The Truth About Olivia Busby From OutDaughtered
OutDaughtered's Olivia Busby is part of one of reality TV's famous and beloved families. Olivia's parents, Adam and Danielle Busby, made national headlines when they gave birth to the first surviving all-female set of quintuplets in the United States back in 2015. A year later, the aptly titled series OutDaughtered premiered on TLC and the Busbys' level of fame soared to new heights.
Olivia, along with her quintuplet sisters Ava, Hazel, Parker, and Riley, quickly became beloved by anyone who tuned in to watch the show. And even though each Busby girl — including the only non-quint, big sis Blayke — is unique and adorable in their own way, it can be difficult for viewers to tell the multiples apart. As they've gotten older, the quints have remained so similar in many ways, but they've also started to come into their own.
Olivia Marie Busby, in particular, has really grown up since OutDaughtered premiered — and there might be some things about her that even the most diehard OutDaughtered fan won't know. This is everything you should know about the young star.
Olivia Busby was the biggest of all the quints
The Busby quints were born via C-section on April 8, 2015, when Danielle Busby was just 28-weeks pregnant, according to NBC News. Because they were born prematurely, the Busby quints were extremely tiny and had to immediately be transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, or NICU.
Despite being tiny herself, Olivia Marie Busby was the biggest of the bunch. She weighed in at 2 pounds, 6 ounces — a full six ounces bigger than the smallest quint, Hazel. Olivia was also the longest quint, measuring at 14.4 inches, one inch longer than the shortest quint, which also happened to be Hazel, as Danielle revealed in a blog post for It's a Buzz World. In addition to being the heaviest and tallest of her sisters at birth, she was also the second quint to enter the world, right behind her sister Ava Lane Busby.
OutDaughtered's Olivia Busby is a twin
Part of what makes Adam and Danielle Busby's set of multiples so unique is that in addition to Olivia, Ava, Hazel, Parker, and Riley being quintuplets, there is also a set of twins in the mix: Olivia and Ava are identical twins.
When Adam and Danielle first found out they were having multiples, they were obviously shocked. As Adam detailed in a blog post for It's a Buzz World, they had first been told they were having four babies, but at their fourth ultrasound, everything changed. "We saw it as soon as the ultrasound machine started recording," he wrote. "There it was clear as day, twins!" He continued, writing, "We had one egg split and are now expecting five little ones!"
Don't feel too bad if you have trouble telling Olivia and Ava apart; even Adam has had trouble in that department, Danielle detailed in a blog post. However, there are some differences. "Olivia's face is a little more narrow than Ava's ... and Ava's face — Ava's the big one," Adam explained in a video for It's a Buzz World.
Olivia Busby has a special bond with this quint
Even though all the OutDaughtered kids are close, Olivia Busby shares a pretty special bond with her twin sister, Ava. Their connection is so palpable, in fact, that Danielle Busby had to commemorate it in a blog post on the It's a Buzz World site.
In the post, Danielle detailed how all the quints had changed since turning 2 years old. And when it came to Ava and Olivia, they were still totally twinning. According to Danielle, they seemed "to be dependent on each other at times ... like when its time for bed, they must both be in the room; when one poops ... the other is going to go poop too" — which Danielle labeled as being "strange but true." She continued, revealing that the two girls "are always asking where 'the other one' is if they are not around." Danielle also added that Ava and Olivia "find a bit of security" in each other. Olivia may be growing up, but she and Ava will always share a special twin bond.
Olivia Busby's first steps were memorable
Kids seem to grow up so fast. Before you know it, your little one is ready to take those monumental first steps. Adam and Danielle Busby are, of course, no different than other parents in celebrating their children's milestones — although with quints, they're doing it times five. But, even with five babies growing and developing, they still managed to capture the special moments of Olivia Busby taking her first steps.
The family shared the moment with the rest of the world by uploading it to their YouTube channel. In the video, Olivia can be seen smiling and laughing, right before she stands up and takes her first steps towards her mom, who was holding a doll in front of her that Olivia clearly wanted. As the video description states, "We were able to catch the cutest thing today. Olivia let out the most jolly belly laughs and then immediately took her first steps!" It was the cutest thing. "Yes! LuLu!" Danielle exclaimed in the video as Olivia walked towards her. It was a great moment for the Busbys, and Olivia's laugh just made it all the more memorable.
Olivia Busby is the goofball in the group
One of Olivia Busby's defining characteristics is her sense of humor. In fact, her bio on the TLC website states that she's "the goofball who will keep you laughing" — and that certainly seems to be the case.
When Danielle Busby sat down with each quint to ask them 13 questions, Olivia's responses were too funny. "Olivia is our goofball in the group and her answers do make me laugh," Danielle prefaced in a blog post for It's a Buzz World. Danielle is right, as the advice Olivia had for others was to "be funny like me." Hey, at least she's confident, too!
For Olivia's fifth birthday, Danielle took to her blog to detail how the little girl had changed, and even though she's grown up exponentially since being born in 2015, she hasn't stopped being a goofball. "[She] never stops making others laugh," the proud mom wrote of her daughter. "She is goofy like Ava but in a different way. She wants everyone around her to notice her, but in a way where she make sure others know how fun and funny she is."
Olivia Busby had to become more independent
Being a quintuplet and a twin means that Olivia Busby has more than one person with whom she is close. In fact, Olivia shares a special bond with just about every member of her family. However, she is most dependent on her identical twin, Ava. So much so, in fact, that when Adam and Danielle Busby got ready to send the quints off to pre-K, they decided against putting the twins in the same class.
"We wanted to split up Ava and Olivia so they can hopefully grow a little bit more independent and not lean on the other identical so much," Danielle explained in the It's a Buzz World blog. It was probably hard for Olivia to be in a class without her twin, at least at first. After all, they'd always been together. Danielle even wrote on her blog that when they were babies, they always found their way back to each other. "If you don't place them next to each other, they will find their way together ... even when they are swaddled," Danielle revealed on the site when the quints were six months old. Still, Adam and Danielle knew it would benefit both girls to foster some independence.
Olivia Busby is a scene-stealer
Whether it's because she's a twin and a quint or just a seasoned reality TV star, Olivia Busby is undeniably a show-stealer. Not only can she make people laugh with her goofball tendencies, she also knows how to get attention — even if it's not necessarily good attention.
In a video promoting Season 3 of OutDaughtered, Adam and Danielle Busby describes how each quint has changed since the previous season. And when they get to Olivia, it's clear they were already exhausted. "Olivia is a hundred percent the entertainer, comedian in the house," Danielle told the cameras.
To prove her point, the promo cuts to a clip in which all the quints are painting together. Within a moment, Olivia totally steals the scene when she shows off her blue-painted mouth, complete with a solid blue tongue, of course. She doesn't seem bothered by the paint all over her face and instead giggles and shows off her masterpiece. Olivia might just take the title of most entertaining quint — blue paint and all.
There's a certain sibling Olivia Busby fights with the most
All siblings argue or fight at some point in their lives. Of course, that doesn't mean they don't love each other; it's only natural for some kind of sibling rivalry to occur. However, some siblings do fight more than others — and that certainly seems to be the case with Olivia Busby, who has a long history of fighting with her quintuplet sister, Riley.
When the youngest OutDaughtered stars turned 2 years old, Danielle took to her It's a Buzz World blog to describe each of the quintuplets and couldn't help but note that Olivia "definitely goes to war the most with Riley." And in a blog post detailing how to tell the quints apart, Danielle revealed that "Olivia is pretty demanding and [she] and Riley bicker the most, only because they are both so strong-willed."
The ongoing battle between Olivia and Riley is so well-known that there was even a TLC clip highlighting their rivalry. "Riley and Olivia have always had, like, rivalry for some weird reason, from like such a young age," Danielle told the camera. "Those two have always bickered more than anyone else," she continued. "They just don't mesh well," Adam added.
Olivia Busby has always been pretty easygoing
Compared to her siblings, Olivia Busby was actually quite an easygoing baby. As part of a six-month update on the quints, Danielle revealed in It's a Buzz World that Olivia was a carefree one of the brood. "No matter what time of the day it is, Olivia will instantly smile with her big ol' dimples every time you look at her. She loves to laugh, and everything is funny to Olivia," Danielle detailed. Even when Olivia Marie was under the weather, she was still her "same ol' happy self," Danielle dished in another blog post.
As Olivia has grown, she's retained her laid-back attitude. For the quints' fifth birthday, Danielle gave an update on the OutDaughtered star, writing on her blog that Olivia "is the 'adapter' ... meaning she just goes with the flow and plays whatever anyone else [is] doing." That doesn't mean she isn't a freethinker, though, as her mom pointed out. "However," Danielle clarified, "she is super opinionated."
Olivia Busby is one tough cookie
Olivia Busby isn't the oldest Busby daughter or even the oldest Busby quint and yet she possesses many of the typical firstborn qualities, like "leading the pack." In a 2018 blog post describing the many ways the quints have changed, Danielle Busby wrote that little Olivia had a bit of a tough side. "Olivia will stand up for any of her sisters if she sees one doing something to another that they shouldn't," Danielle wrote, "and she will be the first to 'throw a punch.'"
Hey, violence may not be the answer, but at least Olivia knows right from wrong and isn't afraid to stand up for what she believes is right. Still, Olivia balances her serious side with a very silly side, with her mom explaining that she "is still the 'class clown'" and often in what Danielle dubbed "character mode": "spinning around, doing tricks, whatever it may be just to get you laughing."
Olivia Busby is basically a mermaid
As the OutDaughtered family lives in the often-sweltering state of Texas, it's no wonder that the Busby quints love to escape the heat and hit the pool. And in one video posted to their It's a Buzz World YouTube channel in September 2018, Adam and Danielle Busby shared some sweet moments of the girls swimming in the pool. Olivia particularly stood out in the video, as she can be seen shedding her floaties and starting to swim underwater, which made both of her parents totally proud.
"So we just got in the pool, and Olivia is already wanting to swim underwater," Adam told the camera with a laugh. "She refuses to wear her floaties, which is a good thing, but now all of them don't want to do that, especially Riley. Riley sees Olivia not wanting a floaty, and so she doesn't want to wear a floaty."
Olivia Busby has a sophisticated palate
As many parents can attest, seeing your baby experiment with new foods is an experience — for everyone involved. While some kids love trying new things, others are comfortable with the status quo. Of the Busby quints, Olivia was the one all about trying new things.
In honor of the quintuplets turning 2 years old, Danielle wrote a blog post for the It's a Buzz World site and took some time to describe each quint. When she got to Olivia, she couldn't help but note how well Olivia had been eating — even eating the foods most kids tend to avoid. "She is probably the best veggie eater of the bunch and will try pretty much anything ... she even tried and loves sardines," Danielle wrote, before commenting, "OMG! Nasty." If an adult doesn't like a food that a kid loves, you know that kid has a sophisticated palate.
Olivia Busby was sensitive as a toddler
Olivia Busby may be known as the silly one of her family, but the sweet quint also has a sensitive side, even if it comes out in interesting ways. For instance, when Olivia was in the thick of her so-called terrible twos, Adam and Danielle Busby recognized that she was being more sensitive about, well, everything.
In a video for TLC, Adam and Danielle sat down to explain how the quints were really starting to come into their toddler years. "The twins, Ava and Olivia, are just super sensitive towards their tantrums. It's dramatic screams," Danielle explained, seemingly exasperated at Olivia's terrible twos behavior. And that sensitivity wasn't exactly anything new for Olivia. "She doesn't get jealous much, but if she sees Ava getting cuddled, she instantly needs cuddles too," Danielle wrote on It's a Buzz World around the time of the girls' second birthday.
Olivia Busby has had health problems in the past
As the Busby quintuplets were born prematurely, it's not entirely surprising that they needed extra care as newborns. Many OutDaughtered fans know that Hazel Busby has had the most health issues, as she was diagnosed with nystagmus and has had to have surgery. However, Olivia Busby also encountered health problems as a baby.
"Olivia's one remaining follow up after being discharged was her eye appointments," Danielle Busby wrote for the It's a Buzz World blog back in August 2015. "We had to follow up to make sure her blood vessels were connected to the retina ... and after 2 visits, it was finally matured. So she is all clear too ... no ROP [retinopathy of prematurity]!" However, her eyes weren't the only concern. She also experienced acid reflux — a common condition in premies — as a newborn, but Danielle revealed at the time that she had been prescribed medication and was improving.