C&K: The Struggle is Real...ly Hard to Relate (Part 14)

[Scar2016]

I have often wondered, especially lately since the exploitation has gotten more obvious ("Rushed to the Hospital!" for example) and seeing how Gaines mimics vlogging and tries to be on camera, how Katie justifies it to herself. With her knowledge, she has to know the damage they could be doing to the kids. Even if they do turn out ok, why risk it? They pay a lot of lip service to loving their kids more than anything, (and I don't doubt they do love the kids, don't get me wrong) But this gives the impression that money and an easy lifestyle are more important than the well being of Gaines and Brooks.

Katie is one of the few vlogging mums I've pondered about this. I realized the simple answer is: She's lazy. Both her and Cullen have become extremely lazy due to the full time YouTube gig and I think this has led them to taking the daily path of least resistance. Sadly that includes her consciously (I say consciously because she is an intelligent person) negating to put her children's psychological welfare as the first priority. Laziness is their first priority because let's face it, as two stay at home parents, they can't even be bothered to implement a healthy exercise regime.

[auntasaurus19]

I may be alone, but I think the trust find value is being grossly overinflated.

I agree. I think Katie's parents are financially comfortable because her father has worked as a Radiologist for a long time. I'm sure he had the means to pay for Katie's college but I don't see her parents being multi-millionaire's or anything. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the trust fund idea. Katie and Kelli will probably receive a generous inheritance when their parents pass but I just don't see it being a trust that they can dip into right now.

JMHO.

[tnchk1187]

I may be alone, but I think the trust find value is being grossly overinflated.

I agree. I think Katie's parents are financially comfortable because her father has worked as a Radiologist for a long time. I'm sure he had the means to pay for Katie's college but I don't see her parents being multi-millionaire's or anything. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the trust fund idea. Katie and Kelli will probably receive a generous inheritance when their parents pass but I just don't see it being a trust that they can dip into right now.

JMHO.

I’d say both sides of her parents come from money. Maybe not billionaire but you can tell they are old money for sure. Their house is very telling.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[askeptichere]

I may be alone, but I think the trust find value is being grossly overinflated.

I agree. I think Katie's parents are financially comfortable because her father has worked as a Radiologist for a long time. I'm sure he had the means to pay for Katie's college but I don't see her parents being multi-millionaire's or anything. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the trust fund idea. Katie and Kelli will probably receive a generous inheritance when their parents pass but I just don't see it being a trust that they can dip into right now.

JMHO.

I’m with both of you. I don’t see them having some huge trust fund. I’m sure they’ll get a large inheritance, but to think a radiologist makes enough to have a million dollar home, beach house, pay for 2 kids’ college tuitions (one of which was a PhD), season box seats to the Alabama games, and I’m sure more, on top of a trust fund is reaching. It’s not like Doc is the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or an oil Barron.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ewokfan11]

I may be alone, but I think the trust find value is being grossly overinflated.

I agree. I think Katie's parents are financially comfortable because her father has worked as a Radiologist for a long time. I'm sure he had the means to pay for Katie's college but I don't see her parents being multi-millionaire's or anything. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the trust fund idea. Katie and Kelli will probably receive a generous inheritance when their parents pass but I just don't see it being a trust that they can dip into right now.

JMHO.

I’d say both sides of her parents come from money. Maybe not billionaire but you can tell they are old money for sure. Their house is very telling.

i agree! Their house is actually listed as a historic home by their county and been included in luxury holiday home tours in the past. In the article about the house, Dolly said most of the furniture pieces are family heirlooms - so I'm guessing Katie's parents also came from a lot of money. Sure, they aren't billionaires, but they certainly ARE multi-millionaires!! Doctors really do make a crazy insane amount of money and her dad is a radiologist - so he's probably making $500K a year EASILY!

[Boredomatitsfinest]

I thought Katie's passive aggressive, "I think I can handle it" comment was pretty telling. It's funny that she's taking comments as a personal dig, as if she's incapable, rather than being defensive of Cullen. I haven't seen anyone imply that she's incapable...but rather that she deserves more help. I think she's in denial and her perception is being skewed, unfortunately.

[Scar2016]

I thought Katie's passive aggressive, "I think I can handle it" comment was pretty telling. It's funny that she's taking comments as a personal dig, as if she's incapable, rather than being defensive of Cullen. I haven't seen anyone imply that she's incapable...but rather that she deserves more help. I think she's in denial and her perception is being skewed, unfortunately.

I think you could be right. What was her comment she made under the vlog....I thought she was defending Cullen? Or does her ''I think I can handle it'' portray the fact that the comments section went completely over her head.

[Boredomatitsfinest]

I thought Katie's passive aggressive, "I think I can handle it" comment was pretty telling. It's funny that she's taking comments as a personal dig, as if she's incapable, rather than being defensive of Cullen. I haven't seen anyone imply that she's incapable...but rather that she deserves more help. I think she's in denial and her perception is being skewed, unfortunately.

I think you could be right. What was her comment she made under the vlog....I thought she was defending Cullen? Or does her ''I think I can handle it'' portray the fact that the comments section went completely over her head.

Did she write an actual comment under the vlog? I thought everyone was just referring to her verbal comment. I just went to look and didn't find anything, so they might've deleted it if she did write one? Now I'm curious... haha

[HelloSweetie]

The average salary for a Radiologist in Alabama is $350k. The way Katie's parents live, that isn't enough to save for retirement, weddings, school, extracurricular, landscaping, beach house, box seats, vacations, income tax etc... AND a large trust fund for the kids.
Even if it's $500k they earn a year, that isn't a lot of money when you have a significantly upgraded lifestyle.

And just because they have a fancy home doesn't mean that Katie's mom also came from money.... Cullen has a fancy home too.

[auntasaurus19]

I thought Katie's passive aggressive, "I think I can handle it" comment was pretty telling. It's funny that she's taking comments as a personal dig, as if she's incapable, rather than being defensive of Cullen. I haven't seen anyone imply that she's incapable...but rather that she deserves more help. I think she's in denial and her perception is being skewed, unfortunately.

I think you could be right. What was her comment she made under the vlog....I thought she was defending Cullen? Or does her ''I think I can handle it'' portray the fact that the comments section went completely over her head.

Did she write an actual comment under the vlog? I thought everyone was just referring to her verbal comment. I just went to look and didn't find anything, so they might've deleted it if she did write one? Now I'm curious... haha

Yes, she wrote a comment and it was LONG! I actually think someone posted a screenshot of it further back in this thread.

Regarding the trust fund: Katie's parents bought that house in 1985 for $250,000 (which was A LOT of money back then) and it is now valued at a little over 1 million dollars. I do think Dolly comes from an affluent family as her mother's obituary was very telling. Not sure about Jim's side of the family but based on what I've seen/found - he did not.

[lmmomSD]

I may be alone, but I think the trust find value is being grossly overinflated.

I agree. I think Katie's parents are financially comfortable because her father has worked as a Radiologist for a long time. I'm sure he had the means to pay for Katie's college but I don't see her parents being multi-millionaire's or anything. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the trust fund idea. Katie and Kelli will probably receive a generous inheritance when their parents pass but I just don't see it being a trust that they can dip into right now.

JMHO.

I’m with both of you. I don’t see them having some huge trust fund. I’m sure they’ll get a large inheritance, but to think a radiologist makes enough to have a million dollar home, beach house, pay for 2 kids’ college tuitions (one of which was a PhD), season box seats to the Alabama games, and I’m sure more, on top of a trust fund is reaching. It’s not like Doc is the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or an oil Barron.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It depends. I worked with radiologists in Maryland who owned a "medical corporation". Their were five of them in practice together, and they had offices all over the corridor between DC and Annapolis. They were filthy rich. One of them flew his wife to Germany to get a $20,000 horse and fly it home. They gifted a cat scan machine to the hospital, and bought an MRI machine. If he was in private practice, and a shrewd businessman, he could have a LOT of money. Radiologists make a lot. It doesn't take long to read an x-ray and write a report, and they bill for every one they read. I'm not saying he's a multi-millionaire, but he could be pretty well off.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

[lmmomSD]

I thought Katie's passive aggressive, "I think I can handle it" comment was pretty telling. It's funny that she's taking comments as a personal dig, as if she's incapable, rather than being defensive of Cullen. I haven't seen anyone imply that she's incapable...but rather that she deserves more help. I think she's in denial and her perception is being skewed, unfortunately.

I think you could be right. What was her comment she made under the vlog....I thought she was defending Cullen? Or does her ''I think I can handle it'' portray the fact that the comments section went completely over her head.

Did she write an actual comment under the vlog? I thought everyone was just referring to her verbal comment. I just went to look and didn't find anything, so they might've deleted it if she did write one? Now I'm curious... haha

There's a screenshot of it a few pages back.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

[Boredomatitsfinest]

I think you could be right. What was her comment she made under the vlog....I thought she was defending Cullen? Or does her ''I think I can handle it'' portray the fact that the comments section went completely over her head.

Did she write an actual comment under the vlog? I thought everyone was just referring to her verbal comment. I just went to look and didn't find anything, so they might've deleted it if she did write one? Now I'm curious... haha

Yes, she wrote a comment and it was LONG! I actually think someone posted a screenshot of it further back in this thread.

Ohhh I see, I was thinking it was on their most recent vlog. Not sure how I missed that, haha thank you!

Well then to answer your question, Scar2016, yes she was definitely defending Cullen in her comment. I can't blame her for defending him tbh, and I think she did it in the most sincere, polite way possible, but that still doesn't change my opinion that her perception is skewed. Especially after the "I think I can handle it" comment. That was unnecessary, and I still stand by what I said.

(Sorry if I'm being repetitive, I got behind in the thread and skipped over a few pages... didn't think I had missed that much! Haha)

[Lovethesnark]

The average salary for a Radiologist in Alabama is $350k. The way Katie's parents live, that isn't enough to save for retirement, weddings, school, extracurricular, landscaping, beach house, box seats, vacations, income tax etc... AND a large trust fund for the kids.
Even if it's $500k they earn a year, that isn't a lot of money when you have a significantly upgraded lifestyle.

And just because they have a fancy home doesn't mean that Katie's mom also came from money.... Cullen has a fancy home too.

I wouldn't assume Katie's parents only have one source of income.

[HelloSweetie]

The average salary for a Radiologist in Alabama is $350k. The way Katie's parents live, that isn't enough to save for retirement, weddings, school, extracurricular, landscaping, beach house, box seats, vacations, income tax etc... AND a large trust fund for the kids.
Even if it's $500k they earn a year, that isn't a lot of money when you have a significantly upgraded lifestyle.

And just because they have a fancy home doesn't mean that Katie's mom also came from money.... Cullen has a fancy home too.

I wouldn't assume Katie's parents only have one source of income.

Everyone is missing the point. It's unlikely they have worked this hard to incur a lavish lavish lifestyle while also saving enough for a large trust fund for the kids. Even IF they did, I'm sure they would want more than for the kids to just live off that money.

I work with ortho and plastic surgeons that own their own private surgical centres and who lead far less lavish lifestyles and Katie's parents do and who insist their children are starving if they lose an OR day. We tend assume people have money when we see them spending it, but in reality it could be the families making more conservative choices that actually have a hefty long-term savings. That isn't C&K, and if they are living off a trust fund, it had better be large of the next thing you know they'll be one of those kids deslerateky waiting for an "early inheritance."

[lmmomSD]

The bottom line is that they _appear_ to be living beyond what the vlogs reasonably would be providing for them. People say "They made a profit off the old house" but they bought another house that was at least twice as expensive. They didn't make that big a profit. Plus, the network takes a chunk of their income, and their vlogs are rarely breaking 50K views. It's not looking good. They can't be supporting this lifestyle and saving for retirement, AND setting up college funds. No, it's none of our business if they are living beyond their means, but if they're trying to be "honest", it's not a very honest way to present themselves. Plus, the lower the views go, the more desperate and stressed they seem. I don't want them to "fail", but being honest with themselves and saying that "you know what? This isn't supporting us. One of us has to get a job" would at least seem honest and relatable. This death grip on the "YouTube lifestyle" and desperate attempt at making it on the level of Bryan and Missy, just isn't fun to watch. I just want to shake them sometimes and say "Wake up! It's not working!"

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

[Scar2016]

The bottom line is that they _appear_ to be living beyond what the vlogs reasonably would be providing for them. People say "They made a profit off the old house" but they bought another house that was at least twice as expensive. They didn't make that big a profit. Plus, the network takes a chunk of their income, and their vlogs are rarely breaking 50K views. It's not looking good. They can't be supporting this lifestyle and saving for retirement, AND setting up college funds. No, it's none of our business if they are living beyond their means, but if they're trying to be "honest", it's not a very honest way to present themselves. Plus, the lower the views go, the more desperate and stressed they seem. I don't want them to "fail", but being honest with themselves and saying that "you know what? This isn't supporting us. One of us has to get a job" would at least seem honest and relatable. This death grip on the "YouTube lifestyle" and desperate attempt at making it on the level of Bryan and Missy, just isn't fun to watch. I just want to shake them sometimes and say "Wake up! It's not working!"

I concur with all of the above. I also thought the vlog of them in the yard toasting S'mores felt really strained between the two of them and Gaines was an unwitting emotional buffer for whatever is going on within their marriage.

[marshmallowfluf]

Cullen has been doing this a lot longer than Bryan too. So its actually pretty sad to see that they haven’t grown very much. They don’t attract the kid audience because they are too boring, but Cullen is so immature that its hard for adults to relate to them. So what is their audience?

[Caisflame]

Never added a pic before so hopefully this works but I commented about Gaines wearing the same shirt and Katie replied to me.

[100midas]

Cullen has been doing this a lot longer than Bryan too. So its actually pretty sad to see that they haven’t grown very much. They don’t attract the kid audience because they are too boring, but Cullen is so immature that its hard for adults to relate to them. So what is their audience?

That right there is the real problem. I appreciate them for staying (relatively) down to earth and minimizing the fakeness, but the fact is that vlogging has become so competitive that it's not enough to just be a "normal" family anymore and talk about nothing but arrends and college football and sick kids. You have to treat it like a business and pick a target demographic and sell yourself out if you want to bring in viewers. I think Cullen and Katie rely too much on their core adult fanbase who constantly tell them how much better they are than DB and E&J, and forget about trying to bring in the outside viewers. And while I definitely don't want them to fail either, I think their ship has sailed.

Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk