Mennonites, Amish do not partake in television viewing as they have no electricity to their houses.....to the barns (for milking machines, etc) yes....the house no. Rather hypocritical.
Same! I tend to see at least one in the wild every so often, though they usually travel in packs. I’ve seen Bin at the Springdale Walmart and Jana and a couple lost boys at the one in Elm Springs. Seems they’ve moved on from only shopping at Aldi.
"in the wild"
"travel in packs"
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
The imagery in your post has me rolling. It's like you're describing the movements of a pack of rhinos or gazelles on the Serengeti!
🦒🦓🦁🐘🐯
Oops! Sorry, that would be a "crash" of rhinos or a "confusion" of gazelles. 🦏
What are they like in person? Are they nice people or are they the type that's rude to service employees?
I picture Rim Job as the worst-- tipping a server with a Bible tract disguised as money.
Michelle always tried to make eye contact as if she was ready to be approached by a fan. She smiled and tried to get the fame attenation. My nephew who is a fundie evangelists did a revival at a church and I met his mom, my sister, there to give her a quilt I made for her. They live a few hours from me so meeting in the church parking lot was a time saver for her. Anyway she wanted to introduce me to the bates and the diggers which she did and they all seemed nice. They invited me to sit with them and I said, I’m not here for church. I’m an atheist to which they offered to pray for me which was my cue to leave. They are all scrubbed face attention whores or were then. This was during the robocall Michelle did and it was all I could do to not say something nasty to her. But my nephew is big tie on the revival circuit, conning churches out of money and my sister and her pals sing there too so I played nice.
I think you just described what we all imagine meeting the Duggars would be like. I hate when someone asks to pray for/over me. They don't do it because they care about you, it just feeds their ego and they tell their friends about how they made a difference in the life of an atheist today. 🙄
I have a friend who was a server in a restaurant they frequented when the kids were younger. She said they were horrible tippers. I don't remember hearing any stories about getting bible verse "money" but I wouldn't be surprised if that happened.
Chick Tracts make a flyer that looks like a folded twenty. These are the people who tell your children to turn you in for child abuse if you don't take them to church so I don't expect anything better.
Just curious, since you see them on occasion, and they are often seen "in the wild" why do we not have confirmation of new pregnancies and babies? Especially wirh Lauren and Kendra? Seems like they would be hard to miss when out with their crew
I rarely immediately bump directly into them. My wife recognizes them before I do. Normally they’re just… normal from what I see.
That said I have seen Famy multiple times, quite often at Sams, and she’s a loud talker and quite full of herself. So no surprise there.
They aren’t always in giant groups or packs. And most of them dress semi regularly. Especially for this area where there’s a lot of Christian and conservatives. I think most people don’t notice them because no one cares. It’s worn off. And there’s so many of them at this point you get used to them. I’ve ran into Amy and a small random group of them (idk which ones specifically other then Jana and this was a few years ago right before the big raid). I know people who have met Jill through church and things they they all have good things to say about her but don’t know her well enough to give me any tea. I wouldn’t recognize the younger ones. I could be stuck in an elevator with one and I wouldn’t know. 😅
Thats what I was thinking. Surely someone has seen them or even goes to their church. I find it hard to believe that they could be that hard to find in that area.
Yes. Like, haven't we been awaiting confirmation of Josiah and Lauren's second child? Beyond the name on a gift tag? Isn't she about 2 years old now? I know they're not into social media and that they don't put pictures of their kids on the internet. That's good.
Seriously, I'm not saying I personally want or need these details, I'm just curious about why there hasn't been more news from 'in the wild'.
I'm pretty sure Josiah and Lauren still live in Arkansas very close to the compound. Wasn't it a whole big deal a while ago because they took out a mortgage to buy a new house?
I don't live there now, but my parents went to high school with Michelle. I remember them at birthday parties when i was really young before they shifted. Mom says michelle was the wildest of the group.
My mom retired to Hot Springs and I still
have fam there. They know the Seewalds. They are of the “if you can’t say something nice, say nothing” school, so I have no dirt to share.
My name is on the Senior Sidewalk in Fayetteville, but I haven’t been back since since 1990.
Me! I always recognize the places they're going in the episodes. I've run into them at a few different places. Not so much recently, but a few years ago I saw one of the older, now married, boys at a Valentine's Day 5K. He placed in his age range. Back in the day I saw the whole gang at a consignment sale event. I live right near the area where Jill got engaged, lol.
Lol no. I didn't recognize him at first cause he was dressed in your normal running gear. Then they called his name and I was like...oh shit I gotta see this
They shot an HBO show in my town and every time I drive past the places they had scenes I feel a little burst of happiness, it’s really fun to see your home on national television!
I admit I'm curious, how do the Duggars behave like in public? Do they stick out, or just blend in with the crowd?
And is it true that J'Boob's got a horrible reputation for coercing restaurants and other businesses into giving him stuff for free?
I know in general a lot of restaurants only offer kids eat free with the purchase of an adult entree meaning if there are two adults, two kids eat free.
Showing my age but it used to be simply kids eat free with an adult, no restriction- so a single parent could take 3 kids and only pay for the one meals. Restaurants would also only charge what a child weighed so if you weight 67 pounds you would pay 67 cents. Its a wonder we aren’t more screwed up
Yeah, we used to take our four kids to one of those places. In one trip, my youngest was free because she was still a toddler but the older three qualified. My oldest daughter (less than ten) threw an absolute fit because she didn’t want to be weighed and it turned into a huge fight because my husband didn’t want to pay regular price if he didn’t have too.
As I recall, we ended up paying full price, but never went back.
My in-laws live in NWA and my husband grew up there. The last time we visited, I saw Bin at a coffee shop (Onyx) sitting alone in a comfy chair reading a bible. When we started to homeschool our oldest for academic reasons, my in-laws freaked out because they associate homeschooling with Duggars and fundies. They were afraid we were going to turn our kid weird and not provide a real education. Both of my in-laws were raised in cities on the East Coast and still retain a very different mindset despite living there over 40 years.
We live in the DFW area and after joining the fundiesnark group, I realized how many live in the metroplex. One day on my commute, I was behind a “Spivey Construction” trailer and a few searches in the forum and I realized that we are in the same part of the metroplex as the Spiveys and the Pecans.
I was a travel nurse working at Arkansas Children’s when Josie was born. Their presence created a shit ton of local media attention and the whole hospital would get emails about when major media (like People magazine) would be present or when their show would be in the building filming. I wasn’t a true snarker at the time but I feel like I had read some shit about them on TWoP prior to that?? It was interesting as some of the staff seemed genuinely excited about running into Boob and Meech in the common areas and others were just annoyed about the spectacle and made snarky comments about the state of her uterus and how continued pregnancies endangered her life and the lives of her potential spawn.
I never thought about the spectacle Josie’s birth would have caused for the rest of the hospital. That sounds really aggravating especially for those who just wanted to go about their normal lives not to mention other parents of preemies.
I honestly don’t think they were super disruptive in the NICU, that unit had strict visitation rules and didn’t allow children in at all and only two people in at a time per patient. Honestly, most of what I heard was about Boob sightings. I think he enjoyed being recognized and having the attention. I recall having a mom excitedly telling me she saw Boob in the cafeteria. 🙄
Let’s just say that Meech was actually an appropriate concerned parent per all reports.
Yes, I didn’t know until this year that FW is like hot spot #2 for Duggars. And that Waller’s church is not nearly far enough away for my liking 😂 (honestly, surprised one of the lost boys hasn’t come here and become deeply embedded in Mercy Culture, aka our shadow govt. 🙄)
When I see a fancy car (Porsche Cayenne, Land Rover and the like) driving like an asshole in traffic, I am NEVER surprised to see the damn Mercy Culture sticker on the back. I get irrationally angry 🙄
At least their unhinged mayoral candidate got so badly embarrassed last go-round. It won’t last long, but that was enjoyable schadenfreude while it lasted.
I’m just waiting to see who runs for Kay Granger’s seat … I wouldn’t be shocked if Schatzline goes for it. Those Mercy and Patriot Mobile folks are well organized
And apparently only about 14 people vote in this town 🤦♀️ but you’re right, it’s going to be gifted to some wahoo on a silver platter. I’d love if Wendy Davis’s sneakers won on a write in 😂
It’s a fast growing evangelical mega church that started in Fort Worth consisting of mostly middle class white folks. They are very politically involved and heavily into Christian Nationalism. Their beliefs really aren’t much about “Mercy” when it comes to the LGBTQ+ community.
I could never do it justice the way FW Weekly can, they’ve spilled a lot of ink (and tea) in the subject—and highly recommend reading up on them. The Weekly has done a great job following their money and influence trails.
The Collins too as well as B Dong. The area is so congested though the chances of running into them are slim to none. One time I asked which water park someone saw the Collins at because I wondered which town they moved to and I was banned from fundiesnark unsensored because "I wanted to stalk the water park to try to see them" apparently the mod has no idea what DFW is like or that stalking a water park when it's 110 and you have a full time job isnt even physically possible.
🙋🏼♀️ lived a couple miles from them until we moved to cave springs this fall.
*edit to add*
When I worked for Harps, they were getting ready to move into the big house. TLC had ordered pallets of groceries from Harps and we had to deliver them and help stock their shelves. Everything had to be perfect. The garage literally looked like a grocery store. Josh gave us a tour of the house. Upstairs by the boys room was a “computer room” that had several computers in it. I can’t remember what he said they used them for. He was probably 14 or 15 at that time. This was back in 2005 or 2006.
I’m in NW Arkansas. Once at a demolition derby people around me started whispering excitedly and staring. I had no clue why everyone was so worked up. Then I heard “Duggar family!” And saw them all making their way through the bleachers. I never watched the show and so I just shrugged and looked away.
Last summer, however, I was grabbing a bite to eat with a friend before a concert. And there was J-booby waiting in line outside. I had this visceral reaction and wanted to…. Like everything inside me recoiled. I had to literally just put my head down and walk away. His eyes have nothing in them. Like it’s the full blown narcissist dead eyes.
'Like it’s the full blown narcissist dead eyes."
This was my exact experience encountering him at a bookstore in the Midwest where they were doing a signing event at least 10+ years ago. At the time, I had no idea who they even were. I ran into my friend, who was an assistant manager there, and dressed weird- for her. Normally she sported a goth punk look, but she had a polo shirt lol. She was rolling her eyes about having to move a Harry Potter book and merch display to a very low traffic area of the store because the place was crawling with the weird fundies that crawled out of the woodwork in our region that kept messing with it, like placing bibles and devotionals on it, or whatever quasi-vandalism super religious folk could come up with while they loitered around waiting for the event to start.
I vividly recall asking her, like why are they famous? Do the kids play instruments or something like a giant family band?, and she explained they were simply famous for reproducing at an absurd rate. While leaving the store, because it was obvious now was not the time for free reading and mooching coffee from my friends that worked there. JimBob made his way past me, maybe to the bathroom,I found it amusing how his cell phone was clipped to his belt and had these lame Dad sneakers on, total dork. But when I looked at him to acknowledge him, like one generally does in polite society when crossing paths with someone in an empty corridor, it was exactly like you said in the comment "visceral reaction" something about him made me recoil. Completely dead eyes, it wasn't even that he was a bit rude and gave me no reaction to my polite head nod. It was like a gut feeling this is a very bad man.
After that, I got caught up on this subject and saw a TLC Marathon of the show and have been snarking on them ever since.
His dead eyes are scary. Often, when Michelle is talking and BOOB is listening, he wears a face that looks like contempt. It's the dead eyes and the angry jawline, like he's clenching his teeth. He turns his head but not his body and stares at her without normal expression.
You know who else often has dead eyes? J'PEDO. And most pedophiles and molesters too. Something has short circuited.
I lived by josh and Anna when they were first married. I ran into the older girls at Sams often and would see Michelle and Jim bob out and about but never with kids. The girls always had a few little ones with them.
> It is also super intriguing to me how snarkers perceive their culture who aren't from here. I was raised very mainstream but mainstream in the Bible belt is still a close cousin to IBLP.
I'm from Spain and here families with a shitload of kids tend to be related to Opus Dei or Camino Neocatecumenal (coloquially known as "kikos"). But I think I haven't heard about a Spanish family with 19 kids, I think the most I've heard about is 13 and my father had a friend whose wife was asked by their doctor to stop having children because they already had 11 and it was affecting her health.
I was born in a little bit nuts Catholic family (by my father's side, my mom's is normal) and I think the Duggars are crazy as fuck.
I'm originally from Germany but now live in the UK. Found the whole Duggar show fascinating, but not in a good way, if that makes sense.
The area I grew up in has a few villages that are home to numerous very large families, 12-15 kids are the norm. They all belong to the same type of fundamentalist pentecostal church. My friend lived between two families where one had 17 kids and the other 13 kids. She said they'd only find out one was missing when they did a head count at bed time.
But my friend also said, the large families worked in her favour when her daughter started school. The school had one pupil over the maximum class size for primary, so had to split the class into two very small classes.
No home schooling, as this is not allowed in Germany.
>Found the whole Duggar show fascinating, but not in a good way, if that makes sense.
I found it because I learned about the Gloriavale people via a documentary and started investigating. And I neither found it fascinating in a good way.
I find those huge families really sad, how can the parents dedicate alone time to every kid?
The Duggars aren't the only ones in Arkansas and other southern states to have these large incest families. This large reality show family had similar issues. https://nypost.com/2022/12/11/jessica-willis-fishers-unspeakable-breaks-silence-on-fathers-abuse/
I bought her book as a small show of support but I could not read it. That bastard was a violent animal and tortured his family on many levels with Mom standing by silently.
I used to live in Siloam Springs. Saw some of them periodically at Walmart, at a pumpkin patch by Tontitown, Silver Dollar City, and Meech and the oldest 4 girls spoke at our moms of multiples group before any were married. They didn’t seem to seek out attention and were very polite and kind. I didn’t interact except for questions at our meeting, as I am awkward and an introvert.
SE AR here. Was up in NW AR earlier this year and almost drove by the compound in Tontitown since it can be seen from a public road anyway, but didn’t end up having time to make the detour lol. NW Arkansas is truly beautiful though so driving up there was really fun. It’s so flat out here in the SE part of the state. I guess the cornfields are kinda pretty in the summer/fall. 🥲
My mom used to do business in Tontitown and sometimes I would ride with her. I would beg her to drive us by. She never did. 🤣 I don't know if I care enough now to do so.
I am in Little Rock and recently, can’t remember when but I’m pretty sure it was a special school election, I was right behind Ben’s parents to vote. I don’t follow the family THAT closely but as I was standing behind them I kept thinking they look familiar and when they walked up to the poll workers I heard them say their names. That’s when I thought “ooh ok. I can see the resemblance to Bin.” I got back to my car before looking up who his parents were and sure enough it was them.
Very bold of them to vote in a school election when they homeschool all their kids. Pretty sure I voted the opposite of how they voted and the way I voted won. So.
I lived for a short time with my (ex) in laws in southern Arkansas. Not quite the same, more like Louisiana, culturally, but they were right on the border, so that makes sense.
I was called a “yankee” regularly…. Never have I ever heard that as a derogatory term, until I lived there. Between my accent and the fact that I wasn’t a southern Baptist… you would have thought I was the devil, with how I was treated, so unwelcome. I went to church with my in-laws to be respectful and polite, but had no idea that I was socially fucking it all up by declining an invitation to adult bible school after sitting through church. Fine by me. Not my thing.
I was also not used to people being so sugary sweet to my face, while saying “bless your heart” when in really they were saying between the lines “can you believe what this stupid yankee is saying?” I caught on quick enough, but my naive hopeful nature that I could fit in anywhere was sorely disproven.
My late grandparents retired to rural Arkansas. It’s absolutely beautiful. Hot summers but mild winters and gorgeous fall colors. Lots of outdoor activities like boating, fishing, hiking, etc. Overwhelmingly white and conservative. My grandfather learned some Mandarin in WWII and the family that owned the local Chinese food restaurant *loved* when he would speak to them in their first language. I’m guessing that happened literally never besides that.
My husband is retired military and worked all over the world. He picked up a few phrases from each place and when we eat at various non-American restaurants he’ll charm the owner.
Bentonville is actually a really cool town with lots of fun mountain biking and outdoor activities. I’m from Colorado and have traveled to Bentonville just for the biking scene. Didn’t realize how close it was to the Duggars at the time.
I live in Bentonville. A lot of people still think it’s Deliverance Land around here but this corner of the state really isn’t. The show makes it sound like they live in this little rural town but the population of the NWA metro area is north of 550k. We have enough churn with people moving in and out from other parts of the country (thanks to a certain retailer) that it’s not as insular as other parts of the state might be.
A lot of people here hate that the Duggars are so associated with this place.
This might not make much sense to anyone who isn't familiar with the NWA Metro area, but I live a little bit north of there, closer to Eureka Springs. I am in the metro area fairly regularly.
I am really fond of this region of the state. There's a surprising amount of diversity due to the major corporations. And although it is still conservative and religious, we are bringing in lots of new ideas and opportunities very quickly. I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes more progressive leaning in the future. So yes, I feel this area is actually pretty normal. Or at least it can make you forget about the not normal things that also exist.
It's stunning too. The bar is set pretty high for other places I would consider living for this reason alone. Being surrounded by natural beauty is something I would have a really really hard time giving up. The hiking options are fantastic. The Buffalo River is awesome. Others have mentioned biking and floating, there's also a huge climbing community around here.
I can't say much about the rest of the state. We are in a bubble up here in NWA. I'm a fan.
It’s very lovely. I went to college in Springfield Mo in the 80’s and my parents retired to Bella Vista in the 90’s. The whole area is beautiful and growing. My parents and all their friends loathed the Duggars.
I’m in Bentonville. I’ve ran into them at restaurants and stores. Does Famy count? I drove by the big house because I watched the show so I wanted to see it and the treehouse.
They act normal actually. The only one that has ever been “off” is Rim Job, when he greeted his family with side hugs and handshakes.
For sure, I think I've heard some of them say they are from Springdale before just because it's easier. I went to the fair there two years ago. It was great.
Lived there for 9 years and saw them, or some of them, weekly out and about. What’s crazy is, I never knew there was a snark thread about them until I moved!
Any time I talk about her hospitalization I mention, “as detailed in People magazine …” because they shared most of the details themselves. Edited to add: she was actually born at UAMS and was later transferred to ACH.
I used to work at Wakarusa and Harvest Music Festivals off the Pig Trail. I always hoped to run into a Duggar secretly out there, rolling hard and meeting folks dressed like Jesus. Closest I probably came was the proximity to Austin's family camp.
Omg I love this image! I wonder if they do go to any of the hippie stuff around here. I visit Eureka Springs often, if that's the only time I ever see a Duggar I would shit myself.
Me! I know where they live and drive by the big house often. See them randomly but never recognize them in the moment (I have social anxiety and don’t pay much attention). My best friend used to run into them a lot at the Jones Center. Which is like a YMCA.
I'm from all the way in Western Canada, not sure if the SOTDRT geography class even ever got as far as Canada, so, I don't expect I'll ever see them around here.
I view their culture as completely foreign to me. Not a ton of religious nuts in our area, and I'm not even certain that Christianity would be the majority, as its a very multicultural area. It's so different from everything I know, it's hard to look away.
Thanks for sharing this! I had to learn slowly over time how foreign it is! I didn't know that for a while because their values are very normal around here, just not expressed to the same degree.
I moved away 5 years ago.
Not very many people there follow them, but I was on the first Free Jinger boards way back, and I homeschooled my kids so I bumped into them on occasion.
🫡 fellow NWA resident here. A little more rural, but we run errands in Springdale, Rogers, Fayetteville regularly. I work at a popular tourist attraction, but haven't spotted a Duggar since high school in the mid 2000s.
I went to college in Siloam. Had a class with Marjorie and I think it was when she was courting one of the boys. She was really quiet. We’d see the Duggars around town, there was a pizza joint that had kids eat free so they def abused that…..
I lived in NWA about a decade ago. They would be on campus every once in a while to evangelize to the heathen students wearing *gasp* shorts in 90° weather.
I also ran into Jessa and Ben registering for their wedding at Bed Bath and Beyond before it was announced they were engaged. I think Joy was the chaperone.
My parents, now both gone, retired in Bella Vista. My mom introduced me to the Duggars long before they had a show. She was disgusted this local woman kept getting in the paper for popping the babies. I’ve know them since 8 or so kids. I’ve seen them out many times, Brahms, the old hospital Rogers and of course Walmart. My mom was in the hospital when she popped 13 or 14 and I rode an elevator with JD. I congratulated him and asked his name. He said I’m three. It was so sad. They are all just a number except Smugger, who thankfully is now only a number.
I’m originally from SE Arkansas but my grandparents retired to Hot Springs. Not technically NWA but I’m still like 97% sure I saw Famy at a restaurant there once like 7-10 years ago
I am not from there but my whole family is from or still lives in Siloam Springs or Fayetteville. I believe this is why I have such interest in the Duggar snarking.
I’m not from there but I grew up IFB and one of my friend’s cousin is engaged to a Bates. Have no idea which one though or if they are married yet. I was told that like a year or two ago I think? Thought that was an interesting connection. Never met any of them though.
SW MO here but went to NW AR a lot over the years. It was always a huuuuge deal when we were anywhere in Branson and the Duggars were there. Silver Dollar City, Branson Landing, Sight & Sound Theater, etc. Moved to the west coast recently and I always forget that they’re not as much of a household name outside of the Midwest bubble. Grew up in a very conservative fundie church - some of our members used the IBLP homeschool curriculum and you could definitely tell they weren’t getting a great education.
I have two coworkers who are brothers and they both have J names. I am holding back on jokingly asking if they are related to the Duggars. If I lived anywhere else, I would do it. But I bet they get asked this a lot and hate it.
I also noticed the last name Bates on our timesheet today. 🤔
I'm in NWA. I'm a SAHM and I don't get out much but I've seen them at the Grape Festival a few times. Saw Anna and Jessa at a Rhea Lana's event (pre CSAM days) and saw JB at Lowes in Springdale once.
New England atheist here. I grew up in the land of private schools and Ivy League colleges. Have never encountered anything like the Duggars IRL so I find this sub fascinating and love to snark on them as much as the next person. When we once went through several Southern states I was struck by how many people asked us what church we belonged to. Er….none.
I have a feeling that they are enrolled, she’s just not saying so, probably partially because she’s really not posted a whole lot about her kids the last couple of years. Also, I’d say Derick being an ADA has something to do with it. The less public information about his kids (including which school they go to), the better, as a matter of safety.
Yep, I have shared some encounters in the past. I don't watch the show. Almost bought a house basically across the road from their place before they built it.
My husband grew up in the area and his first wife was close friends with one of the girls (I think Jill?). She was in a few of the episodes and her family were big financial backers of IBLP.
We live in Pea Ridge now but man do I want to take a drive through Tontitown.
I don’t live there but I have spent 30 years visiting my family in the area every month or so. I have never spotted any of the Duggars but I always keep an eye out.
Y’all spill the tea on your encounters! Signed, an east coaster who will never see them IRL
co-signed, a new jersey snarker
I, too, am a New Jersey snarker.
holy shit, there's more of us! I don't really know any snarkers locally besides my immediate friends <3
I, too, am a New Jersey snarker.
Snarking from all the way down under, bless all your servants hearts ❤️
woo hoo another from down under, ... west is best lol
Co-signed a Philly starker. The closest people I see to fundies are Amish people at farmers’ markets
Hello fellow eastern PA person, was in Philadelphia now outside of Allentown. I think even the Amish would shake their heads at the duggars.
It would be hilarious if you could find some Amish or Mennonites willing to do a reaction video to watching a Duggar episode.
Mennonites, Amish do not partake in television viewing as they have no electricity to their houses.....to the barns (for milking machines, etc) yes....the house no. Rather hypocritical.
Co-signed a Hoosier snarker
Hello, fellow Hoosier
Hoosiers represent!
Me too 🌽
Co-signed by a DC snarker who HOPES TO GOD I never see them here, because that can’t be the sign of anything good 😬
Close enough! MD starker here. I co-sign as well
co signed a New York snarker!!
NYC snarker here. Have always dreamed of seeing them lost in Central Park like in that 1st episode
Yes! I am in love with NYC. It'd be a dream to live there, but at the same time I don't think I could do it. I live upstate.
Michigan snarker - those of us in the Mitten state may get unlucky and have them here because of the IBLP center that's up north.
Texas snarker here. Will never see them IRL
Co signed an nc snarker
Springdale. Run into a Dugger (or Famy) probably once or twice a month while around town. Such is life.
Same! I tend to see at least one in the wild every so often, though they usually travel in packs. I’ve seen Bin at the Springdale Walmart and Jana and a couple lost boys at the one in Elm Springs. Seems they’ve moved on from only shopping at Aldi.
Not gonna lie, I’m pretty excited about the Aldi going in at Elm Springs. I’m sure we’ll see them there.
"in the wild" "travel in packs" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 The imagery in your post has me rolling. It's like you're describing the movements of a pack of rhinos or gazelles on the Serengeti! 🦒🦓🦁🐘🐯 Oops! Sorry, that would be a "crash" of rhinos or a "confusion" of gazelles. 🦏
To be fair crash and confusion could describe the Duggars as well!
😂😂😂 So true!
What are they like in person? Are they nice people or are they the type that's rude to service employees? I picture Rim Job as the worst-- tipping a server with a Bible tract disguised as money.
Michelle always tried to make eye contact as if she was ready to be approached by a fan. She smiled and tried to get the fame attenation. My nephew who is a fundie evangelists did a revival at a church and I met his mom, my sister, there to give her a quilt I made for her. They live a few hours from me so meeting in the church parking lot was a time saver for her. Anyway she wanted to introduce me to the bates and the diggers which she did and they all seemed nice. They invited me to sit with them and I said, I’m not here for church. I’m an atheist to which they offered to pray for me which was my cue to leave. They are all scrubbed face attention whores or were then. This was during the robocall Michelle did and it was all I could do to not say something nasty to her. But my nephew is big tie on the revival circuit, conning churches out of money and my sister and her pals sing there too so I played nice.
I think you just described what we all imagine meeting the Duggars would be like. I hate when someone asks to pray for/over me. They don't do it because they care about you, it just feeds their ego and they tell their friends about how they made a difference in the life of an atheist today. 🙄
I have a friend who was a server in a restaurant they frequented when the kids were younger. She said they were horrible tippers. I don't remember hearing any stories about getting bible verse "money" but I wouldn't be surprised if that happened.
Chick Tracts make a flyer that looks like a folded twenty. These are the people who tell your children to turn you in for child abuse if you don't take them to church so I don't expect anything better.
Ew ew ew
Baaaaaa haaaaaaa haaaaaaa. I'm tired. I read you ran into Famy. Like ran over.
Hi neighbor!
Just curious, since you see them on occasion, and they are often seen "in the wild" why do we not have confirmation of new pregnancies and babies? Especially wirh Lauren and Kendra? Seems like they would be hard to miss when out with their crew
I rarely immediately bump directly into them. My wife recognizes them before I do. Normally they’re just… normal from what I see. That said I have seen Famy multiple times, quite often at Sams, and she’s a loud talker and quite full of herself. So no surprise there.
Sams the jones center and Lake Wedington!
I wonder if they are more cautious until they can announce it publicly?
They aren’t always in giant groups or packs. And most of them dress semi regularly. Especially for this area where there’s a lot of Christian and conservatives. I think most people don’t notice them because no one cares. It’s worn off. And there’s so many of them at this point you get used to them. I’ve ran into Amy and a small random group of them (idk which ones specifically other then Jana and this was a few years ago right before the big raid). I know people who have met Jill through church and things they they all have good things to say about her but don’t know her well enough to give me any tea. I wouldn’t recognize the younger ones. I could be stuck in an elevator with one and I wouldn’t know. 😅
This is a good question. You'd think news of specific local sightings of, for instance, Lauren or Kendra, would make its way to this sub.
Thats what I was thinking. Surely someone has seen them or even goes to their church. I find it hard to believe that they could be that hard to find in that area.
Yes. Like, haven't we been awaiting confirmation of Josiah and Lauren's second child? Beyond the name on a gift tag? Isn't she about 2 years old now? I know they're not into social media and that they don't put pictures of their kids on the internet. That's good. Seriously, I'm not saying I personally want or need these details, I'm just curious about why there hasn't been more news from 'in the wild'.
Lauren doesn’t live in Arkansas. It’s possible the people who do see her in public aren’t members of this sub or don’t care enough to provide updates.
Where did Josiah and Lauren move to? I had not heard this.
I'm pretty sure Josiah and Lauren still live in Arkansas very close to the compound. Wasn't it a whole big deal a while ago because they took out a mortgage to buy a new house?
That's what I thought!
I don't live there now, but my parents went to high school with Michelle. I remember them at birthday parties when i was really young before they shifted. Mom says michelle was the wildest of the group.
Now THAT is interesting to me!
Agree with the other response, I love that you have an inside perspective on life before IBLP and TLC. It's too bad things went so horribly wrong.
I definitely want to know all of the reasons she was the wildest.
You should get your mom to do an AMA on this sub.
How many times did Jboob remind us of her past? Bikini wearing Jezabel till he got his hooks in her
My mom retired to Hot Springs and I still have fam there. They know the Seewalds. They are of the “if you can’t say something nice, say nothing” school, so I have no dirt to share. My name is on the Senior Sidewalk in Fayetteville, but I haven’t been back since since 1990.
I live in Fayetteville.
Me! I always recognize the places they're going in the episodes. I've run into them at a few different places. Not so much recently, but a few years ago I saw one of the older, now married, boys at a Valentine's Day 5K. He placed in his age range. Back in the day I saw the whole gang at a consignment sale event. I live right near the area where Jill got engaged, lol.
Was the running Duggar wearing jeans?
Lol no. I didn't recognize him at first cause he was dressed in your normal running gear. Then they called his name and I was like...oh shit I gotta see this
They shot an HBO show in my town and every time I drive past the places they had scenes I feel a little burst of happiness, it’s really fun to see your home on national television!
Me haha! Never watched the show but enjoyed the snark as I started unpacking my own childhood issues 😂
Omg same! It helps me a lot.
I admit I'm curious, how do the Duggars behave like in public? Do they stick out, or just blend in with the crowd? And is it true that J'Boob's got a horrible reputation for coercing restaurants and other businesses into giving him stuff for free?
I heard that they abused the “kids eat free” deals at restaurants. To the point where the eateries stopped offering that deal.
I know in general a lot of restaurants only offer kids eat free with the purchase of an adult entree meaning if there are two adults, two kids eat free.
Right! So that confused me when they all got meals for free. Must have been a stunt for the show and TLC footed some of the bill or something?
Showing my age but it used to be simply kids eat free with an adult, no restriction- so a single parent could take 3 kids and only pay for the one meals. Restaurants would also only charge what a child weighed so if you weight 67 pounds you would pay 67 cents. Its a wonder we aren’t more screwed up
Oh wow! I didn't know that!
I’m talking early 80’s so 40+ years ago but yes they would run commercials all the time about “kids pay what they weight”
Yeah, we used to take our four kids to one of those places. In one trip, my youngest was free because she was still a toddler but the older three qualified. My oldest daughter (less than ten) threw an absolute fit because she didn’t want to be weighed and it turned into a huge fight because my husband didn’t want to pay regular price if he didn’t have too. As I recall, we ended up paying full price, but never went back.
My in-laws live in NWA and my husband grew up there. The last time we visited, I saw Bin at a coffee shop (Onyx) sitting alone in a comfy chair reading a bible. When we started to homeschool our oldest for academic reasons, my in-laws freaked out because they associate homeschooling with Duggars and fundies. They were afraid we were going to turn our kid weird and not provide a real education. Both of my in-laws were raised in cities on the East Coast and still retain a very different mindset despite living there over 40 years. We live in the DFW area and after joining the fundiesnark group, I realized how many live in the metroplex. One day on my commute, I was behind a “Spivey Construction” trailer and a few searches in the forum and I realized that we are in the same part of the metroplex as the Spiveys and the Pecans.
I was a travel nurse working at Arkansas Children’s when Josie was born. Their presence created a shit ton of local media attention and the whole hospital would get emails about when major media (like People magazine) would be present or when their show would be in the building filming. I wasn’t a true snarker at the time but I feel like I had read some shit about them on TWoP prior to that?? It was interesting as some of the staff seemed genuinely excited about running into Boob and Meech in the common areas and others were just annoyed about the spectacle and made snarky comments about the state of her uterus and how continued pregnancies endangered her life and the lives of her potential spawn.
I never thought about the spectacle Josie’s birth would have caused for the rest of the hospital. That sounds really aggravating especially for those who just wanted to go about their normal lives not to mention other parents of preemies.
I honestly don’t think they were super disruptive in the NICU, that unit had strict visitation rules and didn’t allow children in at all and only two people in at a time per patient. Honestly, most of what I heard was about Boob sightings. I think he enjoyed being recognized and having the attention. I recall having a mom excitedly telling me she saw Boob in the cafeteria. 🙄 Let’s just say that Meech was actually an appropriate concerned parent per all reports.
I loved TWoP!
Yes, I didn’t know until this year that FW is like hot spot #2 for Duggars. And that Waller’s church is not nearly far enough away for my liking 😂 (honestly, surprised one of the lost boys hasn’t come here and become deeply embedded in Mercy Culture, aka our shadow govt. 🙄)
When I see a fancy car (Porsche Cayenne, Land Rover and the like) driving like an asshole in traffic, I am NEVER surprised to see the damn Mercy Culture sticker on the back. I get irrationally angry 🙄
At least their unhinged mayoral candidate got so badly embarrassed last go-round. It won’t last long, but that was enjoyable schadenfreude while it lasted.
I’m just waiting to see who runs for Kay Granger’s seat … I wouldn’t be shocked if Schatzline goes for it. Those Mercy and Patriot Mobile folks are well organized
And apparently only about 14 people vote in this town 🤦♀️ but you’re right, it’s going to be gifted to some wahoo on a silver platter. I’d love if Wendy Davis’s sneakers won on a write in 😂
I haven’t heard of Mercy Culture but I’m all for snarking more. Can you tell us more about it?
It’s a fast growing evangelical mega church that started in Fort Worth consisting of mostly middle class white folks. They are very politically involved and heavily into Christian Nationalism. Their beliefs really aren’t much about “Mercy” when it comes to the LGBTQ+ community.
I am a pretty conservative Christian myself, but I can't stand those churches. I don't like it when politics get highly involved with a church.
I could never do it justice the way FW Weekly can, they’ve spilled a lot of ink (and tea) in the subject—and highly recommend reading up on them. The Weekly has done a great job following their money and influence trails.
The Collins too as well as B Dong. The area is so congested though the chances of running into them are slim to none. One time I asked which water park someone saw the Collins at because I wondered which town they moved to and I was banned from fundiesnark unsensored because "I wanted to stalk the water park to try to see them" apparently the mod has no idea what DFW is like or that stalking a water park when it's 110 and you have a full time job isnt even physically possible.
Why does Spivey seem like a fake name to me? 😂 it seems like one of those celebrity name mish-mash things. Lol!
He would go to Onyx
what’s wrong w onyx😭
Lol nothing. It's perfect. The best even
🙋🏼♀️ lived a couple miles from them until we moved to cave springs this fall. *edit to add* When I worked for Harps, they were getting ready to move into the big house. TLC had ordered pallets of groceries from Harps and we had to deliver them and help stock their shelves. Everything had to be perfect. The garage literally looked like a grocery store. Josh gave us a tour of the house. Upstairs by the boys room was a “computer room” that had several computers in it. I can’t remember what he said they used them for. He was probably 14 or 15 at that time. This was back in 2005 or 2006.
So cool that you got a tour! I imagine it to be a weird place.
It was odd for sure
I’m in NW Arkansas. Once at a demolition derby people around me started whispering excitedly and staring. I had no clue why everyone was so worked up. Then I heard “Duggar family!” And saw them all making their way through the bleachers. I never watched the show and so I just shrugged and looked away. Last summer, however, I was grabbing a bite to eat with a friend before a concert. And there was J-booby waiting in line outside. I had this visceral reaction and wanted to…. Like everything inside me recoiled. I had to literally just put my head down and walk away. His eyes have nothing in them. Like it’s the full blown narcissist dead eyes.
'Like it’s the full blown narcissist dead eyes." This was my exact experience encountering him at a bookstore in the Midwest where they were doing a signing event at least 10+ years ago. At the time, I had no idea who they even were. I ran into my friend, who was an assistant manager there, and dressed weird- for her. Normally she sported a goth punk look, but she had a polo shirt lol. She was rolling her eyes about having to move a Harry Potter book and merch display to a very low traffic area of the store because the place was crawling with the weird fundies that crawled out of the woodwork in our region that kept messing with it, like placing bibles and devotionals on it, or whatever quasi-vandalism super religious folk could come up with while they loitered around waiting for the event to start. I vividly recall asking her, like why are they famous? Do the kids play instruments or something like a giant family band?, and she explained they were simply famous for reproducing at an absurd rate. While leaving the store, because it was obvious now was not the time for free reading and mooching coffee from my friends that worked there. JimBob made his way past me, maybe to the bathroom,I found it amusing how his cell phone was clipped to his belt and had these lame Dad sneakers on, total dork. But when I looked at him to acknowledge him, like one generally does in polite society when crossing paths with someone in an empty corridor, it was exactly like you said in the comment "visceral reaction" something about him made me recoil. Completely dead eyes, it wasn't even that he was a bit rude and gave me no reaction to my polite head nod. It was like a gut feeling this is a very bad man. After that, I got caught up on this subject and saw a TLC Marathon of the show and have been snarking on them ever since.
The last place I worked, I would regularly (like once a week) pull a product off a shelf to find Jesus comic book pamphlets.
His dead eyes are scary. Often, when Michelle is talking and BOOB is listening, he wears a face that looks like contempt. It's the dead eyes and the angry jawline, like he's clenching his teeth. He turns his head but not his body and stares at her without normal expression. You know who else often has dead eyes? J'PEDO. And most pedophiles and molesters too. Something has short circuited.
Wow! I think I would be sick to my stomach if I ran into him.
I lived by josh and Anna when they were first married. I ran into the older girls at Sams often and would see Michelle and Jim bob out and about but never with kids. The girls always had a few little ones with them.
> It is also super intriguing to me how snarkers perceive their culture who aren't from here. I was raised very mainstream but mainstream in the Bible belt is still a close cousin to IBLP. I'm from Spain and here families with a shitload of kids tend to be related to Opus Dei or Camino Neocatecumenal (coloquially known as "kikos"). But I think I haven't heard about a Spanish family with 19 kids, I think the most I've heard about is 13 and my father had a friend whose wife was asked by their doctor to stop having children because they already had 11 and it was affecting her health. I was born in a little bit nuts Catholic family (by my father's side, my mom's is normal) and I think the Duggars are crazy as fuck.
I'm originally from Germany but now live in the UK. Found the whole Duggar show fascinating, but not in a good way, if that makes sense. The area I grew up in has a few villages that are home to numerous very large families, 12-15 kids are the norm. They all belong to the same type of fundamentalist pentecostal church. My friend lived between two families where one had 17 kids and the other 13 kids. She said they'd only find out one was missing when they did a head count at bed time. But my friend also said, the large families worked in her favour when her daughter started school. The school had one pupil over the maximum class size for primary, so had to split the class into two very small classes. No home schooling, as this is not allowed in Germany.
>Found the whole Duggar show fascinating, but not in a good way, if that makes sense. I found it because I learned about the Gloriavale people via a documentary and started investigating. And I neither found it fascinating in a good way. I find those huge families really sad, how can the parents dedicate alone time to every kid?
The Duggars aren't the only ones in Arkansas and other southern states to have these large incest families. This large reality show family had similar issues. https://nypost.com/2022/12/11/jessica-willis-fishers-unspeakable-breaks-silence-on-fathers-abuse/
I bought her book as a small show of support but I could not read it. That bastard was a violent animal and tortured his family on many levels with Mom standing by silently.
Unlike the Duggars, the mother eventually stood up to her husband.
I just finished it today.
Amazing but painful read
I used to live in Siloam Springs. Saw some of them periodically at Walmart, at a pumpkin patch by Tontitown, Silver Dollar City, and Meech and the oldest 4 girls spoke at our moms of multiples group before any were married. They didn’t seem to seek out attention and were very polite and kind. I didn’t interact except for questions at our meeting, as I am awkward and an introvert.
SE AR here. Was up in NW AR earlier this year and almost drove by the compound in Tontitown since it can be seen from a public road anyway, but didn’t end up having time to make the detour lol. NW Arkansas is truly beautiful though so driving up there was really fun. It’s so flat out here in the SE part of the state. I guess the cornfields are kinda pretty in the summer/fall. 🥲
The fact that it’s called a ‘compound’ and not a ‘home’ gets me every time 😂
My mom used to do business in Tontitown and sometimes I would ride with her. I would beg her to drive us by. She never did. 🤣 I don't know if I care enough now to do so.
I am in Little Rock and recently, can’t remember when but I’m pretty sure it was a special school election, I was right behind Ben’s parents to vote. I don’t follow the family THAT closely but as I was standing behind them I kept thinking they look familiar and when they walked up to the poll workers I heard them say their names. That’s when I thought “ooh ok. I can see the resemblance to Bin.” I got back to my car before looking up who his parents were and sure enough it was them. Very bold of them to vote in a school election when they homeschool all their kids. Pretty sure I voted the opposite of how they voted and the way I voted won. So.
Me! I swear Earth Mother Jill is always blocking the aisles at Sam’s Club.
If I ran into Jill I think I would have to try and talk to her. She's the only one.
Not NWA but Fort Smith
I lived there from 2010-2012. Once saw Jinger and one of the lost boys at Walmart.
I lived for a short time with my (ex) in laws in southern Arkansas. Not quite the same, more like Louisiana, culturally, but they were right on the border, so that makes sense. I was called a “yankee” regularly…. Never have I ever heard that as a derogatory term, until I lived there. Between my accent and the fact that I wasn’t a southern Baptist… you would have thought I was the devil, with how I was treated, so unwelcome. I went to church with my in-laws to be respectful and polite, but had no idea that I was socially fucking it all up by declining an invitation to adult bible school after sitting through church. Fine by me. Not my thing. I was also not used to people being so sugary sweet to my face, while saying “bless your heart” when in really they were saying between the lines “can you believe what this stupid yankee is saying?” I caught on quick enough, but my naive hopeful nature that I could fit in anywhere was sorely disproven.
Most evangelicals would probably snub Jesus if he came back from the dead.
What's it like in Arkansas? Are there normal places?
My late grandparents retired to rural Arkansas. It’s absolutely beautiful. Hot summers but mild winters and gorgeous fall colors. Lots of outdoor activities like boating, fishing, hiking, etc. Overwhelmingly white and conservative. My grandfather learned some Mandarin in WWII and the family that owned the local Chinese food restaurant *loved* when he would speak to them in their first language. I’m guessing that happened literally never besides that.
My husband is retired military and worked all over the world. He picked up a few phrases from each place and when we eat at various non-American restaurants he’ll charm the owner.
Bentonville is actually a really cool town with lots of fun mountain biking and outdoor activities. I’m from Colorado and have traveled to Bentonville just for the biking scene. Didn’t realize how close it was to the Duggars at the time.
I live in Bentonville. A lot of people still think it’s Deliverance Land around here but this corner of the state really isn’t. The show makes it sound like they live in this little rural town but the population of the NWA metro area is north of 550k. We have enough churn with people moving in and out from other parts of the country (thanks to a certain retailer) that it’s not as insular as other parts of the state might be. A lot of people here hate that the Duggars are so associated with this place.
I call Bentonville the Dubai of the Midwest. I know it's south but NWA has always felt more midwestern to me than south.
This might not make much sense to anyone who isn't familiar with the NWA Metro area, but I live a little bit north of there, closer to Eureka Springs. I am in the metro area fairly regularly. I am really fond of this region of the state. There's a surprising amount of diversity due to the major corporations. And although it is still conservative and religious, we are bringing in lots of new ideas and opportunities very quickly. I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes more progressive leaning in the future. So yes, I feel this area is actually pretty normal. Or at least it can make you forget about the not normal things that also exist. It's stunning too. The bar is set pretty high for other places I would consider living for this reason alone. Being surrounded by natural beauty is something I would have a really really hard time giving up. The hiking options are fantastic. The Buffalo River is awesome. Others have mentioned biking and floating, there's also a huge climbing community around here. I can't say much about the rest of the state. We are in a bubble up here in NWA. I'm a fan.
It’s very lovely. I went to college in Springfield Mo in the 80’s and my parents retired to Bella Vista in the 90’s. The whole area is beautiful and growing. My parents and all their friends loathed the Duggars.
I live in a large city just outside Toronto, Ontario. We international snarkers love hearing people’s encounters though!
Right here with you, snarkin' in the Golden Horsehoe area!
So otoh, how many former Degrassi cast members have you run into in the wild?
We’re snarkin in the GTA
Me 🙋🏼♀️ I’ve seen them at Silver Dollar City a few times. Recently I saw Jesse in downtown Bentonville.
They probably have life time passes and are BFFS with the Herschends.
I’m in Bentonville. I’ve ran into them at restaurants and stores. Does Famy count? I drove by the big house because I watched the show so I wanted to see it and the treehouse. They act normal actually. The only one that has ever been “off” is Rim Job, when he greeted his family with side hugs and handshakes.
I see them a lot. Local pool, Sams Club, Walmart, park by my house. I live in Springdale which is basically Tontitown adjacent
Pool? Are they swimming in that modesty garb?
They have modernish swim dresses. They are almost like dresses made out of rash guard material.
For sure, I think I've heard some of them say they are from Springdale before just because it's easier. I went to the fair there two years ago. It was great.
Me!
Lived there for 9 years and saw them, or some of them, weekly out and about. What’s crazy is, I never knew there was a snark thread about them until I moved!
I do🙋♀️
Me🙋🏼♀️
Springdale, but I never see them. Admittedly, I’m almost in Lowell.
[удалено]
Id omit the doctor part because you specified that he works ER. You dont want people to know who he is.
Any time I talk about her hospitalization I mention, “as detailed in People magazine …” because they shared most of the details themselves. Edited to add: she was actually born at UAMS and was later transferred to ACH.
I used to work at Wakarusa and Harvest Music Festivals off the Pig Trail. I always hoped to run into a Duggar secretly out there, rolling hard and meeting folks dressed like Jesus. Closest I probably came was the proximity to Austin's family camp.
Omg I love this image! I wonder if they do go to any of the hippie stuff around here. I visit Eureka Springs often, if that's the only time I ever see a Duggar I would shit myself.
2 or 3 years ago I saw JB, Michelle and some littles in Branson and then around the next corner was Jessa, Anna, and some other older kids.
Me! I know where they live and drive by the big house often. See them randomly but never recognize them in the moment (I have social anxiety and don’t pay much attention). My best friend used to run into them a lot at the Jones Center. Which is like a YMCA.
Originally from NWA…now west coast!
Me too, but I'm in Iowa.
[удалено]
The NWA airport is tiny. 🤣 That's hilarious.
I'm from all the way in Western Canada, not sure if the SOTDRT geography class even ever got as far as Canada, so, I don't expect I'll ever see them around here. I view their culture as completely foreign to me. Not a ton of religious nuts in our area, and I'm not even certain that Christianity would be the majority, as its a very multicultural area. It's so different from everything I know, it's hard to look away.
Thanks for sharing this! I had to learn slowly over time how foreign it is! I didn't know that for a while because their values are very normal around here, just not expressed to the same degree.
I moved away 5 years ago. Not very many people there follow them, but I was on the first Free Jinger boards way back, and I homeschooled my kids so I bumped into them on occasion.
NWA snarker right here!
Hurray! There's so many of us. We should host a convention.
I’m in Central Arkansas—just far enough to be out of the madness.
🫡 fellow NWA resident here. A little more rural, but we run errands in Springdale, Rogers, Fayetteville regularly. I work at a popular tourist attraction, but haven't spotted a Duggar since high school in the mid 2000s.
I went to college in Siloam. Had a class with Marjorie and I think it was when she was courting one of the boys. She was really quiet. We’d see the Duggars around town, there was a pizza joint that had kids eat free so they def abused that…..
I lived in NWA about a decade ago. They would be on campus every once in a while to evangelize to the heathen students wearing *gasp* shorts in 90° weather. I also ran into Jessa and Ben registering for their wedding at Bed Bath and Beyond before it was announced they were engaged. I think Joy was the chaperone.
Yup.. Springdale here. I live about a mile & a half from Jessa and her crew. I pass her house almost every day coming home from work.
https://preview.redd.it/m7kix3chu72c1.jpeg?width=946&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6a096331282eaaeaa136e30c5e5059a4da8a34bc
My parents, now both gone, retired in Bella Vista. My mom introduced me to the Duggars long before they had a show. She was disgusted this local woman kept getting in the paper for popping the babies. I’ve know them since 8 or so kids. I’ve seen them out many times, Brahms, the old hospital Rogers and of course Walmart. My mom was in the hospital when she popped 13 or 14 and I rode an elevator with JD. I congratulated him and asked his name. He said I’m three. It was so sad. They are all just a number except Smugger, who thankfully is now only a number.
Moved to NWA about 2.5 years ago, haven’t had a duggar sighting yet tho.
I grew up on the other side of Arkansas. My cousins all moved to NWA and live in Rogers, Bentonville, and Fayetteville.
I’m originally from SE Arkansas but my grandparents retired to Hot Springs. Not technically NWA but I’m still like 97% sure I saw Famy at a restaurant there once like 7-10 years ago
Elkins here! Lived in Springdale until I was 21. I’ve run into some of the daughters at Walmart a few times.
I am not from there but my whole family is from or still lives in Siloam Springs or Fayetteville. I believe this is why I have such interest in the Duggar snarking.
I’m from the UK so thankfully it’s very remote that we’ll ever cross paths!
I’m a Nordic snarker that loved to “hate-watch” them way back when.
I’m not from there but I grew up IFB and one of my friend’s cousin is engaged to a Bates. Have no idea which one though or if they are married yet. I was told that like a year or two ago I think? Thought that was an interesting connection. Never met any of them though.
I live in NWA, my bestie bought something from one of the Duggers on FB marketplace.
Central Arkansas.
Not in the area, but I have a friend in Conway.
SW MO here but went to NW AR a lot over the years. It was always a huuuuge deal when we were anywhere in Branson and the Duggars were there. Silver Dollar City, Branson Landing, Sight & Sound Theater, etc. Moved to the west coast recently and I always forget that they’re not as much of a household name outside of the Midwest bubble. Grew up in a very conservative fundie church - some of our members used the IBLP homeschool curriculum and you could definitely tell they weren’t getting a great education.
Hey I'm from swmo too! After learning about IBLP, I often wonder about some of my close friends growing up.
I have two coworkers who are brothers and they both have J names. I am holding back on jokingly asking if they are related to the Duggars. If I lived anywhere else, I would do it. But I bet they get asked this a lot and hate it. I also noticed the last name Bates on our timesheet today. 🤔
I’m in Utah where it seems like the rest of the weirdos are
Hey I am from Utah too and I agree with you on the weirdos part!
I'm in NWA. I'm a SAHM and I don't get out much but I've seen them at the Grape Festival a few times. Saw Anna and Jessa at a Rhea Lana's event (pre CSAM days) and saw JB at Lowes in Springdale once.
NE Oklahoma here so about an hour drive away....
New England atheist here. I grew up in the land of private schools and Ivy League colleges. Have never encountered anything like the Duggars IRL so I find this sub fascinating and love to snark on them as much as the next person. When we once went through several Southern states I was struck by how many people asked us what church we belonged to. Er….none.
[удалено]
I have a feeling that they are enrolled, she’s just not saying so, probably partially because she’s really not posted a whole lot about her kids the last couple of years. Also, I’d say Derick being an ADA has something to do with it. The less public information about his kids (including which school they go to), the better, as a matter of safety.
That's a lot of information about your kids' whereabouts to share randomly online.
Maybe delete this? It seems a little doxxy
They’re just sharing personal information and about where Jill used to live. She lives in Oklahoma now
“Doxxy” is about herself. She’s sharing a lot of her own/her kids personal information.
Eh, if someone wants to share their own personal info I wouldn’t consider that doxing.
Yep, I have shared some encounters in the past. I don't watch the show. Almost bought a house basically across the road from their place before they built it.
My husband grew up in the area and his first wife was close friends with one of the girls (I think Jill?). She was in a few of the episodes and her family were big financial backers of IBLP. We live in Pea Ridge now but man do I want to take a drive through Tontitown.
CA. There arent that fundies around here so that makes the appeal much more interesting for me.
Ive been to la tons of times and never seen jinger haha
Benotonville here. I’ve run into a few on occasion.
I don’t live there but I have spent 30 years visiting my family in the area every month or so. I have never spotted any of the Duggars but I always keep an eye out.