What Does Zach Bates Do For A Living? A Timeline Of Women He Dated Before Whitney Perkins

The most outstanding among the 19 children born to the celebrity duo, Gil and Kelly Jo Bates is Zach Bates, the couple’s oldest child. Bates is engaged as a police officer but he doubles as a reality television star and loves to give back to society. Though he initially became known through his parents’ TV show known as Bringing Up Bates, the Tennessee-based cops soon launched another reality show, United Bates of America, which majorly focused on his family. The show which lasted for just one season was quite interesting while it aired.

Zach Bates is a family man who has been happily married for the past eight years. However, his wife Whitney Perkins was not his first girlfriend. He fell in love for the first time with a musician called Sarah Reith, but their relationship lasted for barely one year before it went sour.

Zach Bates was born in an unconventionally large family

Nearly everyone knows that Gil and Kelly Jo Bates of the Bringing Up Bates American reality TVshow have 19 children and the oldest goes by the name Zachary Gilvin “Zach Bates”. Zach’s date of birth is the 30th of December 1988 and he was born in the United States of America, barely one year after his parents tied the knot.

Speaking about growing up in a large family, Zach said he never experienced any dull moment. Every year, he will just know that the family will have a new addition and it never felt abnormal to him.

Growing up, Zach Bates was homeschooled but that didn’t deter him from scoring very high on his ACT. He was considered to be quite good while studying History and Criminal Justice during his college days. His EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) training saw the young chap score a total of 4.0. Zach’s days in college were quite fulfilling; the oldest child of the Bates family decided to put in some work time at their local fire department as a way of giving back to society.

He is a police officer and reality TV star

After his days in college, Zach Bates became a police officer and subsequently blew to the position of Anderson County, Tennessee‘s youngest commissioner at a point in his career. He later joined politics, running for the position of mayor, and has made immense contributions toward keeping America safe. In his early thirties, Bates is perceived as a role model for many.

Bates has made appearances on television series. Anybody who is a fan of the popular American television show entitled Bringing Up Bates would know that Zach Bates is among the 19 children of Gil and Kelly Jo Bates who are the main focus of the show. The show has aired for a total of seven seasons and still counting

In addition to Bringing Up Bates, Zach also appeared on other American reality TV shows such as United Bates of America with the main focus on Zach Bates’ nuclear family but aired for just a single season. Zach was also part of 19 Kids and Counting.

Zach Bates met his wife, Whitney Perkins while still heartbroken from his earlier relationship

While still nursing his heartbreak in 2011, Zach met Whitney Perkins at her workplace at the Sonic Drive-In; she was a carhop. Though they became friends immediately, the duo only started dating after one year. On the 17th of July 2013, it was announced that they commenced courtship. Bates popped the big question on the 11th of October 2013 to which he received an answer in the affirmative.

Following their official engagement, the couple’s nuptials didn’t take long in coming. They finally exchanged the forever commitment vows on the 14th of December 2013. Their wedding which took place at First Baptist Church in Lake City, Tennessee, was well attended by family and friends. Three of Zach’s younger sisters made up Whitney’s bridal train of six and Zach equally had six groomsmen made up of his younger brothers and a few friends. A reception followed at Main Event in Clinton.

Though Whitney’s parents were unable to attend her wedding in 2013, they were on hand to share her joy on the day of the couple’s vow renewal which occurred on the 14th of June 2018, five years after their official wedding ceremony.

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The couple is parents to four kids

Zach, Whitney, and their first two kids – image source

Knowing the Bates’ history of childbirth, people naturally expected Whitney to start giving birth immediately after her nuptials and she didn’t disappoint. The news of her first pregnancy hit the airwaves on the 3rd of March 2014 through Zach’s mom’s comment on a post about her son’s mayoral campaign rally. The baby boy arrived on the 29th of October 2014 and was named Bradley Gilvin Bates.

At Bradley’s first birthday party on October 29, 2015, the couple announced that baby number two was already on the way, and on the 20th of June 2016, their daughter Kaci Lynn Bates was born. At their vow renewal on the 14th of June 2018, the duo made it known that they were expecting their third baby but the pregnancy ended in a miscarriage.

On the 9th of May 2019, People reported that the couple was set to have another child and Khloé Eileen Bates joined the family on the 7th of November 2019. Reports about their fourth child also came from People; Jadon Carl Bates, the couple’s second son and fourth child announced his entrance on the 7th of June 2021.

Who did he court before Whitney Perkins?

Zach Bates might be a happily married man now but he had his own share of heartbreaks. The oldest son in the Bates family was already a man in his first relationship before the family name hit the limelight. However, that particular relationship proved to be unlucky as the couple never took the walk down the aisle.

This untold dalliance commenced in June 2011 when Bates began courting Sarah Reith – a girl brought up in an ultra-conservative family that is comparable to the Bates; the two families were said to be friends. While their relationship lasted, Zach was shuttling between Tennesse and Missouri just to visit his love interest.

Sarah is a member of the Southern Raised Band alongside her three siblings. She functions as the vocalist and banjo player and has been instrumental to the success of the band.

Barely four months after their relationship started, the lovebirds called it quits in October 2011, Zach Bates appeared to be the worst hit following their separation as he was said to be nursing a heartbreak then. Sarah Reith later move on with her life with a wedding planned for 2019.

The Bates family announced the end of the Zach/ Sarah relationship on their blog but wasted no time in scrubbing out any mention of Sarah after their son started another dalliance with Whitney Perkins.

Bates was once interested in 19 Kids & Counting star Jana Duggar

Reports gathered that a 25-year-old Zach was all set to court 19 Kids & Counting star, Jana Duggar. Some insider reports even alleged that the duo has some secret chaperoned dates and being the gentlemen, Zach asked Jim Bob Duggar (Jana’s dad) for his permission to court his daughter. Jim naturally agreed and considering the long-standing relationship between the Bates and the Duggars, it was expected.

However, Jana was the one who put a stop to it as she wasn’t attracted to Zach Bates and saw no possibility of the relationship working out. The exact time of this relationship was never made public but it is believed to have occurred before Zach met and fell in love with Whitney.