Jen Hatmaker

[Anonymous]

I’m curious as to what “diplomatic hurdle” they needed the senator to override for her to participate ? Was there missing paperwork ? A medical diagnosis ?
Remy may have bugged Jen nonstop about wanting to live abroad but with her challenges Jen possibly didn’t prepare her for the reality of spending an entire year away from the only real home she has known .

[Anonymous]

This will likely either be the best thing or the worst thing to ever happen to Remy (in my opinion...not a fact...I don't have a crystal ball). I studied abroad for a semester in college and it was fantastic. However, I was 20 years old and had more life experience with independence. But, given that Jen is largely all over the place doing trips and 'me camps' for months, it might be great for Remy to have an adventure that doesn't revolve around her mom. I wish her the best & hope it is wonderful and not another traumatic experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Either way, I just don't buy that this is a carefully thought out move designed strictly for Remy's benefit

100%. Why would Remy want to leave her new car and cushy life for a challenging time on the heels of family implosion?

Jen has not so subtly implied that Remy has been a challenge from the start. And Jen expects people to act and react as she sees fit, and Remy is not here for this. I have an autistic kid and while she is high functioning, it is tough. They have problems expressing affection, and same age, same sex peer relations are incredibly difficult. Executive functioning and emotional regulation are big time challenges.

Has it actually been confirmed that Remy is on the autism spectrum? If not, we shouldn’t assume her challenges exactly match those of kids with ASD.

[Anonymous]

If your 16 year old was going to be away for an entire school year, why on earth would you take an entire month away from them during the summer?

And where is Brandon in this? Does he have any say as Jen keeps shipping off their vulnerable teenager?

[Anonymous]

Yes to this. Why would you spend a good part of the summer away only to come back and send your youngest off for a year?
I can't get away from thinking that this is a terrible idea for a kid who has been through so much the last couple years ( and her whole life).However, I am hoping the host family is amazing and that maybe this will end up being great for Remy. It's the mentality of the mother I can't fathom. And why the new car?
In a practical sense, I would not want my child abroad over this winter. Spain won't have the heating crisis due to warm climate, but there is a lot of unrest brewing and things can spread. Couple this with the fact ( mentioned before ) that there can be racism found outside the U.S.A., believe it or not.
Why do this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Either way, I just don't buy that this is a carefully thought out move designed strictly for Remy's benefit

100%. Why would Remy want to leave her new car and cushy life for a challenging time on the heels of family implosion?

Jen has not so subtly implied that Remy has been a challenge from the start. And Jen expects people to act and react as she sees fit, and Remy is not here for this. I have an autistic kid and while she is high functioning, it is tough. They have problems expressing affection, and same age, same sex peer relations are incredibly difficult. Executive functioning and emotional regulation are big time challenges.

Has it actually been confirmed that Remy is on the autism spectrum? If not, we shouldn’t assume her challenges exactly match those of kids with ASD.

We're not sure Jen ever got R diagnosed. She once speculated on her page saying she fit the criteria for being an "Aspie."
When parents with ASD kids chimed in that it wasn't something to assume, her minions deleted the comments and blocked them.

[Anonymous]

Random and petty comment here, but did anyone see in the pics Brandon posted that someone gave Remy a single rose at the airport? Who the hell thought that was a good idea? Who wants to navigate international travel while carting around a delicate flower? It's going to be trashed by the time she arrives. If I were her I would have chucked it in the first garbage can I saw. I just thought that was so weird (but maybe not weird when you have narcissistic parents who don't think of anything except how it will make them look to give their daughter flowers).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes to this. Why would you spend a good part of the summer away only to come back and send your youngest off for a year?
I can't get away from thinking that this is a terrible idea for a kid who has been through so much the last couple years ( and her whole life).However, I am hoping the host family is amazing and that maybe this will end up being great for Remy. It's the mentality of the mother I can't fathom. And why the new car?
In a practical sense, I would not want my child abroad over this winter. Spain won't have the heating crisis due to warm climate, but there is a lot of unrest brewing and things can spread. Couple this with the fact ( mentioned before ) that there can be racism found outside the U.S.A., believe it or not.
Why do this?

I think this has been in the works long before the winter's heating crisis could have been predicted, almost a full year of paperwork, etc. It would be hard to tell a kid no based on a vague assumption of something that MIGHT happen, so I'm not going to fault a parent for letting it go on as planned. My understanding of exchange programs is that if things start looking dicey she would be pulled out of there pretty quickly.

As far as the summer ME camp goes, it seems odd, but Remy was off at her own camp for the majority of the time so it seems like the only thing it really says is that the Hatmakers aren't crushed for money.

I hope this is a great year for Remy. It sounds like something she really wanted and worked towards. Clearly she has no issues with being independent if she's already experienced month-long camps away from family. Even IF she were on the ASD spectrum, there are so many different ways that presents. One thing I've learned from parenting my own ASD kid/adult is to never make assumptions about what they can handle if they are motivated enough. It may be as simple as making sure her host family knows that she likes a fairly predictable routine. that doesn't mean conforming to her routine, it just means they paired her with a family that isn't prone to changing everything around at the last minute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Random and petty comment here, but did anyone see in the pics Brandon posted that someone gave Remy a single rose at the airport? Who the hell thought that was a good idea? Who wants to navigate international travel while carting around a delicate flower? It's going to be trashed by the time she arrives. If I were her I would have chucked it in the first garbage can I saw. I just thought that was so weird (but maybe not weird when you have narcissistic parents who don't think of anything except how it will make them look to give their daughter flowers).

Does she have a boyfriend? Teenage boys are not prone to thinking about practicalities when they get it in their head that they ought to make a romantic gesture lest their girlfriend head off to Spain and fall in love with someone else while there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes to this. Why would you spend a good part of the summer away only to come back and send your youngest off for a year?
I can't get away from thinking that this is a terrible idea for a kid who has been through so much the last couple years ( and her whole life).However, I am hoping the host family is amazing and that maybe this will end up being great for Remy. It's the mentality of the mother I can't fathom. And why the new car?
In a practical sense, I would not want my child abroad over this winter. Spain won't have the heating crisis due to warm climate, but there is a lot of unrest brewing and things can spread. Couple this with the fact ( mentioned before ) that there can be racism found outside the U.S.A., believe it or not.
Why do this?

Your last paragraph is strange. 1. Winter is a great time to be in Spain-the climate is mild and wonderful! 2. There is always unrest. And at the same time, Western Europe remains stable. 3. Racism is literally everywhere. So why would that be a reason not to enjoy the world outside of the US?

The first part of your comment I totally agree with though.

[Anonymous]

I am totally shocked at some of these comments. What 16-year-old girl doesn't have friction with her mother? I hate Jen's shilling but Remy's drive to be independent should be encouraged. I spent a year in Europe when I was 18 and it was life-changing.

Apparently Remy was in the driver's seat during this whole process and good for her. Leave the poor girl alone. Given that her mother has a lot of issues it's terrific that she's getting away.

[Anonymous]

She wore a shirt that says "Tyler's" when she knew Brandon would be there. My God, grow up. Way to make it about yourself, lady.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She wore a shirt that says "Tyler's" when she knew Brandon would be there. My God, grow up. Way to make it about yourself, lady.

I know, right!🙌
Brandon should have worn a “Barbie” shirt!

[Anonymous]

I hate that she put the text exchange with the host mom on social media. Just no. Leave that woman alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She wore a shirt that says "Tyler's" when she knew Brandon would be there. My God, grow up. Way to make it about yourself, lady.

While it kills me to defend anything Jen does, I will say that Tyler’s is (or at least used to be) a very popular store around here and everyone and their mom had lots of Tyler’s shirts, so it’s possible that it was unintentional. That said-She probably wore it on purpose.