Brenda Willis. (Facebook/Brenda Willis)
Brenda Willis, the matriarch of the singing Willis Clan, met her husband in high school.
The high school sweethearts now have 12 children; the family was recently showcased on the TLC reality show, The Willis Clan.
Toby Willis, the clan’s father and Brenda’s husband, was accused of child rape on September 9 after being arrested in Kentucky.
On her Facebook page, Brenda Willis calls herself a “wife, a mother of 12, a manager, booking agent, executive director, TV personality, guitar player.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Brenda & Toby Willis Met in High School in Chicago
A throwback photo posted on Facebook. (Facebook/The Willis Clan)
USA Today says Toby and Brenda Willis “have been a couple since high school, when he was a junior and she was a senior.” Both Toby and Brenda are from Chicago but moved their family to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue a musical career.
Brenda Willis was the school Valedictorian; Toby once dreamed of being an Olympic wrestler. The Chicago Tribune said Toby was a Northwestern University wrestler and Illinois high school champion. Various injuries derailed his wrestling career, said The Tribune.
According to Great American Country, Brenda decided to make her children “her career.”
“A college graduate and high school valedictorian, Brenda could have worked the typical job, had the typical family and lived a successful life. But she took the path less traveled. She made her children her career,” says the site.
2. The Couple Named All 12 Children ‘J’ Names & Brenda Home Schools Them
Brenda Willis with one of her daughters. (Facebook/Brenda Willis)
The Willis Clan’s website was deleted after Toby was charged, and TMZ says the couple’s reality show on TLC was cancelled in May. Before the website was deleted, it said, “Yes, Brenda really is the mother of all twelve children, teaches them at home, and still finds time to do many other things including photography, leather tooling.”
USA Today says of the eight girls and four boys: “Various groupings of the kids are internationally ranked Irish dancers and singers, national swing dance champions and state wrestling champions.”
In 2013, the children were listed by the newspaper as Jessica, 21; Jeremiah, 20; Jennifer, 18; Jeanette, 17; Jackson, 15; Jedi, 13; Jasmine, 11; Juliette, 10; Jamie, 8; Joy, 6; Jaeger, 3; and Jada, 2.
The Willis Clan. (Facebook/Brenda Willis)
Brenda Willis told USA Today she is done having children; her uterus ruptured during Jaeger’s home birth, and she became pregnant with Jada three months later. “My husband said he didn’t want 13 kids and no mother,” she told USA Today.
3. Brenda Was Pregnant When Tragedy Struck Toby’s Family
Brenda Willis. (Facebook/Brenda Willis)
According to Irish America, Brenda and Toby Willis were a “young married couple” when Toby’s parents lost six children in a van fire in Wisconsin. The van “hit a metal object on the highway and burst into flames,” said Irish America, killing six children. Toby and two other siblings were not on the trip, and Toby’s parents survived.
“The truck driver had paid a bribe to receive an illegal commercial license, a scandal that would put former Illinois Gov. George Ryan in prison,” said The Racine Journal-Times.
Brenda said she and Toby “attended an early performance of Riverdance and found solace in its music and dance,” according to Irish America, which added that the couple originally thought their children would be wrestlers.
According to CLTV, Brenda said, “When the accident happened, I was married, had two kids, and actually we had #3 on the way. I was pregnant with Jenny.” Her mother told her, “Bren, you’ve got to remember to take care of yourself. You can’t get so overwhelmed emotionally that you’ll hurt the baby that you’re carrying.”
Toby’s parents received a $100 million settlement in the van fire, said WGN-TV.
4. The Family Relies on Its Christian Faith During Struggles
Brenda Willis. (Facebook/Brenda Willis)
A “quiet Christian faith is their core,” The Washington Times says of the family. Toby Willis told the newspaper the family “meets with others for a ‘home church,’ eschewing denominationalism.”
The Washington Times reports that the family has survived other tragedies; in Tennessee, where the clan moved to begin musical careers, its house burned down.
In 2013, Brenda Willis told The Washington Times, “Eight years ago, our house burned down to the ground. It was a total loss. I just held my kids and said, ‘Thank you, God.’ It gave me a different perspective on life, in comparison to my in-law’s tragedy. When you go through hard things like that it strengthens you.”
5. Toby Willis Is Accused of Having a Sexual Encounter With an Underage Female
Toby Willis mugshot. (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation)
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says in a September 9 news release that it has charged Toby Willis, 46, with child rape.
“During the course of the investigation, Agents developed information Willis had a sexual encounter approximately 12 years ago with an underage female,” the release alleged. “The investigation into Willis remains active and ongoing.”
The release did not name the girl or give any additional details about how she allegedly knew Willis.
Toby Willis was arrested in Kentucky. “Today, TBI Agents arrested the 46-year-old in Greenville, Kentucky, where he traveled in an effort to avoid law enforcement, and charged him with one count of Rape of a Child,” said the news release. He will be extradited to Tennessee, the release said, and was being held in jail.