‘Meet The Putmans’ Debuts On TLC
Bill and Barb Putman have been married for 32 years, raising four children in a large home in Caro, Michigan. Now grown, Billy (33), Brandon (30), Blake (28), and Blair (26) find themselves still living at home. Two of the Putman sons are doctors, while another son and their daughter work in the family’s commercial real estate and demolition business, Putman Developing and Demolition. There is nothing unusual about children joining a family business, but this family’s lifestyle is quite unconventional. According to Bay City, Michigan’s MLive reporter Andrew Dodson, it can be difficult to pick out any one specific thing that is the most unique about the Putman family dynamics.
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As the kids married and before the grandchildren came along, Bill and Barb built a larger 6,250-square-foot home on the shores of Lake Huron in order to provide more room for their growing family. Before long, there were 25 people — 10 adults and 15 grandchildren — all living together under one roof. Now, they’ve come to the point where their home no longer works for them, and in order to provide more room for their growing family, they realize they need even more space.
“And now we’ve outgrown this house,” said Bill Putman, the family’s patriarch.
According to NBC 25 News, Bill Putnam remarked that the family was so busy working, getting married, and having kids, finding the time to search for and purchase their own homes was difficult. Eventually, Bill suggested they continue to stay together as a family.
“We all sat down and said, do we really want to continue doing this?” said son Billy Putman. “We ultimately decided that we’re having a lot of fun. We voted and it was unanimous.”
Viewers of Meet the Putmans will be able to come along as the family builds a massive 34,500-square-foot residence located in Caro, Michigan, that should be suitable for their unique situation. Moving will be a huge undertaking, but the family’s motto seems to be “love and chaos,” and they’ll certainly have a lot of both as they attempt to pack up and move 25 people into their new home.
A sneak-peek trailer on the Meet the Putmans website starts off by saying, “[I]magine being part of a family where no one leaves home.”
When they head off to the supermarket, they draw a lot of attention.
Michigan family of 25 who live under one roof to star in reality show https://t.co/4EP6hUd6ZA @TLC
— The Putman Family (@ThePutmanFamily) January 13, 2017
“I asked them if they were a cult,” a clerk tells the Meet the Putmans camera. “They said, ‘No, we’re just a big happy family.'”
Viewers of Meet the Putmans will discover for themselves that this family enjoys life and having fun. Sure, there are lots of chores and responsibilities involved with having so many people living together. Doing loads and loads of laundry around the clock and preparing and serving meals where the family goes through at least six gallons of milk and three loaves of bread on a daily basis is just par for the course. Without giving too much away about Meet the Putmans, perhaps Bill Putman sums it all up the best.
“All we can say is, it’ll be the cleanest, funniest show you’ll see,” he said concerning Meet the Putmans.
With three generations in one home, sharing is also a big deal. The adults even share one bank account and two bathrooms, but the sharing doesn’t end there. Every day, dinner is served at 6 p.m., and as the 25 Putman family members sit down to eat, there are always two extra place settings.
“The whole counter is full with people, the main table is full, but there are always two plates, just in case someone decides to drop by,” said Bill Putman. “It’s who we are — a welcoming family that loves being with people.”
Will you be checking out Meet the Putmans? Leave your comments, thoughts, and opinions concerning Meet the Putmans below. Meet the Putmans debuts on Monday, January 16 at 10 p.m. on TLC.
[Featured Image by Meet the Putmans/Twitter]
