Bringing Up Bates, "Michaella and Brandon"
- Brandon comes to Rocky Top, Tennessee, for a two-week visit with the Bates family. His relationship with Michaella has been long-distance since the two started courting on December 30th, 2013, so Gil and Kelly suggested he come for an extended stay to bond with the rest of the family.
- "I have been counting down the days since I first found out he was coming," says Michaella. "I have been so excited about having this time to spend with him and seeing him interact with my siblings."
- When he arrives, Brandon surprises the kids with candy. "It was the bestest!" says Judson. "He's my favorite."
- "Brandon was smart to bring candy in one way, but he would have been smarter to bring earplugs," jokes Zach, who admits he is enjoying the quietness of married life with only one kid.
- As the third youngest of ten kids, Brandon's upbringing was busy, but definitely not as chaotic as Michaella's. "It's kind of overwhelming at times, but it's also kind of fun, just to be able to be in the atmosphere," he says, smiling. "They are all very loving people."
- Michaella and Brandon met at a homeschool conference about five years ago. "The more I get to know her, the more I realize how honored I am to be in this relationship with her," says Brandon.
- Gil and Kelly share one rule with the couple: they cannot be alone in a room together.
- While Michaella works her day job as a nanny, Brandon, born and raised in Michigan, accompanies Gil and the boys on a tree job. "He might be a Yankee, but he works," says Tori.
- The future Bates son-in-law is cautious at first, but by the end of the day, he is pulling his own weight. "Brandon was working so hard that he was making me start to look bad," says Trace.
- Later, Gil and Kelly take the courting couple on a walk in the woods. They give Michaella and Brandon some privacy by stepping back and allowing their daughter and her boyfriend to go on ahead.
- "When you have chaperones, sometimes it's awkward to carry on really in-depth conversations together," explains Kelly. "So we like for all the courting couples to have opportunity to have all the conversations they need to have..."
- Gil and Kelly pray with Michaella and Brandon and give them a book, which is also used by the Duggar family. The "Getting Ready for Marriage Workbook is available on the Store page of the Duggar Family Blog.
- Michaella and Tori take the little kids to an indoor bounce house, and Brandon comes along. Tori tries to force Brandon to go bouncing and go down the slides with her. At one point, she grabs his arm, and Michaella, in fun, shouts, "Tori, hands off!"
- "If I'm not going to touch him, then she can't either," says Michaella, laughing. Tori shares her side of the story: "It wasn't like I was trying to hug the guy for crying out loud. I was just trying to get him to come have fun with me."
- Next, Brandon goes bowling with the Bates boys. "When do you think you're going to get engaged, man?" asks Nathan. "It's hard to say," responds Brandon, who admits that he is thinking about proposing but that he wants to keep the details a secret.
- At the end of the evening, Michaella's brothers put their stamp of approval on Brandon.
- To get a feel for Michaella's style, Brandon takes Tori, Carlin, and Josie ring shopping. Each sister has a slightly different idea about which ring Michaella would like best. In the end, everyone knows that Brandon will make the final decision.
- "Brandon handled all the connections with the kids in a great way, and I think he's really a star player," says Gil sincerely.
