Here's What You Should Know About Sweet Home Sextuplets
Shows like Jon and Kate Plus 8 walked so TLC's Sweet Home Sextuplets could run. The family-friendly reality show, which premiered in September 2018, follows the lives of Eric and Courtney Waldrop and their nine children, including sextuplets. The cameras also captured the sextuplet's birth, as well as the moments leading up to their arrival.
So how did Eric and Courtney end up with nine kiddos? The Alabama couple had wanted one more child (their son Saylor, was born in 2010, and twin boys, Bridge and Wales, arrived in 2012) but, after undergoing fertility treatments, they ended up with six buns in the oven.
Eric and Courtney welcomed three boys and three girls in 2017, naming them Tag, Layke, Blu, Rivers, Rawlings, and Rayne.
The TLC fan base has followed the Waldrop clan ever since, and with Season 3's premiere in June 2020, audiences have become even more invested in the proud parents' lives. Whether you're new to the show or a fan from the start, here's what you should know about Sweet Home Sextuplets.
Eric and Courtney Waldrop are middle school sweethearts
It's already rare to meet your future spouse in high school, so Eric and Courtney Waldrop beat the odds and then some when they found each other in eighth grade. The couple's sweet love story was explained in Home Sweet Sextuplet's 2018 premiere, with Eric sharing, per In Touch Weekly, "Courtney and I, we've been together since eighth grade and never been with anybody else. He added, "So it's kind of like one of those, I guess you could say, not high-school sweethearts, junior-high sweethearts." Even Courtney chalked it up to "love at first sight."
Both Alabama natives attended Auburn University, which is also where Eric proposed. The two married in 2004, just a month after their graduation, and four years later, they welcomed Saylor. Then came Bridge and Wales in 2012, followed by the surprise of sextuplets.
"We don't even remember life before because it was like we were babies when we started dating," Courtney joked.
The Waldrops struggled with fertility issues
For Eric and Courtney Waldrop, starting their family wasn't an easy feat. After their son, Saylor, the two attempted to have a second child, which resulted in a miscarriage, per TLC. Courtney's doctor then discovered she "had a blood clotting disorder which could risk both baby and mother's life, so they turned to fertility medication," as the network noted. The medication was successful, as it resulted in their twins. But when the two tried having a fourth child, Courtney miscarried again.
"It was devastating because I can get pregnant so easily, I just can't hold on to them," Courtney told People. "It was upsetting, but we had experienced it before and I knew I had a medical issue that contributed to it."
With the success of the first round of fertility medication, Courtney's doctor put her on a low-dosage treatment that would diminish the potential for more than two babies. The treatment worked, but it was arguably more successful than expected.
Since the Waldrops lived an hour away from the hospital — where 30 staff members were awaiting their arrival — it added even more anxiety to the high-risk pregnancy. The cameras began following the Waldrops at 25 weeks, so viewers saw the chaos before and after the birthing.
Fortunately, the sextuplets arrived in December 2017, safe and sound.
The sextuplets are growing up fast
Sweet Home Sextuplets became a fan favorite after its 2018 premiere, which isn't so surprising given how cute the Waldrop kids are. It's not known how much the Waldrop's make per episode, however, Distractify reported it could "be anywhere between $25,000 per episode (like the Duggars make on Counting On) and $25,000 per season, like the less seasoned Married at First Sight stars bring home."
Courtney Waldrop announced Season 3 via Facebook in November of 2019, writing in a post, "We are excited and have already started filming!! I do not have a date of when the Season will premiere BUT I will say it will be around Spring/Summer. Get ready there are SO many things happening this season!! The babies are at the age now that things are getting really fun and really crazy!!"
Since the post, it's been confirmed the third season will premiere on June 16, 2020. Fans can expect a wild and adorable season, with more displays of the kids' growing personalities and developing skills. "The babies are not even 2 yet, and we are already in the trenches of terrible twos," Eric Waldrop quipped in a preview clip.