7 Little Johnstons: Who Is Alex Johnston?

Going on television as a family is no easy task, but the Johnston's are more than up for it. And of course, they have their son Alex in the mix, who is always bringing the entertainment. 

According to TLC, Alex is the fourth of the "7 Little Johnstons" (which is headed for Season 9 in May) and was adopted by parents Trent and Amber from South Korea. Per the network, he is the "jokester" of the family, and that's not an overstatement. Childbearing hasn't been easy for Amber, who was diagnosed with achondroplasia, a rare type of dwarfism. She first had Jonah and then Elizabeth, though the pregnancies were precarious. Then, they started adopting children — first Anna from Siberia, Emma from China, and then Alex from South Korea. 

Amber has said that Alex's adoption was harder than their previous ones, as she wrote in the blog Rainbow Kids. "South Korea requires the adoption fee to be paid in full at the beginning of the process; therefore, we did not have the funds or the time to fundraise. Every day it took us to acquire the funds necessary was one more day our son was not receiving the medical treatment and care he needed." Luckily, a couple from their parish heard about their issues and wrote a check for the full amount of $15,150, per the outlet. So completed their little family! Here's more you didn't know about son Alex. 

Once in the U.S., Alex Johnston melded right into his new family, but not without some complications. In 2015 and 2017, Alex suffered some pretty scary health scares due to his anatomy, culminating in a brain surgery. Amber said on-screen of the surgery, "There's always risks involved. He could come out paralyzed. He could not make it through the surgery. If I could take away all the pain, if I could lay down and be the one to be operated on, I would in a heartbeat," per People. Luckily, however, he made it out just fine. 

Now, Alex stays busy by starring with his family on their TLC reality show, and selling his origami crafts online. His Etsy shop, Alex Paper Co., boasts a wide range of products, such as bookmarks, animals, lotus flowers, and even paper sunglasses. So far, he has over 500 sales, which isn't bad for someone just starting out! Alex also loves cooking, posting adorable photos of him and dad Trent in the kitchen to his Instagram.

The show would not be the same without Alex, and mom Amber knows as much. As she told The List, "This is a job. It's a family job in a sense of family business, and we're all seven in it. And when we no longer all seven want to be in it, then it's not going to work, but we must all work together." Move over Kardashians, the Johnstons are here!