin yucking it up when she sees certain rice dishes are eaten by hand - though again - western hotel, you can still order rice and lamb and eat it with a fork.

I mean this chick set up a camera on the plane so we could watch her eat dinner as if none of us have ever seen that process before. She takes one look at the first class dinner, wrinkles her nose, asks Evan what it is, he says cavier, she passes the plate over to him - and then we watch her butter bread as if no one in the world has ever buttered bread before. And she eats bread and fruit for dinner. Uh yeah so I don't see her ordering spicy kabobs anyplace. And btw you're in first class - if you don't eat seafood, why didn't you order a meat or vegetarian meal??

I know they need to be "on the go" to stay relevant as influencers. And I actually watch a lot of travel IGs esp since covid as I'm less comfortable jumping on a plane and going. Uh they're still boring?! Maybe not to fundies I guess. But their travel compared to legit anyone else - even people who do it lower budget - is boring . . . . I'm not fascinated by you going to the spa and eating bread and butter and pizza, I do those things myself. I want you taking me around an old city and random popping into some book store or some pastry shop as I admire how old it all is, the architecture etc.

[BitterApple]

Man, the comments on Instagram are not positive. They're getting way more criticism than they usually do. I know Carlin doesn't care so long as people engage, but maybe this is where her fans get turned off and stop using her discount codes and affiliate links. 

On a random note, I wonder why they didn't fly to NYC or Dallas and take Emirates directly to Dubai. Their business class is way better than Delta's. I guess grifters can't be choosers, but I'm curious. 

 

[ozziemom]

I’m reading a mystery novel right now where the murder victims are all influencers. The influencers are also money & drug traffickers but they don’t know it, ie they are given cases of stuff since travel all over the world. I don’t think by any means that C&E are traffickers but the influencers in the book are all portrayed as really clueless and not suspicious of why someone is willing to pay $$$ for “influencing”. I just wonder how long C&E can maintain this lifestyle.

[AstridM]

19 hours ago, cereality said:

So these two morons are headed to Dubai, first class. Lol. It's the hot place for influencers now - they'll all been flocking there in the last year since Beyonce did the concert there for the opening of the Atlantis hotel. Wanna bet they had to look on a map to see where Dubai even is and they seem like the types who prob don't realize it's not a country, it's a city. I mean the Middle East . . . Muslims, omg. But fear not you can make your Dubai experience 1000% western so all they're going to do is eat in hotel restaurants, which will have any type of burger or pizza you want, and go to the luxury shopping malls gawking at how shiny they are and how high end the goods are. They ain't stopping by a mosque for a tour or to Old Dubai for a tea and Knafeh or to an old school Arab souk market where you see average ppl and ppl loudly haggling for goods in Arabic - though Old Dubai does have a touristy Sbux so we may see them there.

Wonder who is comping this - they didn't tag the airlines so it's not free tix from Air France (and airlines tend not to be desperate for free advertising anyway so it makes no sense to give first class tix to these nothing influencers). Bc if they are laying out their own money and credit card points for this uh good luck bc the insta in Dubai trend is like a year old. No one is eagerly waiting to watch this as brand new footage.

Oh and douchebag Evan got flagged for additional security at the airport. Uh maybe having a camera and mic around your neck was the tip off? You really can't even put that in the bag as you go thru TSA?

I have no words. They make me sick.

14 hours ago, ranchgirl said:

I'm honestly flabbergasted.  1st class to Dubai?  I guess they really are rolling in the money.  I mean, how many places have they been in just the last 6 months and now this.  I don't know if I could swing 1st class to Dubai and I am way older than these two.

In the meantime, Whitney is taking her mom, Bradley and Kaci to NYC.  

I think it's time for me to step away.  

Yeah, I have never even once “followed” them on SM or even visited their accounts or watched their reels or videos, but even I am so disgusted that I don’t feel comfortable reading about them here or on Reddit. What. The . Fuck. 

[ginger90]

Everything has been an ad so far from the moment they arrived at the first airport.

[Heathen]

7 hours ago, realitycat said:

Why are you stepping away because they're taking trips?  

Because it's frustrating, demoralizing, and upsetting to watch two attention-whoring "influencers" get to take vacations that normal people only dream of? Because it's disgusting to watch "influencers" take over the world? My guesses. 

I need to step back, too. Snark isn't fun anymore. 

 

[AstridM]

43 minutes ago, Heathen said:

Because it's disgusting to watch "influencers" take over the world?

I refuse to acknowledge that “word,” LOL. Make it fucking stop.

[dargosmydaddy]

5 hours ago, ozziemom said:

I’m reading a mystery novel right now where the murder victims are all influencers. The influencers are also money & drug traffickers but they don’t know it, ie they are given cases of stuff since travel all over the world. I don’t think by any means that C&E are traffickers but the influencers in the book are all portrayed as really clueless and not suspicious of why someone is willing to pay $$$ for “influencing”.

The new Richard Osman book? That made me think of the Stewarts and their ilk, too.

[ozziemom]

14 hours ago, dargosmydaddy said:

The new Richard Osman book? That made me think of the Stewarts and their ilk, too.

Yes, I liked his previous books, so far new one is good too.

[cereality]

This continues to be the most boring trip ever. Thus far we've been treated to every angle of Evan and Carlin in their outfits while standing on the balcony pretty far from downtown gushing about the view. Last night was some dinner in the sky thing where you pretty much strap into an amusement park ride which lifts you 10 stories and eat dinner dangling up there. Uh guys old news Joe and Kendra Duggar did this on their honeymoon in Greece like 10 yrs ago - bc like you they too could not think of a thing to do in Greece so we had to watch them eat dinner . . . .

And then breakfast this morning - I mean who doesn't travel all the way to the Arab world for pancakes, croissants, eggs benedict, and lattes like you can get in America. And tons and tons of footage of Carlin brushing teeth and doing her hair and getting ready every morning. Stay tuned for malls next I guess. I love to travel and can't imagine leaving the country and thinking the highlight was showering at the W hotel, a massage at the W, and pancakes . . . at the W!?

And yes I mean to be rude but Evan and Carlin very much give off a roommate vibe these days. Like on these "fit checks" which I can't see any male doing, he comes across like her bestie girlfriend. They did one in the elevator (eff you anyone waiting for the elevator, we gotta do 5 takes to get this right, you can take the stairs) and they kissed and I've seen grandpas and grandmas kiss with more passion than that!?

[AstridM]

Surely the IRS does not allow them to legally write off the first class plane tickets to Dubai, all of their meals, etc? Anyone know where to report tax fraud? 😂

[BitterApple]

cereality, your last paragraph was so funny because my first thought watching their reels is it looks like a young woman hanging with her gay bestie. They have no sexual chemistry whatsoever, and I think that's what happens when you're together 24/7. It's hard to maintain any spark or mystery when you're in each other's faces all day. 

I know it seems desirable to get all these free trips, but how much fun can you possibly have when you need to set up multiple camera angles every minute of the day? 

I'm also not surprised they're sticking to their diet of processed carbs when Middle Eastern food is healthy and delicious. Vegetables, lean meats and rice would be too much of a shock to their systems. 

[ranchgirl]

On 12/6/2024 at 6:38 AM, realitycat said:

Why are you stepping away because they're taking trips?  

Because it's all so fake now.  I don't even want to snark on it because it brings them attention, which is exactly what they want.  I'm not stepping away from here ... just from them.  

[BetyBee]

1 hour ago, ranchgirl said:

Because it's all so fake now.  I don't even want to snark on it because it brings them attention, which is exactly what they want.  I'm not stepping away from here ... just from them.  

I've been feeling that way too. 

[Heathen]

5 hours ago, BitterApple said:

cereality, your last paragraph was so funny because my first thought watching their reels is it looks like a young woman hanging with her gay bestie. They have no sexual chemistry whatsoever, and I think that's what happens when you're together 24/7. It's hard to maintain any spark or mystery when you're in each other's faces all day. 

I know it seems desirable to get all these free trips, but how much fun can you possibly have when you need to set up multiple camera angles every minute of the day? 

I'm also not surprised they're sticking to their diet of processed carbs when Middle Eastern food is healthy and delicious. Vegetables, lean meats and rice would be too much of a shock to their systems. 

Evan has pinged for a long time, for me anyway.

What a waste of travel time -- travel 2500 miles (or whatever) and eat the same thing you do at home. 

[realitycat]

8 hours ago, AstridM said:

Surely the IRS does not allow them to legally write off the first class plane tickets to Dubai, all of their meals, etc? Anyone know where to report tax fraud? 😂

No way they're paying for this trip.  They've yet to give any explanation/context, but at the end of their most recent YT vid, Evan said, "Shout out to Dubai, I guess? I don't know how that works.  Thanks for having us out?"  Pretty vague, but sounds to me like maybe they were invited by the Dubai tourism board, or whatever they call it - and guessing whomever invited them is also comping everything.  Anyway, even if the trip isn't a "business expense," seems like it would count as income if they accepted it in exchange for a certain amount of content about the city on their social media.

[realitycat]

6 hours ago, ranchgirl said:

Because it's all so fake now.  I don't even want to snark on it because it brings them attention, which is exactly what they want.  I'm not stepping away from here ... just from them.  

Ah, that makes sense.  I guess 'reality vlogs' are the same as reality tv, in that sooner or later, they all start running out of "real" content.  And so begins the copious amounts of travel/activities you know they wouldn't be doing otherwise.  I happen to be a sucker for good travel porn, so I don't usually mind the trips so much, but so far, not impressed with Carlin and Evan's travel vlog.  A lot of airport footage (snooze), a lot of video and talk about food (so far nothing I couldn't get within a 2 mile radius of my condo), a hotel massage . . . and very, very little of the city itself.  Anyway, totally agree if it's not fun anymore, then no reason to torture yourself.  As I'm discovering (just found these boards), there's soooooo much to snark on here, and so little time lol.  

[floridamom]

I bet dollars to doughnuts that it's not Kelly Jo who's taking care of Layla and Zade.

[AstridM]

11 hours ago, realitycat said:

No way they're paying for this trip.  They've yet to give any explanation/context, but at the end of their most recent YT vid, Evan said, "Shout out to Dubai, I guess? I don't know how that works.  Thanks for having us out?"  Pretty vague, but sounds to me like maybe they were invited by the Dubai tourism board, or whatever they call it - and guessing whomever invited them is also comping everything.  Anyway, even if the trip isn't a "business expense," seems like it would count as income if they accepted it in exchange for a certain amount of content about the city on their social media.

No way Dubai invited 2 evangelical idiots and comped everything. I don’t believe that for a second.

[65mickey]

Did they ever reveal what car they bought after wrecking the Tesla?

[Notabug]

2 hours ago, AstridM said:

No way Dubai invited 2 evangelical idiots and comped everything. I don’t believe that for a second.

There's no way they paid for it themselves.  Somebody forked over the cash.  Dubai does allow Christian churches, including evangelicals,  preach and practice there; but it seems unlikely that any fundy church would pay these two fools.  They've gotten far away from their conservative Christian roots.

I'm betting we'll be hearing about the launch of some sort of vanity based business (clothing, makeup, designer food) that they attended while there.

I really do not understand why anyone would pay them for acting like ugly Americans, but there must be someone subsidizing this waste of a trip.

[Salacious Kitty]

4 hours ago, floridamom said:

I bet dollars to doughnuts that it's not Kelly Jo who's taking care of Layla and Zade.

Apparently, the kids stayed at home with Michael and Brandon coming over to care for them. 

[BitterApple]

Carlin tagged the Dubai Tourism Board and hotel in every picture, so it's likely they were the ones who sponsored the trip. They probably hire a marketing company to reach out to Influencers with sizeable followings, and religious/political leanings don't factor into it. 

[satrunrose]

7 hours ago, AstridM said:

No way Dubai invited 2 evangelical idiots and comped everything. I don’t believe that for a second.

Actually, it's kind of smart when you think about it. I associate Dubai with being a party city for westerners who like conspicuous consumption (ie Vegas, but overseas), which wouldn't have been a big draw for a lot of Evangelicals until the "party party" (ie. we try to act like mainstreamers but minus alcohol or actual fun) young evangelicals started coming on the scene. Now, I'm not sure that Tourism Dubai are going to see a big return because, to my mind, the Venn diagram overlap of fundies who can a) afford Dubai b) aren't scared of heathen cooties and c) would want to do anything other than an annoy the locals with pamphlets is really slim. That being said, I can never figure out how Carlin and Evan aren't flat broke in the first place, so what do I know? 

[realitycat]

On 12/8/2024 at 3:13 PM, satrunrose said:

b) aren't scared of heathen cooties 

heathen cooties!  Still laughing. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣