Dale Mills, better known as Uncle Dale on TLC's OutDaughtered, may not be the star of
the popular series, but fans know the show wouldn't be nearly the same without him. From
his devotion to wife Crystal, to his favorite quint, here's the truth about Uncle Dale!
Anyone who has watched OutDaughtered knows that Danielle Busby has a very close relationship
with her siblings. Danielle and her twin sisters, Ashley and Crystal, seem to want to see each
other as often as possible. In addition to living near each other, and even owning a
fitness apparel company together, the sisters and their respective families go on quite
a few trips together as well.
"Bye Florida!"
"Byyyyyyyye!"
"Bye Florida!"
And it turns out, that bond also happened to come in handy for Dale, back in the day.
Long before he had a family of his own, he met Crystal. And later, in an Instagram post
wishing Danielle a happy birthday, he revealed he would have never even met Crystal without
Danielle's help. He wrote to Danielle,
"We have been friends/family for about 17 years! It's all your fault I met and married
your crazy sister [Crystal] but for that I'm grateful that we met in this crazy life. Never
would have imagined what has happened in our families life over this span but I wouldn't
change anything about it."
Even longtime fans of the show might not know much about Dale and his wife Crystal's backstory.
Interestingly, the couple started dating back when they were just teens. On the Good Old
Boy podcast, the reality star explained how he and Crystal first got together, revealing,
"We were dating at 19 so, the going out years…I lived in a rent-house in Lake Charles with
three of my buddies, and so it was just a party house. We had no door on the stove.
That's where I met Crystal, I was living there…It was nasty, it was filth."
Thankfully, they've since upgraded to an actual house together, with an oven that has a working
door.
"Alright, one's in the oven."
"I'm about to put you in the oven."
OutDaughtered takes place in Texas, with the Busbys living outside of Houston. Obviously,
Uncle Dale lives nearby as well, but he wasn't always a Texas boy. Much like his wife's family,
he hails from the great state of Louisiana, a heritage of which he remains very proud.
During an appearance on the Good Old Boy podcast, Dale chatted with host Buster Caballero about
how they were both originally from the same state. In fact, he and Caballero bonded over
both being from the same area of the state, as well. Dale explained their many mutual
friends, adding,
"If you're from Louisiana, you're automatically gonna ask some questions, ya know, 'Who's
your family? Who's your friends?'"
Though he may be a certified Texan these days, it looks like Dale will always call Louisiana
home.
For viewers, it's clear by watching the series that Dale is doing well for himself. As the
show makes obvious, the star has a nice house and a successful career. But back in the day,
Dale's first job was nothing out of the ordinary for a young man on the rise. He told the Good
Old Boy podcast,
"I worked at Casa Manana if you remember that place. Fresh out of high school, man, I worked
there for five years, I was loving it, man."
The reality star explained that while he definitely enjoyed his time there, he eventually had
bigger aspirations, and went on to work in sales in the oil industry.
For some people, starring on a reality TV show is a full-time job. But that isn't the
case for Uncle Dale. While he may be fun to watch on the show, he also works a traditional
sales job. According to the star's LinkedIn page, he's the director of sales at Lance
Rental Company in Houston, Texas. Dale has said that he also makes a check for appearing
on OutDaughtered, but that doesn't mean he's quitting his day job anytime soon. He told
the Good Old Boy podcast,
"I've been in the sales-management gig for a while, which is fun. I'm probably a little
more unorthodox than others."
He may not look like a serious businessman when he appears on OutDaughtered, but that
9-to-5 hustle is how Dale brings home the bacon.
Of course, OutDaughtered features the day-to-day lives of the Busby family. The fact that mom
Danielle gave birth to the first set of all-female quintuplets in the U.S. makes this gang pretty
special. But Uncle Dale's family is pretty special too. Along with his wife, Crystal,
Dale is a doting parent to daughter McKenzie and son Bronson, and he wouldn't have it any
other way.
"Do I look pretty?"
"You look like a pig."
"Was that necessary?"
In one post for his daughter's birthday, Dale wrote,
"My sweet McKenzie turns eight years old today! I can't begin to explain how much I love this
little girl. She has changed my world…for the better [since] the day we had her."
In another post, Dale dished about his special bond with his son, writing,
"Always a good day when I got my golfing buddy with me."
Loyal fans of the show have probably picked up on the fact that Uncle Dale has a pretty
special bond with one of the quints: Hazel Grace. In addition to spending time together
on OutDaughtered, Dale has posted more than a few pictures of himself and Hazel, to Instagram.
"Ah, oh, you did a trick."
One reason for the unique connection between the two is the fact Hazel was the first quint
Dale got to hold at the hospital. And if the photo he shared of that special moment is
any indication, it was a pretty incredible experience. He wrote on Instagram,
"And this is where #DAZEL all began. [Adam] found this picture from the first time I visited
the NICU."
Ever since that first moment, Uncle Dale has been in love with everyone's favorite little
red-headed Busby, and fans have been head over heels for Dazel.
"I'm princess Hazel."
One of the things that makes OutDaughtered stand out, is that the Busby family is genuine,
especially in regards to their relationships with their extended family. Fans know just
how much fun the quints have with their grandma Mimi and how excited they get to hang out
with their cousins. But the connection between the adults is just as authentic.
"I'm about to let some aggression out and set it on the field. I'm doing it for every
person in here-"
"WHOOP! HA HA HA!"
Along with Adam, Dale is close with his other brother-in-law, Nick Mowbray who is Danielle's
sister Ashley's husband. Dale claims it's the family bond that really sells the show,
telling the Good Old Boy podcast,
"I think that's what makes the show, too. [The] three brothers in-law, we work together…We're
all super tight. We're a close family…We really are that close, we're with each other
all the time.…It's nice to get paid to hang out with your family."
Dale probably didn't know that OutDaughtered would change his life the way it did when
he first agreed to be on the show. Of course, who could have known that Uncle Dale would
become so popular among fans that the hashtag DAZEL would become a thing? But it did, and
the star loves the fact that he's a favorite on the small screen. He told the Good Old
Boy podcast he was a long-time fan of reality TV, even before he was part of it, revealing,
"Dude, I was always a fan of reality TV, even when the first Real World started, you know,
from then on."
"You know people looked at me and said man that dude's an outlaw. That's what they said,
I'm a real cowboy."
He went on to admit that he enjoys the attention he gets from fans of the show. While some
people may be bothered by it, he relishes it. He said,
"You know, for me…I might seem cocky or whatever [but] people just pump me up. It's
awesome; I live it up, I love the fans."
And just for the record, Dale assured listeners that OutDaughtered is, in fact, an actual
reality show. He said,
"We're just some real people that happen to be on a TV show."
It's no secret that Uncle Dale is the comedic relief on OutDaughtered. Whether it's joking
about dirty diapers or poking fun at Adam, the star knows how to make fans laugh. This
was especially true when Dale showed off his line-dancing skills on the show.
"You gotta have fun with it. It's all in the hips. Don't get too technical with it man,
just have fun. Well he's gettin' into it now."
On top of his dance skills, Dale is also on board with the latest social media trends
and challenges. On Instagram, the star shared a video of himself and his family doing a
TikTok dance challenge as Joe Exotic from Tiger King. Clearly, Dale knows what's up,
and he's not afraid to dance it out.
OutDaughtered fans know that Uncle Dale's a goofy and light-hearted guy, but that doesn't
mean he doesn't have a soft side. When his brother-in-law, Adam, opened up about his
struggle with postpartum depression, Dale handled the moment with more grace than anyone
may have expected.
"I'm at my happiest whenever I'm hanging out with my girls. But I wanna feel that way all
the time."
During the episode, Adam explained that he was terrified to tell people about his depression,
saying,
"Dale, for one thing. I mean how the heck is he going to react to something like that?
He's just going to make jokes."
But Dale was completely understanding, and said,
"It's hard for me to be serious sometimes, but this isn't something I would joke about.
Ever."
Adam's struggle with depression was a huge issue on OutDaughtered. And the fact that
Uncle Dale was there for him through such a challenging time proved that this family
has each other's backs.
Fans of reality TV may already know about Cameo, a platform where celebrities of all
ranks can send custom video messages to their fans for a fee. It's a great side-hustle for
many reality stars and other celebrities to make some extra cash while also connecting
with their fans. And, for Uncle Dale, it's just part of being a fan-favorite on OutDaughtered.
Yes, for just $40, fans can request a personal video from TLC's most beloved uncle.
"Birthdays, bar mitzvahs, anniversaries, uh, say hi to your grandma, hey, I've done it
all."
According to the reviews on Cameo, his uploads are totally worth the price. One user wrote,
"My wife's jaw literally dropped and she screamed so loud our dog ran out of the room! Safe
to say this was the perfect gift and we highly recommend! Uncle Dale was super personable!"
In April 2020, the profits from his videos also went to support the Restaurant Employee
Relief Fund.
Fans of OutDaughtered are likely very familiar with Adam and Danielle's relationship. The
two met while working at Target and the rest is history. As sweet as that is, Dale and
Crystal's story is pretty adorable, too. And although they've been married for quite some
time now, Dale remains totally smitten. On one throwback Instagram post celebrating their
10-year anniversary, Dale wrote,
"It's been 10 great years of marriage and grab-assing! I wouldn't have wanted to do
it with anyone else but you baby! What a life we have had together so far and many many
more years to come!"
A year later, Uncle Dale shared another throwback photo of him and Crystal dressed as Britney
Spears and Kevin Federline, writing,
"Happy 11th anniversary to my girl! We've made a great life together and I can't wait
to see what's to come."
With a brother and sister-in-law who have a full house of kids, it's only natural that
fans would wonder if Uncle Dale has plans on adding any more kids to his gang. Well,
the short answer is no. Not at all. He told the Good Old Boy podcast,
"I'm not down for three either. I'm fixed, bro."
"Oh! Riley. No ma'am. You don't hit in the face."
In fact, it was when Dale found out that his extended family was about to grow five-fold
that he decided to have a vasectomy. He joked,
"Adam got pregnant with the quintuplets, and I'm like, 'Just take it off. I don't need
any of it.'"
"Yeah, it's just, we get a glimpse of a couple hours with the babies that they do every day.
I can't imagine, it's just, it's too stressful for me man."
Uncle Dale seems more than happy being the father of two and the uncle of many.
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