Cullen and Katie: Shifty eyes and constant lies | Part #25

[lovingthisforum]

I wouldn’t trust that she’s actually paying the bills. She’s got a serious problem and they should both seek help for their addictions. She’s in complete denial about her problem. Makes me wonder if she’s doing anything else to satisfy her shopping addiction? I almost feel bad for Cullen. He talked about being stressed by their finances years ago. Katie didn’t give a damn about any of that. She played the victim this whole time.

I’ve always felt like Kohl’s was a better organized version of TJ Maxx. It’s good for a few tahirts and maybe a pair of jeans here and there. I can’t imagine what you could spend $3000 on in one month. I assume she just purchased these things just to throw in the corner of the cat piss room. They don’t do anything or go anywhere special. She probably would have been better off buying designer clothing. Atleast there would be some resale value. No one wants the cheap crap from kohl’s. Has she sold the expensive purse she got as a push present when Brooks was born? Seems like that should have been one of the first things to go.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Katie hasn't given up on anything. She sold a couple of cloths on Poshmark but a very minor quantity and just for a couple of bucks, she didn't actively deliver anything substantial to pay toward their debt. She didn't sell any of her or Gaines' substantial stuff. She could have easily sold the cloths that Kelley handed down from Emily for Gaines and still had tags on. And meanwhile we see Katie with new shirts in their 'sit downs' of their 'debt disaster', admittedly it suits her well, and Gaines is disgustingly overdressed, being admired by Katie as she is.

[Boymomma123]

Katie obviously has a very serious shopping addiction and I doubt she will be able to stop any time soon. She read the dates on those shopping trips to Kohls and they were back to back. She also did not indicate that she was returning anything so why would you go back the next day and spend even more? It just doesn't make sense because last year she was allegedly on a journey and decluttering and minimizing their lives.

Cullen needs to take serious control of their finances because even though he may have made some poor choices Katie is like a loose cannon. If I were Cullen I would be paying close attention to where and how she spends their money. She is clearly a compulsive liar and was hiding their finances from Cullen.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[HashtagBlessed]

Katie obviously has a very serious shopping addiction and I doubt she will be able to stop any time soon. She read the dates on those shopping trips to Kohls and they were back to back. She also did not indicate that she was returning anything so why would you go back the next day and spend even more? It just doesn't make sense because last year she was allegedly on a journey and decluttering and minimizing their lives.

Cullen needs to take serious control of their finances because even though he may have made some poor choices Katie is like a loose cannon. If I were Cullen I would be paying close attention to where and how she spends their money. She is clearly a compulsive liar and was hiding their finances from Cullen.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

I agree, I think she used her position as the self-proclaimed "nerd" to shut him out of their finances completely in order to hide her shopping. When Cullen said they could no longer afford $500 for a kid's birthday party, Katie later revealed it was actually more like $1,500. That's a big leap. No doubt she was hiding her compulsive shopping, and if she was called out for it she probably had a long list of excuses for why they needed it or why they could afford it. I think Cullen also chose to be ignorant to some extent, and was all too pleased to have a wife who treated him more like a child than a partner, if that meant he could avoid growing up and taking responsbility. They both have addictive personalities and they both need accountability. I wouldn't be surprised if any time Cullen called Katie out for the out of control spending, she threw it right back at him with the substance abuse, and vice versa.

[wishes]

Cullen needs to leave her. Clearly he hasn’t been happy in awhile and that b@#$h Katie is making him out to be the bad guy. I’ve always favored Cullen and to see his wife justify these damn purchases and tell him to cut out his favorite things is absurd. And she controls the finances!? Heck no, get out.

I hope Katie crash and burrrrrns real good.

Sorry, I’m just so over her and her entitled ways.

[Boymomma123]

Also, Cullen mentioned that they could afford the house if they hadn't made xyz purchases but if you listen carefully Katie admitted that most of those clothing and target purchases were put on the credit card. She then said she would get extra money one month or a big brand deal and put $5000 toward the cc. She even admitted that it was already maxed out this time last year!

They have got to be paying for the car out of the business. I also don't believe that they can afford the mortgage because every time it is mentioned Katie gets all nervous looking and shifty eyed.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[lmmomSD]

$1500 for a children's birthday party? That's outrageous. Was this the one with all the princesses and fancy decor?
She really thinks they're celebrities, doesn't she?
They're really milking this for views. They were barely making 20K views on a lot of their vlogs, and now they're making upwards of 100K. Maybe Katie thinks this will get them out of the hole and she won't have to change anything. Maybe that's part of why they're so stubborn about not getting jobs.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[kaper]

I don't understand all the importance of separating business expenses and personal expenses except for perhaps tax deduction purposes. The business is solely theirs. The business pays their income, and their income pays the debt. Debt is debt.

[playground78]

Cullen needs to leave her. Clearly he hasn’t been happy in awhile and that b@#$h Katie is making him out to be the bad guy. I’ve always favored Cullen and to see his wife justify these damn purchases and tell him to cut out his favorite things is absurd. And she controls the finances!? Heck no, get out.

I hope Katie crash and burrrrrns real good.

Sorry, I’m just so over her and her entitled ways.

I’m beginning to think that Katie is painting him as the bad guy also. Yes he has issues. But I think she’s making them out to be greater for him. And like his are the main problems that contributed to their family and financial downfall. When she was spending $7k in one month on clothes!

And they never clearly mentioned Cullen’s drugs choice. But it had to be marijuana. No way he could have afforded coke or heroin or meth while she was spending that much. Katie justified her spending on the fact that Cullen was buying weed. Like they talked about the coral and how he said it was purchased using Birthday money. But it wasn’t. He was given cash from his mom, sister, and grandolly. Put the coral on the credit card. Used the cash to buy weed. But he was probably spending $200-400 a month on it. Not near what she was.

I’m sure she put all the weight of their problems on Cullen. When she was equally at fault. I’m from Canada. I don’t see weed as a problem mostly. Sure it can be a crutch for some people and cause issues. But I view it as better than alcohol in terms of a drink with dinner or a night out. And I don’t even do it. The stigma surrounding it is a bit unfair.

And $500+ on eating out??!! That’s when Katie was losing weight. Bullshit she did anything to lose weight. It’s all the meds.

I do think that Cullen was trying to stop the spending and she was not having it. He looked upset at those numbers. And talked about the feeling of checking the bank account in the morning and seeing it overdrawn. But he couldn’t say a thing. Because he was smoking weed. I wonder if he will leave her someday. They are still a mess.

[Boymomma123]

This time last year though Cullen was allegedly "sober" and had been for a few months I remember correctly. That is when he started spending money on the fish tank. The addiction video came out on January 16th and he claimed to have stopped right then.

So she can't even use Cullen doing drugs as an excuse for spending all of that money. Even if the shopping was to deal with the stress of life why did it take her so long to realize it was excessive. I don't even know that she has actually changed though because she was still justifying those purchases a year later. She has only changed on the surface because shit got real and they are in financial ruin.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[chloe6124]

Almost 3,000 on freakin clothes?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

What the actual hell?!?!?!

And I’m sure she spent like that every month as well. The girl has a major shopping addiction and that’s why they’re in debt. She controls the budget, bills, spending etc.

Lawd have mercy.

3,000 that’s almost how much I made when I worked in the school system.

for 3,000 she ain't shopping retail..it's gotta be designer labels..maybe if you'd gone to old navy once in awhile you might not be losing your house. What kills me is she buys Gaines brand new clothes and poor Brooks is reduced to hand-me downs from Kelly's kid

She claims almost all of the clothing purchases were from Kohls and she did mention American Eagle. So obviously she just bought a crap ton to add up to $3000. Then on top of the nearly 3000 on clothes she also spend 700 at target which was most likely clothes as well. Wasn't she allegedly doing Marie Kondo during all of this shopping? How does that make any sense?

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

How do you spend that much at kohl’s. Between coupons and rewards and kohl’s cash you can get stuff so cheap. She basically spent more then that because she must of had hundreds and hundreds of kohl’s cash. I like kohl’s but there clothes are cheap when you shop right there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lisbeth3]

Let me guess-- it's at the country club. Betting it wasn't free. And Katie took Brooks out (shocker!). So all 4 of them are out, and of course Gaines got a whole new outfit. And Cullen is wearing a dark t-shirt under his lavender shirt, and jeans. He does look like a schlub.
I really hate when people call one on one time spent with a parent a "date". It's not a date.
And Gaines should not be wearing that bright red lipstick. She looks like she's trying for a pageant.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

They cancelled the country club membership though.

So is it a school thing then? Still probably not free, and of course Gaines had to have an all-new outfit.
Humbling themselves through sacrifice-- what a joke.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

That mess is giving me JonBenet vibes. As for spending all that money on Kohls&Target- what a joke! I have only been to Kohls once(not my thing) and I would never spend more than $100 on the crap they sell there. Target is always running sales and Ebay sells designer items cheaper than their sale prices at regular stores. The pearl clutcher could have bought a few nice pieces for a fraction of that amount. Such waste.

[Catface2]

I’m so confused..how does she spend thousands in a month on clothes and all I see her in was the same ratty pairs of ugly athletic shorts, shitty t shirts and those black wedge flip flops...wtf?

[WatchinTheWreck]

I can’t believe they’re trying to explain taking the house off the market by referring to it as an “emotional detox” or a break from something. No, the house isn’t selling at the price they overpaid for it and they don’t have the money in the bank to pay the difference. They really don’t understand the position they are in and what their limited options are at this point.

At least Cullen has the self-awareness to realize now that most people run the numbers before making such a huge financial investment in a home. The numbers on their house don’t make sense, and he knows it. Potential buyers are looking at comparable properties, maintenance expenses, utility expenses, etc. Katie still thinks they won’t have to resort to a short sale. I see lots of people in the comments telling them to cut their losses, drop the price to what they need to pay off the mortgage and realtor fees. Give up on selling it for a profit. That many showings and no offers mean it's still priced too high. But Katie is still talking about layout and aesthetic preferences. Delusional.

I wonder if they currently owe more on the car than it’s worth, and they would therefore need to bring money to the table in order to rid themselves of the car loan. Cars depreciate quickly and they probably have a very high interest rate. If they can scrounge together the money to pay the difference, it makes sense to sell it just to get rid of a high car payment. But I’m guessing since they are in an identical situation with their mortgage, that’s taking priority. It’s likely they just don’t have the money in the bank to get out from under these crazy high payments. I see a bankruptcy filing in their future.

Oh My God I still cannot believe they have decided to start tithing while on the brink of financial ruin.

They seemed to finally touch on the fact that their income doesn’t cover their expenses in today’s video. How can they possibly be so salty towards comments suggesting that they find jobs when they are admitting that they need to get additional income from somewhere? Where do they think additional income comes from?

Katie said that they spent around $1,500 on Brooks’ first birthday. And then justifies the excess of Gaines’ birthday parties by bringing up the miscarriages again. I have to be careful with my spending personally, and sometimes I spend too much on things for my child, but I’ve found that it comes from a place of anxiety- I’m worried that I may not have the money in the future, so I need to plan and buy everything now so that I feel prepared and in control. I need to remind myself every now and then that this narrative in my head is not true. But first and foremost, my love for my child motivates me to be as responsible as I can be to provide for her financial future- meaning I go to work every weekday, she has a college savings account, I have life insurance for both me and my spouse, we have make sure we have money in the bank, etc. I can’t understand justifying a shopping addiction by claiming it is a product of how much I love my child and how badly I wanted to be a parent.

I think they are already at the point where with realtor fees they will owe money at closing and it is still way too high.

They said they looked into selling the suburban and could make 1-2 thousand on it. They just don’t want to admit that they cannot afford to keep it and drive a beater. I am not sorry to say they need to put their big girl panties on and suck it up. Get rid of the damn suburban.

[lmmomSD]

Don't forget those awful chunky necklaces!

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[WatchinTheWreck]

The most efficient setting for your ac is 78* and for your heater it is 68 or less.

Yep! When we ran into money troubles, we set our ac at 78/79 instead of 69/70. I’m in south Florida where it gets HOT but guess what? Being uncomfortable was more important than not being able to pay bills. We saved an average of $60 a month. It’s an immediate savings that goes a long way.

They need to stop trying to be “comfortable” and start being realistic or they will never get out of this hole. It’s frustrating to watch them because they aren’t taking this seriously.

Cullen seems to have a lot to say but Katie always has a response that justifies her actions and spending and you can tell it’s wearing on him. The relationship between them seems very unhealthy. With Katie in charge of the numbers and money, she will keep justifying expenses that aren’t necessary.

She needs to stop separating herself as “the nerd” and work together with Cullen. I think Cullen knows one of them needs to get a job outside the home. There is absolutely no need for both of them to be home. They are in a financial crisis! Think about your children and get a job that pays a steady income!!!

He also needs to step up and make his voice known and not be shut down by her justifications. They are both responsible for getting themselves in this situation. They have absolutely no plan as of now, at least not one that I can see. What a mess.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I truly think Cullen’s upbringing, where he was never heard, has impacting him greatly and Katie is doing the same thing. It is her way or the highway, same as Cullen’s father was with him and he doesn’t know how to stand against that. I have no doubt if he has tried that Katie threw his addiction issues in his face. They have said they stopped going to therapy because of the cost. New flash, you talk about making changes, but without actually making huge changes like stopping daycare and selling the damn suburban, so you can afford therapy, nothing will change!

[KM_90]

Hi all! New here and first time poster. I wanted to chime in to say that, while I don't disagree with a lot that's been said here, I did want to point out that I'm pretty sure Gaines is wearing an Elsa costume from Frozen that she already owned to the Daddy Daughter dance. I also believe this was something their church hosted. I think she looks perfectly OK for the event. All the little girls tend to wear a little color on their lips or light make up for their special night. I think it's cute she decided to wear her Elsa dress when she was told to pick something she already owned.

Also, I think Katie mentioned that she was buying clothes for several trips or events they were attending last spring so I think she was likely buying things for all of them, and that may also explain why you don't see them in the clothes often. They tend to dress way casually for hanging out at home vs wearing their nicer clothing, and I can't say that I blame them. I do agree that the amount she spent was definitely excessive...especially for Kohl's. I can't for the life of me ever find more than 1 or 2 things I like when I go there. I feel like for the quality, their clothes are overpriced before any discounts or sales. They do have decent kids clothes though.

[honeybear]

Okay yeah they are completely lying in their debt videos. I see it now.

Katie held up a paper to show her highlighted items and you could see so many items left out from Amazon and other sources even though she claims she either counted them.

I'm not sure if this paper in particular was from this February or last, but I assume from this February and they are still spending money but arent mentioning it

Sent from my SM-G975W using Tapatalk

[Parktown]

I’m so confused..how does she spend thousands in a month on clothes and all I see her in was the same ratty pairs of ugly athletic shorts, shitty t shirts and those black wedge flip flops...wtf?

She is just clinically depressed, that is what happens the thrill of the sale then comes home and lives in sweats!
She comfort feeds her emotions with getting what she thinks she likes then returns home and crashes! It is very much like a drug rush then reality still is there!

[mollybaby]

Okay yeah they are completely lying in their debt videos. I see it now.

Katie held up a paper to show her highlighted items and you could see so many items left out from Amazon and other sources even though she claims she either counted them.

I'm not sure if this paper in particular was from this February or last, but I assume from this February and they are still spending money but arent mentioning it

Sent from my SM-G975W using Tapatalk

I paused the video, the statement is from 2019.

Some interesting charges that Katie conveniently left out:

$520.76 interest charge
$142.77 floor and decor
$66 massage envy

..and a few others that are unreadable and weren’t highlighted or mentioned.

When talking about taking $800 out for groceries this month, she says “we way over budgeted for groceries intentionally” and in the same sentence she says “we over budgeted a little bit.” Which one is it, Katie?

They went to urgent care and loved the green soap so much they just HAD to order it on amazon while sitting in urgent care. Wtf is wrong with them? Who even thinks this way?

Why is she wasting time printing pages and pages of bank statements and highlighting them. Every statement can be viewed online.

Her justification for why they were spending so much is because their “mental capacity was so backed up.” So backed up but you were shopping nonstop, drinking, bowling, going to Chuck E. Cheese, eating out 24/7. She keeps justifying and lying to try and get sympathy from viewers. It’s not going to pay the bills. Cullen just sits by her acting all baffled and shocked instead of being involved. Why didn’t they go over these statements together? How is this productive if they aren’t working together?

They love to waste paper and ink and sit around all day coloring and highlighting things. They have no goals, no direction, no jobs, no savings and a ton of unpaid bills. They are beyond reckless and irresponsible.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kaper]

Her reasoning for taking the house off the market is to 'reset' the number of days the listing is active. A house that has been on the market over 200 days leads buyers to think there are problems. Taking a 30 day break from listing will set any new listing back to day #1.

As far as selling the Suburban, Katie mentions only making $2,000 from the sale. The purpose of selling the vehicle is not to make money, but to save the huge monthly payment/insurance and amount of gas for that vehicle.