Uncle Dale & Aunt Kiki: 5 Secrets of the Busby “Village” Behind OutDaughtered

When the cameras stopped rolling on OutDaughtered in 2024, one thing didn’t change: the Busbys’ extended family — the uncles, aunts, and cousins fans call the “Busby village.” At the heart of it all is a man with a backward cap, lightning-quick wit, and a redheaded niece who calls him “Uncle Doofus.” Here are five things you probably never knew about Uncle Dale Mills, Aunt Kiki, and the village behind the girls.

1. Danielle Played Matchmaker for Uncle Dale & Aunt Kiki

Before he was Uncle Dale, Dale Mills was Danielle Busby’s friend first. The two were pals long before Dale started dating Danielle’s sister Crystal — and Danielle happily takes credit for what happened next: whenever she visited Dale at his apartment, she’d drag Crystal along, and the rest is history. Dale himself confirmed it in a 2017 birthday post for Danielle: “We have been friends-slash-family for about 17 years. It’s all your fault I met and married your crazy sister, Crystal.” According to reports, the couple met at a Louisiana festival around 2000–2001 and have been inseparable for the better part of two decades.

Uncle Dale and Hazel Busby — the #Dazel duo fans can’t get enough of.

2. #Dazel Began in the NICU — Literally

Fans call Uncle Dale and Hazel “Dazel,” and the bond may have started before Hazel ever left the hospital. Dale has said Hazel was the only quintuplet he held in the NICU — and in 2018 he posted that exact moment on Instagram with the caption: “And this is where #DAZEL all began… #imnotcryingyourecrying #hazelwassmilingtoo #sheknew.” No wonder the smallest of the five quints at birth grew up to be his self-declared “unofficial favorite.” Hazel, for her part, affectionately calls him “Uncle Doofus.”

3. The Aunts’ Nicknames Became a Business Name

On the show, Danielle’s identical twin sisters go by Aunt Kiki (Crystal, Dale’s wife) and Aunt Lili (Ashley) — and the three sisters turned those nicknames into a business. In 2019 they launched CADi Fitness, an activewear brand whose name combined the first letters of their names in birth order — Crystal, Ashley, Danielle — with the “i” from their auntie nicknames. The trio shuttered the brand in 2023, with Danielle writing that they had to “realign and prioritize our personal and business responsibilities.” Three-and-a-half years of sisterhood, stitched into a logo.

Dale holding Hazel at his daughter McKenzie’s theater performance.

4. Uncle Dale Is an Ordained Minister — He Married Darby & Tyler

Here’s the one that connects the whole fandom: Dale became an ordained minister in 2020 and officiated his first wedding that November. In 2023, “Reverend Dale” married two close family friends — Tyler and Darby Stenberg. Ring a bell? Earlier this month, Danielle tearfully announced that very same couple is expecting a baby boy — the post that melted the fandom’s heart. The man behind #Dazel is also the man who married the family behind this month’s happiest news.

Fans flood every #Dazel post with love — one comment says it all: ‘Everyone needs an Uncle Dale.’

5. He Never Quit His Day Job

Unlike most reality stars, Dale never traded his 9-to-5 for fame. According to his LinkedIn, he’s been in sales management since 2006 — from director roles at NexGeneration Wireless and Intrinsic Solutions to the pump division at Lance Rental Company. As he once put it on a podcast: “The way I act in here is the way I act in business, way I act in front of customers, and it works well for me.” Uncle Doofus on camera, deal-closer everywhere else.

And if you’re wondering how beloved he really is: when the family shared a rare whole-cast holiday photo in December 2025 — Adam, Danielle, all six girls, Crystal and Dale with Bronson and McKenzie, plus Ashley’s crew — one fan comment said it all: “Everyone needs an Uncle Dale, he always made me laugh!” Adam once joked on Instagram that when Ava started “filming” a podcast, “Uncle Dale can’t afford her.” And Riley once campaigned to have Aunt Kiki “fired” from babysitting after a bus-stop mixup in Season 10. That’s family.

Which secret shocked you most — the matchmaking, the NICU moment, or Reverend Dale? And be honest: who’s the “Uncle Dale” in YOUR family? Drop it in the comments.