The normally busy Busby house is suspiciously quiet during TODAY.com’s early morning video chat with parents Adam and Danielle Busby.
The Busbys’ rare girl quintuplets, now nine years old, had been separated: two at a sleepover and three upstairs. The Busby’s eldest daughter, Blayke, 13, was still asleep.
Things have certainly changed in the Busby household.
The ‘OutDaughtered’ family today
TLC’s ‘OutDaughtered’ series follows the Busbys since the birth of the quintuplets and highlights the difficulties of raising a five-year-old and five newborns. The Texas family took a two-year hiatus from filming shortly after the pandemic, but they’re back in action to show fans the new challenges of raising six young girls.
“It’s still hard,” says Danielle, although she is relieved that her diaper-changing days are over years ago. “What’s difficult is that we have six individual kids who are all over the place and want to go in different directions,” making managing schedules and activities a herculean task.
The quints are no longer a package deal. Danielle says the girls tend to play together with their group of friends, but the girls are in two different classes at school and “we really encourage a lot of them to be a little divided sometimes,” she says.
“I tell their friends’ mothers, ‘You don’t have to invite the quintuplets. They’re five different kids.’ And that’s so hard now. It used to be just Blayke and ‘the quints’ as one. But now it’s just Blayke, Ava, Olivia, Hazel, Riley and Parker.
Let’s catch up with each of the Busby children as they individually begin to blaze new trails for themselves.
Blayke Busby, 13
Blayke will go to eighth grade in the fall. She has always loved volleyball and basketball, and this year she “fell in love with tennis,” Danielle says.
“She’s obsessed with doing her eyelashes,” Adam interjects.
“Oh god, she wears that eyelash curler everywhere she goes,” Danielle adds.
Ava Lane Busby, 9
Ava, who loves to dance, is getting “crazier” and “crazier,” says Danielle.
She is also emotional and puts a lot of emphasis on everything being fair, which is a challenge in a large family. The Busbys try to teach her that “there are days when you can do something fun and days when we have to let someone else do something fun.”
Olivia Marie Busby, 9
“Ever since they were little babies and toddlers, Ava and Olivia had the same personalities” and showed their sweet sides, Adam says. The girls are identical twins. “Ava was a little more ‘drama queen’ and Olivia was a little more ‘goofball,’ and now it’s changing a little bit.”
Olivia has become more affectionate over the years, and she and Ava are “the social birds of the group,” says Danielle.
Hazel Grace Busby, 9
“Homegirl is singing and dancing 24/7,” says Danielle. But her form of entertainment may not seem familiar, because “Hazel is just in ‘Hazel’s world’ all the time,” says Danielle.
She’s also extremely helpful, Adam says. “You never have to tell Hazel twice. If you tell the girls to go upstairs to get their room, five minutes later they’re all still around and Hazel is upstairs doing their chores. She has a smile on her face and enjoys doing it, and all the other girls know that, so we have to make sure the others don’t take advantage of it.”
Hazel’s eye problems, which were a recurring plot point in the show, have continued to get better. “She will have a good chance of doing normal things in life, like driving,” says Adam.
Riley Paige Busby, 9
Danielle says Riley is “the mini Adam and the mini Danielle. She’s the extreme of our two extremes.”
When she isn’t playing soccer with a big smile on her face, Riley is extremely witty and often seems to become the class clown.
“She’s constantly asking questions. She just won’t stop,” says Adam, adding that she probably gets her sarcastic side from him. The Busbys are amazed that Riley can make them laugh so genuinely.
Parker Kate Busby, 9
Parker, a soccer player, is competitive and has a more mature sense of self-confidence, which may stem from her height. As the tallest of the quints, she often thinks she’s “stronger, bigger and better,” says Danielle.
“Which she is, in a way,” Adam laughs.
“She is very talented at many things,” says Danielle, “and she has learned that whatever she sets her mind to, she is likely to succeed at it.” For example, Parker overcame previous fears and performed in the school talent show with friends, not her sisters.
‘OutDaughtered’ on camera… again
Since returning to filming, the Busbys have gone to great lengths to ensure the process doesn’t keep the kids from extracurricular activities, sports or friendships.
“It was a challenge planning-wise,” says Adam.
The kids “love our crew and love to pick on them and get behind the camera,” says Danielle. “We try to make it as normal as possible, even though it’s really not normal to have a TV show.”
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
