The Busbys aren't your typical family. Parents Danielle and Adam have their hands full with
six girls — including the first female quintuplets in the U.S. — as well as their hit TLC show,
OutDaughtered. But this reality star couple wasn't always living life in front of the
cameras. Here's the truth about the Busbys before the show.
One of the things people love so much about OutDaughtered is that the Busbys are an ordinary
family, albeit one with slightly more kids than average. The couple lives in Texas now,
but they first met when they lived in Louisiana, where Danielle went to McNeese State University.
According to Romper, it appears that Adam entered the workforce right after graduating
from high school.
The Busbys have always worked hard, and it's a good thing because without that hustle,
their relationship might never have happened. As many fans know, the couple famously met
at Target where both of them were employed at the time. Danielle wrote on the family
blog, It's A Buzz World,
"After a few months of working almost side by side together at Target, Adam finally got
the courage to say a few words to me. The first words out of his mouth were 'hey beautiful.'"
Little did Adam and Danielle know that that fateful meeting would one day lead to them
getting married, raising a family, and becoming successful reality TV stars.
"There would be no big Busby family without this love that we have"
The Busbys have never been high maintenance. Even though many couples fork over the big
bucks for over-the-top blowouts, Danielle and Adam kept their 2006 wedding simple and
intimate. Danielle told Country Living that their special day was a definite highlight
of her life, even though it was pretty low-key. She remembered,
"Our wedding was kept small, but boy oh boy was it a challenging one to plan. This was
right after Hurricane Rita wiped out Lake Charles and pretty much every venue was damaged.
But we were able to find a little chapel to get married in."
"I love you more than anything, and I love our relationship more than anything"
To the Busbys, though, the details of their special day didn't really matter. Danielle
revealed that they didn't care too much about how fancy the wedding was — the Busbys just
wanted to be together. She told the outlet,
"We were young and in love, so we didn't really care about where and what it all looked like.
We were just looking forward to the day we would officially commit in front of God to
be together forever."
While starring on a hit reality show has helped the Busbys live a comfortable lifestyle, they
were already doing pretty well for themselves before they became the famous stars of OutDaughtered.
Before the quints were born, both Adam and Danielle were working full time, and both
of them had well-paying jobs. Danielle wrote on their blog,
"Both Adam and I were doing great at our jobs, providing for our family of three and began
to live a lifestyle of 'what we want, we get.' Though we had some ups and downs through our
years with finances, especially when infertility started when [we were] trying to have Blayke,
we got back 'on our track' and got to do the things we wanted to do. This may have been
fun for us but I don't think it was actually what God wanted for us."
"Can I please just be a human being and have something that makes me feel good and makes
me feel happy about?"
Once Danielle was pregnant with the quints, though, she decided to become a stay-at-home
mother, even though she and Adam knew money would be tighter with just one income and
so many mouths to feed.
While the Busbys are now beloved by millions thanks to their hit show, they initially had
a much smaller audience in mind when they went public with their story. Danielle and
Adam weren't seeking fame when they started their blog — they simply wanted to share
their story and help others who had also dealt with infertility. Danielle wrote in 2015,
"Blogging about [our] infertility journey was something I never thought I would enjoy.
I'm not a writer, I always hated English and Literature."
The Busby matriarch revealed that, in spite of her hesitation to write, she was happy
she had started the blog because it essentially recorded the couple's growth during their
infertility journey. She was also happy about being able to help others, adding,
"I love how our story has reached thousands of people who have similar struggles and how
so many women have reached out to me with their infertility struggles. What a blessing
to be a 'mentor' to so many women."
"Boy did we get pregnant"
Danielle quickly hit her stride and fell in love with sharing her story with the world.
In a 2014 post, she made a wish that would come true in ways she never expected, when
she wrote,
"Within one day our Facebook page has reached 1000 'likes.' HOW AWESOME ARE ALL OF YOU!!!!
I love being able to blog about what is going on during this journey and I LOVE seeing and
reading everyone's comments. [Can I do this as a full time job, lol.]"
While Danielle isn't exactly a full-time blogger, that post did lead to her being able to share
her journey as a mother of six — and to make money doing it. She went from blogging
a couple times a month to becoming a household name and a bona fide celebrity, thanks to
OutDaughtered. Even though she found a bigger outlet to tell her story, It's a Buzz World
is still updated regularly. Not too shabby for someone who never thought that she would
enjoy writing.
Out of all the Busbys, life has clearly changed the most for Danielle and Adam. Daughter Blayke
was only 5 years old when OutDaughtered began, and the series portrayed the end of Danielle's
pregnancy with the quints, so the Busby kids have pretty much grown up on camera. For Adam
and Danielle, though, it's a whole new world.
"They are so full of energy, we are constantly trying to find ways to tire them out. Constantly"
Fortunately, they had some time to adjust to being filmed and having six little girls
before they got famous. According to Today, the quints were born in April 2015, but the
Busbys didn't share the news that they were going to be on TLC until that August. The
couple made the announcement on their blog, writing,
"We have been working with [TLC] since before the birth of these very special quints and
are so excited to have documented this incredible story of God's grace poured out on our lives."
While their blog presumably had a healthy amount of followers even before OutDaughtered
aired, it wasn't until the show premiered the following year that the Busbys became
truly famous.
As viewers of OutDaughtered have seen, the Busbys have a pretty nice house today, with
plenty of room for all of the quints and big sister, Blayke, to run around and play. Before
they were famous, though, the family experienced a far more modest living situation. When the
quints were born, ABC News reported that the Busbys were living in a three-bedroom home
— a bit on the small side when you've got eight people under one roof.
"You realize it's the next 18 years that you're responsible for 5 lives. It's overwhelming"
After the Busbys landed their own reality show, they started looking for a new home.
In January 2016, a few months before the premiere of the show, Danielle announced on their blog
that the family had moved to a bigger house that provided them more space for their large
family. She said,
"Though it was sad to leave our first home, it feels so amazing to not be stepping over
babies, literally. We are in awe over our new home and excited to start our new memories
here."
While Danielle couldn't have predicted she'd become the mother of quints, she always knew
she wanted a big family. And seeing Adam's parenting skills in action convinced her that
he was the right man for her. She blogged,
"My heart has always been drawn to kids and I know I have been given a special gift with
children. When I saw Adam had this same gift, I knew I would marry this man. We both knew
we wanted to have kids but never imagined being faced with the challenges it would take
to actually have kids."
"Ya'll are the best. Goodness gracious…Love you"
While the family ended up being slightly bigger than the Busbys had planned, they're grateful
for each of their children. Just a few months before the quints were born, Danielle told
a local Louisiana news outlet,
"I was always like, I would have five kids, I used to tell everybody I would have five
kids if I could, but in today's world, they're so expensive!"
When the Busbys first found out they were having quints, they actually thought it was
a joke. Danielle told Style Blueprint,
"Well then it turned out that we're having our large family all at one time, so I kind
of take it as God's humor."
Any fan of OutDaughtered knows that the Busbys' Christian faith is at the center of the family.
And that's something that hasn't changed over the years. Adam and Danielle have always been
religious and their faith has only grown stronger over time. Adam blogged in 2015,
"I try to remind myself each day that God has a perfect plan for my family and none
of this is about Danielle and I. This journey that we are on is all being orchestrated to
give him the glory. […] I truly believe that he is using Danielle and I for something
pretty big."
The Busbys credit God with pulling them through their infertility struggles, as well as providing
them with everything they need for 6 growing girls.
Another thing that has remained a constant with Adam and Danielle is their love of fitness.
Both of them have kept in excellent shape over the years, and their fitness journey
started long before they were ever famous. Danielle blogged,
"Both Adam and I have a passion for fitness and we keep it a priority in our daily life."
"You find time to eat, you find time to sleep, well, I try to find time to get some fitness
in every day"
Even after they landed their own reality show, the couple made sure to prioritize not just
their personal fitness journeys, but they also launched a fitness business. According
to Style Blueprint, Danielle and Adam became part owners of a cycle studio in 2017. Danielle
also co-owns a fitness apparel line with her two sisters, Crystal and Ashley. Their brand
mission states,
"We grew to rely on and support each other through every phase of life. […] Our passion
for fitness has been a constant between us and is a reminder of our strength as sisters,
wives, mothers and business owners."
"Starting a new business just gives me that little bit of I'm a person kind of again,
not just like a stinky sweaty mom"
When you have six kids, things are bound to get pretty loud. That's especially true when
five of those kids are the same young age. Needless to say, things were a lot quieter
in the Busby household before OutDaughtered made them famous. Not only did having the
quints add to the general hustle and bustle of the household, but having a film crew around
also contributed to the volume.
"Honestly I can't even think of a time back whenever we didn't even have quints"
When asked by Style Blueprint how their lives had changed since being on the show, Danielle
admitted that the Busby house became a lot less peaceful. Even so, it seems that the
family adjusted pretty well. She said,
"Since we've had the babies, we've been surrounded by people, people, people in our house. So
it's not much of a shock — it's just camera people versus friends, family and volunteers
from church or something. It's kind of weird when the crew isn't around."
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