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Alyssa Bates is best known for starring on her family’s television show, Bringing Up Bates. Since marrying John Webster and moving to Florida, Alyssa has been spending more and more time working as an Instagram influencer. A couple of months back, Alyssa attempted to dispel a rumor about the majority of her posts being ads, but she accidentally revealed that a fan has been sending her almost-weekly presents. Now, followers think Alyssa is taking advantage of a well-meaning superfan.

Alyssa’s “Sunday outfits” comes from a superfan

Alyssa took to her Instagram stories in November 2019 to clear up what she believed was a misconception. Apparently, several followers had called the mother of three out for posting ads without letting fans know that the snapshots were advertisements. Alyssa insisted that her posts were not, in fact, sponsored and that instead, the outfits featured in her photos were merely gifts from a “friend.”

Reddit users did a little bit of digging and found that the “friend” Alyssa referenced might just be a fan of the Bates family. The reported fan sends the family of five gifts on a regular basis. The presents appear to be matching dresses for Alyssa and her three daughters, Allie, Lexi, and Zoey Webster. Alyssa has not mentioned if she’s receiving additional gifts from her reported friend. However, she always tags the gift-giver in her Instagram posts when she and her daughters are dressed in gifted outfits. The fan’s Instagram profile is private, and they do not appear to have a store they are promoting.

Is she taking advantage of other people’s kindness?

While Alyssa calls the gift-giver a “sweet friend,” many followers believe Alyssa is taking advantage of the person gifting her family so many items. If Alyssa and John don’t actually know the gift-giver, it gives fans even more pause. After all, the couple regularly features their young children on their very public page. Some critics believe that Alyssa, at the very least, is being incredibly naive, and at the worst, seriously taking advantage of a lonely person.

The nature of their actual relationship is, however, still unknown. While the “friend” has a private Instagram page, it’s easy enough to see that several of Alyssa’s siblings follow her. Alyssa obviously does as well. That makes it possible that they are actual friends, but it’s equally likely that the entire family is benefiting from the fan’s gift-giving ways.

The Bates family has often relied on donations

Before taking the television world by storm, the Bates family was pretty low on cash. With 19 children to feed, Gil Bates, the family patriarch, made his living as a tree surgeon. Several of his sons worked for him, while others set out to create their own small businesses. The very nature of the business meant the family did go through some tough times, and they often relied on donations to get themselves through.

Several of Alyssa’s siblings have been called out for requesting donations, too. Most recently, fans were furious when Carlin Bates put a link to her wedding registry on Instagram. She insisted she wasn’t seeking gifts, but there would be almost no other reason to post your registry to the social media site, reasoned critics. Joy-Anna Duggar and her sister, Jessa Duggar, have also been called out in the past for requesting gifts from fans.

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