Skip to main content

Michelle Duggar and Kelly Jo Bates have a lot in common. They share the same religious views. They are both known for their above-average fertility, and they’ve both mothered 19 children. They both seem sickeningly sweet, too. The similarities appear to stop there. While many fans believe much of Michelle’s sweetness is an act, that doesn’t seem to be the case for Kelly Jo, and a recent Instagram comment seems to highlight that fact.

Kelly Jo seems to engage with the community

Fans have long suggested that the Bates family is genuinely interested in the lives of their followers. In a recent Instagram post, a commenter struck the heartstrings of the Bates family. The commenter, who recently lost her husband, reached out to the family to let them know just how much peace watching their show has brought her. According to the comment, she and her husband used to enjoy the family’s reality TV show, Bringing Up Bates, together. In the months after his death, she said she couldn’t watch, but recently got back into the series, and has found solace in it.

Kelly Jo immediately reached out to the fan, wished her well, and asked her to direct message her if she was ever in the family’s area. According to the comment, Kelly Jo and the Bates family would love to meet her. The sweet exchange was noticed by Reddit followers. Fans of the family have pointed out just how genuinely loving the comment was. They even suggested that it is not uncommon for Kelly Jo to reach out to fans directly.

Michelle Duggar doesn’t seem to connect with her fan base, at all

In stark contrast, followers believe that Michelle’s super sweet demeanor is reserved for when the cameras are rolling. A video, taken by Derick Dillard, seems to give credence to that theory. In a Facebook Live video, Derick caught Michelle yelling at one of her younger daughters. The demeanor of the kid, Michelle’s body language, and how quickly she changed her attitude when she saw that the camera was on, left followers feeling uneasy.  Reddit users suggested Michelle’s sweet nature is all an act for the cameras, and some even suggest the incident was the first in a long line of perceived “transgressions” that got Derick and his wife, Jill Duggar, booted from the family.

Michelle also doesn’t appear to connect with her fanbase. While Kelly Jo seems to answer fan comments and questions personally, Michelle has mostly stayed away from the social media game. Sure, she speaks publicly, but only when she and her husband Jim Bob are paid to do so. Very few acts of kindness from Michelle have been documented.

Fans think Kelly Jo is genuinely nicer than Michelle

The Bates family and the Duggar family were friends once upon a time. The Duggar family is actually credited with introducing the Bateses to the television world, but to many followers, the similarities seem to stop there. In fact, the Bates family is considered the cooler and more progressive of the two hyper-religious families. and it looks like Kelly Jo is largely considered to be the nicer of the two families’ matriarchs.

Why is this the case? Is it possible that Kelly Jo and her husband, Gil Bates, are just better at pandering to mainstream society? It’s possible. It’s also plausible that Kelly Jo is just as sweet as she comes across, and that Michelle, for all of her allegedly good qualities, doesn’t read as genuine to the general public.

Best in Entertainment