OutDaughtered stars Adam and Danielle Busby have revealed that they spend up to $1,000 a week on groceries as they opened up to DailyMail.com about their hectic lifestyles as parents to six young children – including America’s first-ever all-female quintuplets.
The beloved TLC stars – who were already parents to their eldest daughter, Blayke, 12 – famously welcomed quintuplets in 2015 after Danielle, 39, became the first ever American woman to give birth to all-girl quints.
Since then, the world had been able to watch the Texas couple raise such a big family before the Busbys’ decided to pull the plug on their series in 2021.
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com about their daily lives eight years on after welcoming their little girls, the married couple opened up about the dealing with critics online, how they work through financial strains and revealed why they made the decision to bring their show back to the small screen.
Big brood: Adam and Danielle Busby are bringing their family back to the small screen as OutDaughtered returns to TLC following a two-year break
Growing up fast: The couple welcomed quintuplets in 2015 after Danielle became the first ever American woman to give birth to all-girl quints
Reflecting on the decision to invite the cameras back into their home, Danielle admitted they had been nervous but the gang immediately ‘got back into the groove of things’.
She explained: ‘It felt weird to not have cameras around to capture life while we were off because we were so used to it. But I feel like we know what we’re doing now. We haven’t really skipped a beat.’
Indeed, viewers were devastated when the family revealed they had chosen to stop filming their popular reality show after eight seasons.
But it was the kids themselves who became a major catalyst for the family’s decision to return to TLC.
Danielle recalled: ‘They were so used to seeing our crew, and soon they would just simply ask, “Where’s Uncle Brad? Where are the cameras? When are they coming back?”
‘I think because they started to understand that to see themselves on TV, you have to film. So they started to realize that, “Well, if we’re not filming things, what are we going to watch?”… It was a unanimous decision to bring the cameras back.’
Adam, 41, added: ‘What’s cool about this season is that every single one of the girls wears a mic now. They’re major parts of this show now, holding conversations and being more involved in stuff. It’s been a lot of fun.’
As viewers of the show would know, raising six children between the ages of eight to 12 is no simple task, and Danielle admitted the couple often still feel as ‘overwhelmed’ as they did when they first welcomed their quints.
Busy mama: Danielle revealed they spend up to $1000 a week on groceries as they continue face the challenges of raising their five young daughters
Happy bunch: Danielle admitted the couple still ‘feel overwhelmed all the time’
‘I think we still feel overwhelmed all the time,’ she laughed. ‘We look around and it’s like, “Okay, this is it. This is for real, we have six kids”. Life can still be overwhelming but I think we just have to go with what we have at the moment. You can only do so much and we are outnumbered. We’re out daughtered!”
And as most would imagine, the cost of raising such a large brood is not the for the faint of heart.
‘We’re spending anywhere from $800 to $1,000 a week just on the grocery shopping to everything that’s got to be done for sports and their lunches. I mean, it’s expensive.’
Adam then joked about their never-ending household chores as Danielle added: ‘Laundry day in our house, it’s everyday! It’s 10 minutes to the hour, every hour.’
Meanwhile, the pair are no strangers to the criticism they face online from other parents who don’t agree with filming their kids at such a young age, but the couple take care to distance themselves from seeing hateful comments.
Adam explained: ‘You have to figure out if somebody that’s just unhappy and being a hater. If so, then just block and delete. We want to separate ourselves from anyone that’s trying to rob us of joy in life.
‘But if it’s something that is a legit accusation, then I’ll step up and respond and defend ourselves. Say why we made that decision or whatever. Just explain our point of view with it. If they still want to just like be a hater or just like accuse you of something that’s untrue, then get it out of there.’
One thing the couple are adamant about is that they won’t be pushing their daughters to become young social media influencers.
When asked if they would allow pre-teen Blayke to start creating content on her own solo account, Danielle made it clear she was not keen on the idea but admitted: ‘We’ll get there when we get there. I’m not there yet, so I don’t know.
Gangs all here: Adam and Danielle with their daughters Blayke, Olivia, Parker, Ava, Hazel and Riley
Pushing through: Adam explained that the pair try to ignore criticism they face online from other parents who don’t agree with filming their kids
Adam explained: ‘There’s obviously a lot of things that Mom and Dad have seen and we’ve learned. It’s going to take a long, slow process of just making sure that she’s able and capable and mature enough to deal with it, because it’s not all just glamorous.
‘It’s work and you’ve also got to deal with the good and the bad. So for a teenager that’s not used to that, that’s hard.’
When the show was last on air, viewers had been worried about a mystery illness which saw Danielle hospitalized due to auto-immune issues.
Sharing an update about her health crisis, the mother-of-six admitted that doctors were still unable to ‘put an official title’ to her issues.
‘Autoimmune struggles are annoying,’ Danielle stated. ‘You just never know the up and downs that comes. It’s hard for me, it’s hard for Adam to deal with it and adjust to.’
She continued: ‘But I have been on a good journey of working with my neurologist to help me with a lot of nerve issues, damage issues that I have. The migraines and muscular issues.
‘My body’s gone into an immense amount of shock after I had them. I had heart issues and just my inflammation arose tremendously. But I’ve been placed in good hands of doctors and have been on a good journey, especially the last probably six to nine months.’
Love the cameras: The couple revealed that it was their daughters who ask for the show to start filming again
Big personalities: The proud parents stated the viewers will enjoy hearing more from their daughters, Riley pictured left, in the new series – Blayke pictured right
Big smiles: The girls told DailyMail.com that they most enjoy the fun activities they get to do with their parents while filming
She concluded: ‘Still a work in progress. Still do a lot of blood work every six weeks. We’ll get there one day, but I’m a whole lot better.’
Elsewhere, the new season highlights how the couple is making things work now that Danielle is working at their boutique, while Adam mans the fort with the girls at home.
He explained: ‘I’ve just been extremely involved anyway. That’s why I left my career in oil and gas to just work from home and do my own thing so we could start our own businesses and stuff.
‘When we came to opening the boutique where she’s got to be the face of it and she’s got to be there more. We just kind of fall right in line because, this is what we set things up for. Yes. It’s a little bit more difficult just trying to figure things out right now.’
Adam continued: ‘We’re doing a little bit more divide and conquer. That’s like the motto of our home right now. It’s just like, “Okay, either I take them all or you got these, I got these and we’ll conquer today.”‘
Conceived via intrauterine insemination (IUI), a procedure similar to IVF, the Busby girls were the first ever all-female quintuplets to be born in the U.S., and the first in the world since 1969.
Outdaughtered continues Tuesdays at 9PM ET/PT on TLC
Despite all sharing the same womb, only two of the girls – Parker Kate and Hazel Grace – are identical twins, having come from the same egg which divided to form two embryos.
Danielle had a caesarean section at 28 weeks to give the babies the best chance of survival.
Weighing seven pounds six ounces, Ava Lane, Olivia Marie, Hazel Grace, Parker Kate and Riley Paige immediately had the world captivated as many continue to tune in to watch their story unfold through the family’s series.
OutDaughtered continues Tuesdays at 9PM ET/PT on TLC.
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