Meet the Parents: Gil and Kelly Jo Bates

[Absolom]

I may be wrong, but I don't think Gil Bates is as money driven as Jim Bob.  I think he's controlling, but in less obvious and demanding ways.  He seems to not view the married couples as appendages of the mother ship like JB apparently has either.  I think he probably nudges the kids who have stayed near them in Tennessee, but I doubt he's trying to run John and Alyssa's life in Florida.  It has probably helped the Bates kids that there is no publicly known sexual abuser in the immediate family and that they didn't end up on a long term TLC contract.  

I can see Gil meddling or trying to "guide" the married kids, but he doesn't have as much in either carrot or stick to use to force them to agree and follow him.  

[Jeanne222]

I’d still like to know the real story about why they lost the show. 

Of all of them I could see Katie maybe getting a show with her husband. Beautiful baby, singing husband, family’s. 

Wouldn’t that frost Carlins pumpkin!

[Meow Mix]

On 9/15/2023 at 5:27 AM, GeeGolly said:

I wonder how, after Shiny Happy People, Josh Duggar, Jinger's book and now Jill's book, G&K and they rest of the Bates are faring?

Are they feeling smug thinking its a Duggar thing not a Bates thing? Are G&K thinking its all good if "done right" and the Duggars and others "faltered" in ways they did not? And what about MedicCrap - are the guys talking about this?

I can't imagine after all that has gone down in the past few years, it hasn't had some impact on the Bates.

Definitely feeling smug.  Gil seems like the type who would think that none of his kids would come out against him like Jill has.  He probably sends pitying messages to JB and ofJB saying he's praying for them and slipping in some passive aggressive digs along the way.

I'm sure he and Kelly kept a good chunk of the show money for themselves, but they didn't get as much from UpTV as JB got from TLC.  Also, I doubt he hoarded it all and said the kids could only have access to it when he and Kelly died.  Gil is still controlling where he can be, but he has never had the financial ability to keep his kids under his thumb that JB has.  So, he probably isn't thrilled to see some of his kids drift away from the strict rules, but he had to adjust to it.  JB could keep exerting control, so when that control finally ran out, he lost it.

[ginger90]

[BetyBee]

Kelly looks nice. Gil looks old. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

[Absolom]

The dress is lovely on Kelly and fits well.  Now if someone would tell her you don't push the sleeves up on a semi-formal dress.  

Edited October 14, 2023 by Absolom

[GeeGolly]

The dress isn't for me but KJ looks great. It only took her, what 10 or 11 weddings? 💃🏽

[Heathen]

Kelly looks heavily Spanxed, but she looks nice overall. For once, she doesn't have fried, ratty hair. Gil's suit doesn't fit, but oh well. He shopped at Jim Bob's Cheap Men's Suits again. 

Now bring on the bridal party photos so I can snark. Hopefully Carlin laid off the fundie-Kardashian look. It doesn't flatter anyone, including a fundie or a Kardashian. 

[Salacious Kitty]

I assume Josie did Kelly's hair. The navy is a good color for her. 

I don't think Carlin is in the wedding party, but Layla is a flower girl.

[GeeGolly]

Kelly should have done nude or gold shoes. Something about those blue shoes makes me think of a 8yo wearing grown up shoes for the first time.

Edited October 14, 2023 by GeeGolly

[BitterApple]

Wow, date I say it, but Kelly looks nice. The blue color suits her and the dress is flattering. This is a rare moment where she knocked it out of the park. 

[Heathen]

14 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

Wow, date I say it, but Kelly looks nice. The blue color suits her and the dress is flattering. This is a rare moment where she knocked it out of the park. 

Think somebody else chose and styled it for her? Josie, maybe. Kelly's hair obviously enjoyed the light touch of a professional. 

[Salacious Kitty]

I already pegged Josie for Kelly's nice hair. 😁

[BitterApple]

1 hour ago, Heathen said:

Think somebody else chose and styled it for her? Josie, maybe. Kelly's hair obviously enjoyed the light touch of a professional. 

Kelly thanked Miss Renee, so I'm assuming her or one of her staff. People in the bridal industry work with an array of body types and know which silhouettes are most flattering. Josie definitely got ahold of her hair. 

[floridamom]

Kelly's dress and her hair/makeup look great today. I have to say her shoes do not match; they are a different blue and they are casual flat shoes; also not leather. She needed a semi-formal party shoe to go with her all over lace dress. If she couldn't match the blue, she should have gone for black patent leather shoes with a little heel. Flats just don't go with that nice dress. Yes, I noticed that Gil has aged.....and his suit does not fit as noted above.

[GeeGolly]

23 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

Kelly thanked Miss Renee, so I'm assuming her or one of her staff. People in the bridal industry work with an array of body types and know which silhouettes are most flattering. Josie definitely got ahold of her hair. 

Except for the bridal industry supporting Christine Brown Wooley. 🤣

We should do a wedding dress/wedding wear thread for the Bates.

[zenme]

2 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

Kelly should have done nude or gold shoes. Something about those blue shoes makes me think of a 8yo wearing grown up shoes for the first time.

Even silver shoes would’ve been nice. She has no sense of style.

[JAYJAY1979]

Kelly looks great...but if she had proper shoes, she wouldn't be Kelly lol. She's to fundie land how Kyle Richard's is to Housewives...no sense of style.

[ozziemom]

6 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

Kelly should have done nude or gold shoes. Something about those blue shoes makes me think of a 8yo wearing grown up shoes for the first time.

Saw on Alyssa’s YouTube that KJ ordered those shoes from Amazon. They were delivered to Alyssa’s house a couple days before the wedding. KJ was wondering if the blue shoe would match the blue dress. Kinda late to be asking that. Plus I guess she doesn’t need to wear her new shoes before the day to break them in?

[Salacious Kitty]

If KJ already had the dress, why not hold it up next to the sample of the blue shoes to confirm a match? She seems to fly by the seat of her denim skirt on the regular.

[GeeGolly]

Did Kelly think she needed to dress like she was going to an old school prom? The shoes do not need to be the same color as the dress.

[Salacious Kitty]

2 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

Did Kelly think she needed to dress like she was going to an old school prom? The shoes do not need to be the same color as the dress.

LOL! I never dyed my shoes to match. 

[Notabug]

22 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

Kelly should have done nude or gold shoes. Something about those blue shoes makes me think of a 8yo wearing grown up shoes for the first time.

The shoes are a needle scratch.  Even if she wanted flats or low heels, there are tons of dressy options these days.  She could've even bought sparkly shoe clips to dress up her navy flats and it would've looked better.  A few rhinestones would've dressed them up nicely.  Amazon has lots of nice options for under 15 bucks.  It would've also distracted from the color mismatch with the dress.

Also, this wedding happened in Florida, a pair of strappy silver sandals would've been a great choice, too.

Weren't dyed-to-match shoes more of a bridesmaids thing back in the '60's?  I went to prom in 1975 (yes, I am old) and I guarantee, nobody I knew was wearing dyed to match shoes back then.  Heck, back in those days, I had one pair of dressy shoes, they were black and that's what I wore with my off-white prom dress with pastel trim.  I didn't know many kids whose parents were going to spend money for both a new dress and shoes.

 

[Salacious Kitty]

Dyed to match was a thing in the late 80s/early 90s. 

[ozziemom]

8 minutes ago, Notabug said:

The shoes are a needle scratch.  Even if she wanted flats or low heels, there are tons of dressy options these days.  She could've even bought sparkly shoe clips to dress up her navy flats and it would've looked better.  A few rhinestones would've dressed them up nicely.  Amazon has lots of nice options for under 15 bucks.  It would've also distracted from the color mismatch with the dress.

Also, this wedding happened in Florida, a pair of strappy silver sandals would've been a great choice, too.

Weren't dyed-to-match shoes more of a bridesmaids thing back in the '60's?  I went to prom in 1975 (yes, I am old) and I guarantee, nobody I knew was wearing dyed to match shoes back then.  Heck, back in those days, I had one pair of dressy shoes, they were black and that's what I wore with my off-white prom dress with pastel trim.  I didn't know many kids whose parents were going to spend money for both a new dress and shoes.

 

Yes, the generic blue flats did nothing but distract from the pretty dress. Couldn’t she wear even a small heel? Silver would have been nice but at least she didn’t wear an abomination like the tinman dress. Her hair and makeup was good too. I wonder if Emerson’s mom saw pictures of KJ from prior weddings and hired someone like Josie to do up KJ. I’m not sure Josie had enough time. 

[Salacious Kitty]

KJ wore the tinman dress at an early wedding, maybe Zach's? She didn't have a ugly modesty panel sewn in the front, so it was miles better on her.

Edited October 15, 2023 by Salacious Kitty

[Heathen]

I wonder if Kelly has feet problems -- like plantar fasciitis -- that are worsened by her size and 123 pregnancies. I am NOT criticizing her size. I'm overweight with plantar fasciitis. I wear athletic shoes because anything without support, like flats, just kills me. 

[BetyBee]

2 hours ago, Heathen said:

I wonder if Kelly has feet problems -- like plantar fasciitis -- that are worsened by her size and 123 pregnancies. I am NOT criticizing her size. I'm overweight with plantar fasciitis. I wear athletic shoes because anything without support, like flats, just kills me. 

Michelle Duggar seems to have foot problems, so maybe the 19 pregnancies have been hard on Kelly's body. She could try Orthofeet - I've bought a few pairs there and they made a huge difference when I had plantar fasciitis. I could finally walk pain free and it got better. I just looked at the site and there weren't any cute for a wedding sandals. But Kelly's dil Tiffany was wearing casual sandals at the wedding. So she could have gotten away with them. I get no support at all from the type of flats Kelly did choose. 

[Salacious Kitty]

Companies like Spenco and Vionic make ballet flats with orthotics. Granted, they won't cost $15, but you get what you pay for. Get a pair in black and another in cream or white, and she wouldn't have to keep buying cheap shoes she'll only wear once.

[zenme]

7 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Dyed to match was a thing in the late 80s/early 90s. 

Yes! In ‘88 my friends and I had dyed to match satin pumps with our prom dresses! So surprised at Kelly, as she always looks like she’s still living in the ‘80s.

[BitterApple]

Josie posted a bunch of wedding prep reels, and she did do Kelly's hair and makeup. She's very good at her craft, because that's the most put-together I've seen Kelly look at any of the weddings. 

[ozziemom]

8 hours ago, BitterApple said:

Josie posted a bunch of wedding prep reels, and she did do Kelly's hair and makeup. She's very good at her craft, because that's the most put-together I've seen Kelly look at any of the weddings. 

I’m impressed both with Josie’s work on KJ and that she was able to get herself and her kids ready too. Maybe she has a husband who actually parents his kids? The Balkas flew in very last minute due to doctors appointment so she had an excuse if she wanted. 

[GeeGolly]

Kelly repeated this blue dress, MOH at Michael's and repeated the dreaded tinman dress, that Michelle also wore to one of her kid's weddings.

Josie's wedding.

Nathan's wedding.

 

 

[Jeanne222]

Kelly looks really good because she has lost quite a bit of weight!  I noticed her weight loss in other videos her daughters did with her recently.

[BitterApple]

2 hours ago, Jeanne222 said:

Kelly looks really good because she has lost quite a bit of weight!  I noticed her weight loss in other videos her daughters did with her recently.

That's awesome. Trying to lose weight in middle age sucks. I'm 45 and feel like I gain five pounds just walking by a dessert table. I know Kelly mentioned struggling to stick to a diet so hopefully she's found a regimen that works for her. I know everyone is doing those Ozempic shots, but I hope she didn't go that route. I've read there's a lot of side effects. 

[Natalie68]

On 10/15/2023 at 11:42 AM, Salacious Kitty said:

Dyed to match was a thing in the late 80s/early 90s. 

Yes indeed!  Past owner of teal satin pumps.

[3 is enough]

2 hours ago, BitterApple said:

That's awesome. Trying to lose weight in middle age sucks. I'm 45 and feel like I gain five pounds just walking by a dessert table. I know Kelly mentioned struggling to stick to a diet so hopefully she's found a regimen that works for her. I know everyone is doing those Ozempic shots, but I hope she didn't go that route. I've read there's a lot of side effects. 

Not to mention that Type 2 Diabetics who have a legitimate need for the drug are having a hard time finding it due to shortages. I doubt Kelly is using it. It is pricey even for people with good insurance.

[floridamom]

Kelly Jo would lose a lot of weight simply by dropping her sweet tea habit. She walks around with it in a large cup most of the time. Perhaps she did give it up. 

[Eureka]

7 hours ago, Natalie68 said:

Yes indeed!  Past owner of teal satin pumps.

Emerald green here! 😆

[floridamom]

After seeing those shoes in their boxes, Alyssa should have taken her mother directly to DSW or Macys. Just yesterday I saw numerous sparkly, strappy dressy shoes with low heals and wedgies too. At least they would have gone with such a dressy dress. Kelly's dress was so nice looking but ruined by those shoes. Otherwise, she really looked good.

[zenme]

9 hours ago, floridamom said:

After seeing those shoes in their boxes, Alyssa should have taken her mother directly to DSW or Macys. Just yesterday I saw numerous sparkly, strappy dressy shoes with low heals and wedgies too. At least they would have gone with such a dressy dress. Kelly's dress was so nice looking but ruined by those shoes. Otherwise, she really looked good.

Yes, Dillard’s has some bridal, or mother of the bride, shoes with a comfortable low or flat heel. Heck! If she bought a neutral sparkly black or gold shoe, she could take care of them and reuse them for the multiple weddings sure to happen in the future. 

[GeeGolly]

KJ did a reel on the heatless curler thing Josie (and a million others) shill. If KJ can do it anyone can. I'm seriously thinking about buying one - likely from Amazon. Have any of you tried it?

[AstridM]

9 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

KJ did a reel on the heatless curler thing Josie (and a million others) shill. If KJ can do it anyone can. I'm seriously thinking about buying one - likely from Amazon. Have any of you tried it?

No, but I’ve read you can just use a robe belt or similar to get the same effect. No need to spend lots of $$ on the ones the Bateses are shilling. Amazon has much cheaper ones also.

[Absolom]

Back in the day I knew a couple of people who used old pantyhose.  Socks also work depending on the curl you want.  As someone noted Josie had to redo the curling as it doesn't always last all day.  

Edited October 21, 2023 by Absolom

[Notabug]

2 hours ago, Absolom said:

Back in the day I knew a couple of people who used old pantyhose.  Socks also work depending on the curl you want.  As someone noted Josie had to redo the curling as it doesn't always last all day.  

When I was a kid. my mom used to give me 'rag curls' which her mother had done for her as a kid.  You take an old bedsheet or similar, tear it into strips and tie each on onto a piece of hair and wrap it.  They last for days if done right.  The heatless rollers are just a variation on the process.

https://www.wikihow.com/Curl-Hair-with-Rags

[AstridM]

15 minutes ago, Notabug said:

When I was a kid. my mom used to give me 'rag curls' which her mother had done for her as a kid.  You take an old bedsheet or similar, tear it into strips and tie each on onto a piece of hair and wrap it.  They last for days if done right.  The heatless rollers are just a variation on the process.

https://www.wikihow.com/Curl-Hair-with-Rags

God forbid the Bates share this with their fans instead of trying to convince them to buy an overpriced version. Many of their fans probably don’t have much money. 

[Totally]

I bought the Aldi version of the headless curlers. I have wavy hair and thought I’d get a great result, but I found the curls don’t last at all. I gave it to the op shop after a week 

[Jeanne222]

Is this Josies product or just something she's promoting?

[BitterApple]

56 minutes ago, Jeanne222 said:

Is this Josies product or just something she's promoting?

Josie orders them wholesale and then resells them under the Effortless Beauty label. 

[BetyBee]

14 hours ago, Totally said:

I bought the Aldi version of the headless curlers. I have wavy hair and thought I’d get a great result, but I found the curls don’t last at all. I gave it to the op shop after a week 

I think Josie uses a lot of product to make her heatless curls last longer. I tried an Amazon version and ended up giving it to my teen-aged granddaughter. My hair is wavy too, but I'm just not into using a lot of product on my hair. Josie's always looks great, though.