Cullen and Katie: Blame the Mailman Part 7

[HashtagBlessed]

RecklessDisregard, I agree that there's no reason to "hate" anyone over any of the things discussed here. It was an ungracious moment, but I don't hate anyone over it. I don't think it was left in the vlog in an attempt to show them as "relatable" by appearing burdened by the donation amount. Most people are perceptive enough to know that they have an above average income and have had help along the way.

I just think it really didn't occur to them that it would rub people the wrong way. They didn't have the self-awareness to realize it was a tacky thing to say. And I don't resent them for having a privileged life- my parents paid for my education and living expenses in college, my parents and in-laws helped us significantly with our first home, I have a nice family vacation home I can use whenever I want, I know that I'll probably always have that safety net, etc. I can relate to a lot of Katie's privilege. I can't relate to how petulant she was about having to go through with the match and the way they talked about the trip as compensation for their donation.

I'm not saying they're terrible people, but they're also not the saints that many people want them to be. I was frankly shocked by it, because I normally don't get "spoiled rich girl" from Katie, but it was loud and clear in that clip. The tax write off is what it is, and I understand that a trip was donated to motivate fundraising. But I can't understand how anyone can watch that clip and think Katie is enthusiastic and gracious about giving the money to the American Cancer Society. I think if you have a moment on camera that you regret, it's fine to edit it out. They didn't edit it out, because they weren't embarrassed by it, which is a shame.

[lmmomSD]

And the bottom line is, I don't "hate" them. I kinda hate Bryan and Missy, and E&J because they are so disingenuous and think so highly of themselves while saying that they are "positive" and "giving back". I don't hate Cullen and Katie. But I don't think they're perfect either (although I know everyone who frequents this forum knows that). And I am not being more critical because they are being "blessed". My opinion on that isn't that I get more critical the more blessings people have, I get more critical the more they seem to take things for granted. For instance, to bring another vlogger into it, Roman Atwood has 10,000,000 subscribers. He is super successful. But every single day, he thanks his viewers and says that he knows he wouldn't have his life without them. Which is very different from the quick "Thanks for watching! Thumbs up and subscribe!" that most vloggers say. It's the loss of touch with reality that I have an issue with. Not the blessings.
The thing is, there are a lot of people in this thread that really love them, and part of that love seems to stem from comparing them to the other vloggers who are obviously bad parents and not grateful for anything. It's sometimes really hard to day anything negative in here about them. It gets dismissed immediately. And I do say positive things too-- quite often. I praise their parenting and their obviously healthy family relationships. So whether people are overreacting or not, I am kinda glad to be able to not just say positive things and have it actually discussed, instead of "no, they're wonderful. They'd never do anything lacking in integrity" It is still getting that response from some people. Bottom line is that for some people, C&K would have to do something really heinous to shatter their image. And I don't want to argue. We're not going to change each other's minds, and it's getting into just a back and forth. They're entitled to like them. Just respect my right and the right of others here to side eye some things too.

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[literallywhat]

I just think they deserve a little grace. They're mistakes are few and far between. They are relatable, genuine, and seem like truly good people. They rarely flaunt their wealth, and a lot of the money they spend seems to be on family trips or activities. They're good parents raising not only smart but good children. And out of that trio of families, they are by far the most loved. Did they screw up with the detox stuff? Yes, sure. Was Katie's comment really tasteful? Nope. Should we condemn them and act like their character is flawed forever? Absolutely not. They're real people too and they're going to make mistakes.

[Scar2016]

One of my biggest criticisms of other family vloggers is that I feel like many of them are wasting so many opportunities and so much time. A lot of them just laze around the house and focus on their own happiness instead of taking the opportunity to enrich their childrens' lives with activities and socialization. I don't feel like most of them care about the world or their fellow humans (outside the bubble of their family/community/religion)...''

This actually reminded me of the TV show 'Big Brother.' You know how when they get inside the house and after a few days to a week or so inside the house, away from all adult responsibilities including financial worries etc, their behaviour begins to revert back to something akin to teenagers.

Certain vloggers seem to have created their very own 'Big Brother' house where they jump around like kids all day, having 'fun' whilst essentially having been absolved of all thing's that keep adults as actual adults outside in the real world. I just thought it was an interesting comparison/analogy.

[lmmomSD]

And that's actually one of Bryan and Missy's favorite shows. They tweet about watching it.
And nobody is condemning C&K for all time. I'm sure the conversation will move back to how cute Gaines and Brooks are in a day or so. Honestly, I thought it was refreshing to actually discuss something for a day or two. Not that I want to stir the pot or create drama where there isn't any, but it was interesting for a few days to see some different opinions.
Speaking of getting back to regular things, how gross was that bug in the canned corn?
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[Scar2016]

Speaking of getting back to regular things, how gross was that bug in the canned corn?

Haha. I genuinely thought it was another of Cullen's pranks.

[hey girl hey007]

Holy crap!!! MG is a little chatter box!! I love that Cullen has a hard time holding it together when Gaines says sparkling. It cracks me up!

[tratra58]

I just think they deserve a little grace. They're mistakes are few and far between. They are relatable, genuine, and seem like truly good people. They rarely flaunt their wealth, and a lot of the money they spend seems to be on family trips or activities. They're good parents raising not only smart but good children. And out of that trio of families, they are by far the most loved. Did they screw up with the detox stuff? Yes, sure. Was Katie's comment really tasteful? Nope. Should we condemn them and act like their character is flawed forever? Absolutely not. They're real people too and they're going to make mistakes.

I don't believe Cullen grew up like Katie. I wonder if Cullen feels the pressure to do well at YouTube and he seems to put more into their channel than most. Katie wants what her sister and mom has, but I don't think their channel has grown to the point they are doing as well as them. Katie not working part time to me was not a positive and the medical/pension/salary etc has to be a loss.


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[ellay]

I feel like Katie wasted her degree by quitting her job so early and not work at least part time. Sure, she has kids, but lots of people work full time while still raising children. She's clearly the one with the brains and Cullen would have been fine being a stay at home dad with the help of the grandparents from time to time. Or maybe Gaines wouldn't be so advanced if she'd spent her days with her father and Katie knows it...

I can't help but judge YouTubers who quit their jobs and talk about how it's a full-time job. Maybe for the one doing the editing, but it's not a full-time job for both of them.

[HashtagBlessed]

I think under normal circumstances being a stay-at-home parent with young kids qualifies as a full-time job, but it's unusual because they have two stay-at-home parents. I agree that the daily vlogs aren't a full-time workload. Sure, you can spend all day reading comments, but that's not really productive. I don't criticize her for choosing to invest in her children's care and development full-time if they were in a position to do that. Good for her. But it is odd that she has an advanced degree that she earned and then only used it in the work force for a few years. I think it's smart to always be doing something on the side to advance your career and earning potential, even if it's only part-time.

I don't think Katie wanted to go back to work, even part-time, if that meant Cullen was going to be staying home with the kids during the day, even if that made the most sense. I think she wants it to be clear that she's the SAHM and Cullen "works from home." Those are the gender norms she grew up with and her family continues to perpetuate. I never understand how so many of these YouTube wives don't do any of the editing. It's not rocket science, and you'd think they would be interested in learning. It would make more sense to me if they both knew how to edit and took turns.

[lmmomSD]

I think under normal circumstances being a stay-at-home parent with young kids qualifies as a full-time job, but it's unusual because they have two stay-at-home parents. I agree that the daily vlogs aren't a full-time workload. Sure, you can spend all day reading comments, but that's not really productive. I don't criticize her for choosing to invest in her children's care and development full-time if they were in a position to do that. Good for her. But it is odd that she has an advanced degree that she earned and then only used it in the work force for a few years. I think it's smart to always be doing something on the side to advance your career and earning potential, even if it's only part-time.

I don't think Katie wanted to go back to work, even part-time, if that meant Cullen was going to be staying home with the kids during the day, even if that made the most sense. I think she wants it to be clear that she's the SAHM and Cullen "works from home." Those are the gender norms she grew up with and her family continues to perpetuate. I never understand how so many of these YouTube wives don't do any of the editing. It's not rocket science, and you'd think they would be interested in learning. It would make more sense to me if they both knew how to edit and took turns.

It could also give a different tone to the vlogs, which might be interesting.
I hope they don't show horn their kids into gender roles. The fact that Cullen was a cheerleader actually gives me hope that if Gaines wants to play field hockey, say, instead of cheerleading, that she will be supporting in that. Although, I have to admit, every time I think of Cullen cheerleading, I think of Will Ferrell's SNL cheerleading skits...

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[Lovethesnark]

I use to think Katie could use her degree to produce content for her channel, but I'm not so sure that's a good idea anymore. I imagine she would draw tons of criticism from other people in her field. I had high hopes for her channel when they went full time. It's weird to me that she doesn't do the editing for her channel. Many times her excuse for not making videos is that she doesn't want to burden Cullen with extra editing. I've wondered if she takes a passive role when it comes to Youtube because she doesn't want to emasculate Cullen. They use to be super defensive about Cullen doing Youtube full time. There were a couple of times where she wanted to make sure that everyone knew Cullen was providing for their family. I wondered if maybe there was criticism from her family too. I always assumed Cullen's insecurities about Youtube came from his dad and the fact that they'd done Youtube for years without much growth for the channel.

[tratra58]

I use to think Katie could use her degree to produce content for her channel, but I'm not so sure that's a good idea anymore. I imagine she would draw tons of criticism from other people in her field. I had high hopes for her channel when they went full time. It's weird to me that she doesn't do the editing for her channel. Many times her excuse for not making videos is that she doesn't want to burden Cullen with extra editing. I've wondered if she takes a passive role when it comes to Youtube because she doesn't want to emasculate Cullen. They use to be super defensive about Cullen doing Youtube full time. There were a couple of times where she wanted to make sure that everyone knew Cullen was providing for their family. I wondered if maybe there was criticism from her family too. I always assumed Cullen's insecurities about Youtube came from his dad and the fact that they'd done Youtube for years without much growth for the channel.

I remember when Katie was working and given time she would have adjusted, maybe. I thought she had an ideal job if my memory is right, less than thirty hours a week and I think some of her work could be done from home. Yet, I thought she was pretty negative when working at her part time job especially with the positive her job was done pretty early during the day. Most working moms would think this is an ideal job.

Being an in-law in Katie's family might not be easy if you are a YouTuber and if she wanted to have what her sister has, she should have married someone like her brother-in-law. They have been defensive with Cullen's job being with YouTube and perhaps at some point Cullen needs to return to his former profession I think in IT? I don't think Katie will for many years, if ever.


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[Sarai]

That's something I've thought about as well. I wonder if Katie is jealous of her sister because Jay is wealthy and they have a mansion. Did Cullen go to college? Why doesn't he go back to school or get into a trade so he can provide once YT dries up. Hopefully he has a plan.

[Sweet456]

Wait what does jay do for work? I thought it was mentioned once in a vlog recently and I was surprised that was his job


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[nutbagmcgee]

Wait what does jay do for work? I thought it was mentioned once in a vlog recently and I was surprised that was his job


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Jay is a lawyer. Kelly sells Mary Kay and is possibly a trunk keeper for Matilda Jane.

[Lovethesnark]

I don't think she's jealous of her sister. I do think she'll expect the same things Kelly's husband provides for her at some point. I'm sure she wants her kids to grow up the same way she did. If Cullen can't provide that lifestyle, I'm sure her parents will.

[workfromhomemom]

That's something I've thought about as well. I wonder if Katie is jealous of her sister because Jay is wealthy and they have a mansion. Did Cullen go to college? Why doesn't he go back to school or get into a trade so he can provide once YT dries up. Hopefully he has a plan.

It's a very nice large home, but I wouldn't call it a mansion per se. I think Katie and Kelly have a very healthy relationship or from what we see of it. All of her family relationships seem very healthy and fun. And, not all lawyers are wealthy or well to do.

[tratra58]

That's something I've thought about as well. I wonder if Katie is jealous of her sister because Jay is wealthy and they have a mansion. Did Cullen go to college? Why doesn't he go back to school or get into a trade so he can provide once YT dries up. Hopefully he has a plan.

I did look back and Cullen must have graduated from college and his last job was in graphic design. He lost two positions in six years. The last job loss was the result of a corporate take over and the layoffs of many employees included he said people who had been there for fifteen years. It was a good vlog since it really showed his disappointed being let go at a job he had grown to like after six months. I don't think his experience is too uncommon today where people move around vs years ago you stayed at a job for life. This was also the chance for him to explore YouTube which is where he is now with a decent channel, but nothing like the super fast growing channels. Looking back, Katie did work thirty hours a week and most of these times she just said I know it is fine at home with Cullen taking care of their child, but was never very happy with this situation. I think Cullen would be a great stay at home dad, but the housekeeping would not likely get done.

Things would be perfect if Katie's or Cullen were doing as well as the other two (DB EJ) so they could move on to their own bigger and better house. I have wondered why certain YouTube channel are a big hit, while others grow slowly. I said before, I think a kid following is one reason. It seems living in Utah is a positive too. There are trade offs since both Katie's dad and her brother-in-law could be putting in long days and she doesn't contend with this with Cullen home. But their channel isn't doing what her family's members are doing as far as income in what they've talked about or shown. My guess is for now, Cullen is likely doing better with YouTube than a forty hour week job and they'll always want one parent home caring for their kids. Katie's salary and benefits were likely better than Cullen's potential (which however is an unknown since he is the part of life where careers advance), but she wouldn't go back to work either for other reasons. If I was Katie, I think I would work for the medical/pension/income and when YouTube dries up like I think many of us believe will happen at some point, you'll be ok. I think working and staying at home have their pluses and minus points and I've done both...working gives me a sense of security.

[tratra58]

I don't think she's jealous of her sister. I do think she'll expect the same things Kelly's husband provides for her at some point. I'm sure she wants her kids to grow up the same way she did. If Cullen can't provide that lifestyle, I'm sure her parents will.

Do you really think so? I image Katie's parents have helped out with education and perhaps other things especially with their grandchildren, but support their children's families, I don't think so.