Michelle and JimBob aka J'Chelle and Boob

[Chris Knight]

While the motion sickness explanation makes sense, I don't think that is what happened. Mullet is a hypochondriac and a huge attentionwhore (this cacannot be said enough) and I can't believe she'd not tell us about how hard it was for her to suffer in the car. In fact, she'd tell us over and over.

Agree with floridamom about Anna. Once a skinny mini, she's a heifer now but does genuinely appear to have hard labors. Get thee to a hospital for M4.

[Iwadre]

I've been trying to spot Michelle with any of the little kids on her lap. I have never seen them curled up with a book reading together. Being with little kids mean getting on their level, playing on the floor... I just don't see that.

[RedheadZombie]

As much as Jim Bob may think he's the decider in chief, I think it's clear Michelle controls everything.  Jim Bob is a true believer, whereas Michelle is a fanatic.  There's not one weird religious rule Gothard makes up that Michelle doesn't love.  In fact, she'll outdo everyone and make up her own stricter rules.

 

Jim Bob is a total dork, but he loves his kids and it shows.  Michelle - I'll give her a little credit.  She seems to like Josh and Josie.  It's Jim Bob's overly enthusiastic personality that makes him so dorky, but at least he actually feels.  So he comes roaring up your driveway with two hundred snotty kids five minutes after you give birth, and honking the horn like a lunatic.  Well he's a grandpa and happy to let people know.

 

I think Michelle tolerates Jim Bob while he worships at her feet.  I've never heard him say a single bad thing - even neutral thing - about Michelle.  And yet she lets everyone know that she doesn't remember meeting him the first time, he has bad breath, he's a whiny and wimpy patient, he's fat and needs to lose weight, etc.

 

I don't have much good to say about Jim Bob, but I feel the need to give him credit where it's due.  When Josie was born, I'm sure Michelle would have been happy to be martyred in childbirth, and die as a legend.  I think Jim Bob was the one who pushed for the C-section, and he immediately stated that no matter what happened, their lives would never again be the same.  He was appropriately solemn, and he understood how dire the circumstances.

 

Jim Bob cried when Josh and Anna were leaving for D.C., and Michelle contorted her face in an attempt to affect sadness.  I think the children are more likely to go to JB for affection than Michelle, but all Michelle has to do is wave her butt around and distract him back to her, worshipping her as she prefers.  He probably believes your spouse comes before your children, and in that aspect he neglects them. 

Edited June 30, 2014 by RedheadZombie

[NausetGirl]

Knowing JimBoob, he probably *convinced* the kids to let him handle their money. He has to protect them from the big evil heathens that would try to convince the kids to use the money for bad things.

I'm sure the kids haven't a clue that they're even entitled to a share of the money.  It's quite clear they've been indoctrinated from birth that Ma & Pa handle everything.  And especially that only Pa is smart enough to handle $$.

Edited June 30, 2014 by NausetGirl

[trimthatfat]

I would have bought Michelle was being serious instead of ticked off if she'd said anything kind to Anna. Anything. Instead she was stone faced as if the whole thing was a major imposition on her life. With Michelle to me it's a sign if she can't manage at least one fake smile or giggle.

Exactly! Your daughter-in-law is having painful contractions and you can't even utter a half-hearted 'You're doing a great job! Hold on, Anna!'? Nothing? Not a peep? That's just bizarre.

Edited June 30, 2014 by trimthatfat

[PecanSandie]

@redheadedzombie That was a great post and I agree with you completely.

[RedheadZombie]

Thank you PecanSandie, but I'm just realizing I posted in the wrong thread.   If I was still at TWoP, I would be in big trouble! 

[roamyn]

RedHeadZombie, I too agree w/you.

I was watching the Proposal again the other night, and JimBob's is sitting around coloring w/his children. Has Michele ever done that?

He may have some quirky beliefs, but he honestly cares what happens to the girls, and not wanting to see them hurt.

I also get the impression that he & Jill are very close.

[Rhondinella]

@RedheadZombie I fixed it for you.  No worries!

[Literata]

 

It's obvious that Boob is a horndog selfish bastard that most likely has been trying to get J'Chelle knocked up as many times as possible only for the fame and his ego.

I may be in the minority, but I see this thing a little differently.

 

I think Michelle is the one driving the bus. All kidding aside, I think she has emotional/mental issues around being pregnant, and also around Gothardism; I don't know anything about the cult personally, but my guess is that the Duggars have been exalted for creating their own army of children to continue to populate that particular sect. I also wonder if some tenet of their faith actually mandates that Mom hand the babies off to older children to raise so she can continue to populate the army. So she's not expected to be so much mother/nurturer as she is child-grower/figurehead. 

 

Judging from what we've seen of Mary Duggar, her late husband, her daughter Deanna, Deanna's husband, and Amy, I think Boob came from an evangelical Christian home, certainly, but not from the wackjobbery that his own family now espouses. My degree in armchair psychology leads me to speculate that because of the way Boob grew up -- financially insecure with an apparently difficult father -- he probably didn't come out of the nest with the healthiest self-esteem. So when teenage hottie Michelle returned his affections, he vowed then and there to do what he needed to do to keep her happy.

 

Remember that it was Michelle, not Boob, who decided women shouldn't wear pants, for example. My guess is she stumbled upon Gothardism/Quiverfull and laid down the law to Boob, and Boob is doing what he needs to do to keep the queen happy. (Not that Boob doesn't enjoy the endless boinking, I'm sure. But left to his own devices, I don't think he would have set out to have 19 kids.)

 

The guy acts like a knob, to be sure, but I still think he loves those kids and tries to have some semblance of a relationship with most of them. Not to give him a free pass, but I honestly don't think this is his dog-and-pony show. 

Edited July 2, 2014 by Literata

[Literata]

Jim Bob is a total dork, but he loves his kids and it shows.

Redhead Zombie, I am with you 110 percent. 

Edited July 2, 2014 by Literata

[JessDVD]

I started this in the Jill & Derick thread but it's really about JB & M so I'm putting it here instead (phew :)

 

I wouldn't be at all surprised if Michelle had some kind of psychological issue connected with her ability to bear children. I internet know someone who has had about that many pregnancies in her life, though about half have ended in miscarriage, and she recently had a baby with trisomy 18 who was born at 32 weeks or so, and only lived a few hours. Despite the fact that all these pregnancies is wreaking havoc on her body and her emotions, she STILL refuses to use birth control and I suspect tries to get pregnant. The only thing I can conclude, and I feel like I see the same in Michelle, is that she finds all of her personal identity in her ability to procreate, and her emotional stability in all these kids. I told my husband the other day (because we really invest too much time and conversation in the Duggars) that to tell Michelle she can't have any more babies must be sort like telling me I can't have my girlfriends anymore, or do anything with music at church (bach in music education, on hold while staying at home with kids, church is the current outlet). Except, you know, that it's generally ridiculous to force someone to not have friends or be involved with something he/she likes, and it is totally normal for women to stop having babies at some point.

[NausetGirl]

I may be in the minority, but I see this thing a little differently.

 

I think Michelle is the one driving the bus. All kidding aside, I think she has emotional/mental issues around being pregnant, and also around Gothardism; I don't know anything about the cult personally, but my guess is that the Duggars have been exalted for creating their own army of children to continue to populate that particular sect. I also wonder if some tenet of their faith actually mandates that Mom hand the babies off to older children to raise so she can continue to populate the army. So she's not expected to be so much mother/nurturer as she is child-grower/figurehead. 

 

Judging from what we've seen of Mary Duggar, her late husband, her daughter Deanna, Deanna's husband, and Amy, I think Boob came from an evangelical Christian home, certainly, but not from the wackjobbery that his own family now espouses. My degree in armchair psychology leads me to speculate that because of the way Boob grew up -- financially insecure with an apparently difficult father -- he probably didn't come out of the nest with the healthiest self-esteem. So when teenage hottie Michelle returned his affections, he vowed then and there to do what he needed to do to keep her happy.

 

Remember that it was Michelle, not Boob, who decided women shouldn't wear pants, for example. My guess is she stumbled upon Gothardism/Quiverfull and laid down the law to Boob, and Boob is doing what he needs to do to keep the queen happy. (Not that Boob doesn't enjoy the endless boinking, I'm sure. But left to his own devices, I don't think he would have set out to have 19 kids.)

 

The guy acts like a knob, to be sure, but I still think he loves those kids and tries to have some semblance of a relationship with most of them. Not to give him a free pass, but I honestly don't think this is his dog-and-pony show. 

 

And to tie this in with Jill, as this is the Jill-Derick forum, Jill obviously adores her dad, and he her. Jill may give lip service to how much she loves her mom, how her mom is her best friend, etc., but she's Daddy's girl. 

Agree.  Would not be at all surprised if this turned out to be the way things really are.  It's often seemed to me that there's an "undercurrent" in the relationship.  That Jim-Bob "bows and scrapes" to Michelle, although both are very good at disguising it.  Back when I still watched the show because I like the Duggars, I remember an episode in which Jim Bob's dad - JR? - stated on camera that he did not at all agree with the fact that they were having so many children.

[Literata]

 

Jim Bob's dad - JR? - stated on camera that he did not at all agree with the fact that they were having so many children.

Yes!  And IIRC, he said Michelle's dad thought it was crazy, too. 

[Absolom]

Jim Bob, though, has been said to be an image control freak over the years.  He controls the family message and the access.  Remember how he was when the girls dared speak to a boy in Israel or in the coffee shop episode.

[McKay]

JimBob makes me uneasy.  I feel like that aw-shucks-good-ole-boy facade is just that.  I remember him talking about the rage issues he used to have as a young father, and I've never gotten the feeling he's really overcome them.  Sure, he takes it out in "funny" ways like shoving Josiah during paintball, but I wouldn't leave my own kid alone with him or Michelle. 

[PinkSprinkles]

Jim Bob, though, has been said to be an image control freak over the years.  He controls the family message and the access.  Remember how he was when the girls dared speak to a boy in Israel or in the coffee shop episode.

 

That Israeli guy was cute too from what I remember and totally harmless. Joseph was with the girls so there was no reason for him to come over. Not to mention that JB is not that scary, just dorky. 

[NausetGirl]

After watching a bunch of those hilarious - and usually spot-on - "Kid Farm" videos on YouTube, it finally dawned on me today who it is that Jim-Bob has been reminding me of all these years.  Howdy Doody!  Can I get an Amen from the congregration?

[Almost 3000]

Yeah, I agree that there's a little Doody in Jim Bob.

[McKay]

A friend of mine says that JimBob looks like Howdy Doody fucked one of the lesser Kennedys.  After I stopped laughing til I cried, I had to concede that that was the perfect description.

[Abstract]

After reading "Cheaper by the Dozen" I'm half convinced that Jim Bob read that book when he was young, and attempts to imitate the personality of the Galbraith father. There are so many (obnoxious) similarities.

[NausetGirl]

A friend of mine says that JimBob looks like Howdy Doody fucked one of the lesser Kennedys.  After I stopped laughing til I cried, I had to concede that that was the perfect description.

Wow, that IS true!  How spot-on...

[Rhondinella]

I agree that there's a little Doody in Jim Bob.

 

 

Hee! Doody.

[bigskygirl]

Looks like JimBoob is going with the kids overseas. I guess poor Mullet will be at home with the lost girls. I will not be surprise if other women will show up to help her take care of her children.

[Portia]

There's a guy at my church who looks so much like Jim Bob that it's scary, and he has two daughter who look like they could be Duggar girls: they've got the features, the coloring, and the long crispy-curled hair.

[Ljohnson1987]

J'Chelle telling Josie that the world doesn't revolve around her was funny. Of course, it revolves around J'Chelle. JOY Is J'Chelle first, Others second, and Youngin's last. 

[Ripley68]

I was thinking the other day that J'chelle and Jim Bob honestly think people are excited and happy for them when they get pregnant.  In reality, we are all more, "Oh My God! (in the "what are they thinking, they are crazy)," but they probably hear "Oh my Gosh! (in the, "I am so happy for them! way)"

[Higgins]

I think normal people will disagree with many aspects of the Duggars lifestyle as they do with most of ours. However, I don't think it is certain that most normal people think they are the devil. It wasn't that long ago that families were large and the children were required to work on the farm or even in factories. It is an improvement that for the most part children aren't in that situation anymore but, in some ways the pendulum has swung too far the other way and we are extending adolescence and creating a entitled generation that is very self involved. I think Michelle has issues and there is no way she can really know her children the way a mother with fewer children can but, those kids seem very nice.

 

I understand the feeling that these children have been indoctrinated because, they have but, don't we all do that to some extent with our children? We teach them our view of the world. Obviously the Duggars have taken it to the extreme but I have no doubt that some the children will choose a different course and some will not and both can be happy.

[Literata]

 

don't we all do that to some extent with our children?

Of course. But my two major issues with the Duggars remain:

 

1. Boob and Michelle had the opportunity to make their "mistakes" as teenagers; it would be great if they'd allow their kids the same opportunity.

2. Parents who choose to bring children into the world and keep those children should RAISE those children.

 

I have no doubt Jill adores Jenny. She probably loves all the kids, even the howlers. But the fact that she and Jana were saddled with raising the babies from age 6 months on is, in my opinion, completely wrong.

[fesspoire]

A better look at Michelle's dress at Jill's wedding. I'm surprised she didn't opt for a turtleneck for modesty's sake. :

 

 

Edited July 8, 2014 by fesspoire

[abseedee]

Yup. Big shoes and big gloves. :P

Makes me wonder what his shoe size is. :p

 

I can't see Jill completely abandoning her "buddies" and I'm sure Derick understands this.  I can imagine any anxiety they may be feeling, especially Jenny, of not seeing their sister/mom 24/7.  So maybe a little one on one with them will help ease it.

 

OMG!  What is J'chelle wearing.  That looks like a turtleneck under that dress.  It probably won't be too obvious if she weren't wearing that necklace.  but still. 

[JessDVD]

..... um .....

 

Ok, I know it's not always easy to find an MOB/MOG dress since they do all tend to be designed for people who are not old enough to BE a mother of a bride or groom (at least that's what my mom has said in her career thus far as a mother of adults who have been/are/will be getting married). But that? I mean, Jill's bridesmaids dresses aren't my cup of tea but I understand that's an individual thing, which is why thousands of styles are out there. Ditto MOB/G dresses as a thing... I may not like what my sister will pick out once she's an MOB/G but we have different styles and that's okay. But that? Really? That was the best you could come up with???? Gross. You really have to know what you're doing to take a dress and use extra fabric to make it modest and not look like butt. Whoever did Jill's dress (I've forgotten), knew what she was doing. Whoever did that for Michelle, did not.

[MrMattyMatt]

Ugh, J'Chelle's dress is definitely a fashion crime, but I can never get past that horrific dated hairdo.   I know they have tried to get her to change it, but really it's worse than the dress.

[Ljohnson1987]

J'Chelle, get with it! The pioneer look is out.

[PinkSprinkles]

I'm just happy she didn't wear her wedding dress to the ceremony, walk down the aisle with JB, and then do an impromptu vow renewal before Jill got married. 

[mbutterfly]

Makes me wonder what his shoe size is. :p

 

I can't see Jill completely abandoning her "buddies" and I'm sure Derick understands this.  I can imagine any anxiety they may be feeling, especially Jenny, of not seeing their sister/mom 24/7.  So maybe a little one on one with them will help ease it.

 

OMG!  What is J'chelle wearing.  That looks like a turtleneck under that dress.  It probably won't be too obvious if she weren't wearing that necklace.  but still. 

You've helped me figure out what is so often off about her clothing. She wears clothing up to her neck but she wears a necklace as if she's wearing a v-neck. 

[lottiedottie]

Gawd, her hair is straight out of 1988. I had that same hairstyle in my 10th grade school pictures in 1989.

[Absolom]

What is worse is that she either bought the same dress Kelly Bates worse at one of the weddings or she borrowed or was given Kelly's dress and added the to the neck piece when it was perfectly modest the way Kelly wore it. 

 

That necklace should go directly to the trash, IMO. 

[BradandJanet]

The devil in me hopes it was warm the day of the wedding and Michelle sweated profusely in that multi-layered satin concoction.

 

[mythoughtis]

If Michelle wanted a high necked gown, she should have gotten one in the first place.  That dress is not meant to have that material in the neck area.... not with the seams the way they are and with the bolero jacket.   She would have been better off getting a gray jacket/skirt and wearing a shell of some kind beneath it.  The outfits they come up with to keep themselves 'modest' just make me cringe.   As much as she appears before crowds, you would think some publicist would get her to a high end dress shop.

 

I am glad to see Jill looking so happy in the pictures we have seen, but they can stop the PDA kissing soon before it ventures into Jim Bob and Michelle territory.  Something else that makes me cringe. 

 

I would also agree that the house is either a cheap rental for them while they save up cash for a house of their own, or some sort of dowry.  A dowry is right in line with all their other courtship/engagement/family roles beliefs.  

Edited July 8, 2014 by mythoughtis

[Zanzibar]

That is the same dress Kelly Bates wore to her son Zach's wedding.  (Not saying Michelle is wearing Kelly's actual dress, but she is wearing a duplicate, although who knows, maybe it is Kelly's actual dress.)  Kelly had a modest little triangle of fabric added to the v-neck; Michelle went way overboard.

[Marigny]

I've been trying to spot Michelle with any of the little kids on her lap. I have never seen them curled up with a book reading together. Being with little kids mean getting on their level, playing on the floor... I just don't see that.

And you never will. 

 

JimBob makes me uneasy.  I feel like that aw-shucks-good-ole-boy facade is just that.  I remember him talking about the rage issues he used to have as a young father, and I've never gotten the feeling he's really overcome them.  Sure, he takes it out in "funny" ways like shoving Josiah during paintball, but I wouldn't leave my own kid alone with him or Michelle. 

I agree. IIRC, when they announced being preggo with either Jordyn or Josie, one of the kids reacted in a non-sweet manner and JB grabs him or something. Anyone else remember this?

[OpieTaylor]

This is just my theory, but I figure that Michelle decided with that many kids, there's no way she can give equal time to them all. If she were to hold them or get down and play with them, then they'd all be clamoring for her all the time. So I think she decided she just won't do it at all. Which IMHO is a good reason to not have so many kids!

[RedheadZombie]

And you never will. 

 

I agree. IIRC, when they announced being preggo with either Jordyn or Josie, one of the kids reacted in a non-sweet manner and JB grabs him or something. Anyone else remember this?

 

It was Josiah.  It was when they announced the Jubilee pregnancy.  Since Michelle almost died with Josie, he was understandably upset and kind of moved quickly away from the group, only to see him returned red eyed and with Jim Bob holding his arm.  I think it was just typical let's pretend we're happy, rather than thinking JB man handled him.  Other than possible blanket training, I don't think they use corporal punishment.  I think Michelle is a lot more militant about that sort of thing, and JB probably didn't want precious Michelle to be upset.

[Rhondinella]

A better look at Michelle's dress at Jill's wedding

 

 

I actually think it's the most attractive thing I've seen her in.  Granted, that's a low bar, and the neckpiece is an abomination, but otherwise I think the dress is rather nice.

[Honey]

I actually think it's the most attractive thing I've seen her in.  Granted, that's a low bar, and the neckpiece is an abomination, but otherwise I think the dress is rather nice.

I agree with you.  From the picture I can only see it from the chest up, but it looks nice on her and I even like the color.  I wonder what Michelle would look like with her hair in an updo?  I would love to have seen her hair up, with a few soft tendrils framing her face.

[Lillybee]

Mullet did have her hair up in an episode shot on a very hot day. It really flattered her.

[mbutterfly]

I remember when they did her hair on the show -- and it looked really nice -- she said something like "But that's how I look when I get out of the shower then I work really hard to fix it." I thought what a shame she spends time to change her hair from pretty to not-pretty. The way she wears her hair seems to be the most unattractive possible way. I agree her hair up with tendrils would probably be good and still very feminine. 

[Absolom]

I think Michelle has naturally curly hair because she also said it would take hours a day to straighten it. 

[MrMattyMatt]

I think Michelle has naturally curly hair because she also said it would take hours a day to straighten it. 

True, but she could enlist one of the J'Slaves to do her hair on a daily basis.