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Fans Think the Duggars’ Engagements Are so Quick Because of Their, Uh, Urges
We all know exactly how crazy those Duggar family engagements can be. Not only do the kids get engaged super quickly, the daughters go from kids to having their own kids in short order. And fans think there's a reason for that — besides getting married young so they can start pumping out kids to keep their already large family "counting on." And that fan theory has to do with the [seriously strict rules] that the Duggars follow, both inside and outside of their courtships.
Reddit users even started a thread about it in the /r/CountingOn subreddit. /u/LevyBevy, the user who started the discussion, wrote, "Kendra [Caldwell] and Lauren [Swanson] said they were surprised" about getting engaged, "which makes me wonder if the boys talk to Jim Bob about having feelings or desires about women and Jim Bob doesn’t want another scandal so he goes and finds them a wife." Other users quickly chimed in, adding, "I always had a suspicion of this too. Between Josh and Jill both having been quoted by others as 'hormonal' and 'boy crazy' respectively, and then their rather immediate courtships and marriages… it wouldn't surprise me if JimBob uses his local celebrity status for that."
We decided to take a look into it — and it definitely seems like there could be some truth to what they're saying. After all, Jill Duggar, Jinger Duggar, Joy-Anna Duggar, and Joseph Duggar have all gone from single to courting to engaged to married in no more than seven months total. Josiah Duggar went from single to courting to engaged in just two months. Jessa Duggar, who was courting for eleven months before she got engaged, and engaged for four months before she got married, is the only one of the siblings who took a longer time to tie the knot. (By choice, at least — Josh and Anna Duggar were courting for literal years before they got engaged, but that's only because Anna's dad thought she should be at least twenty before Josh proposed. And then they hurried along to a wedding just three months later, anyway.)
Looking at those numbers, the fans' theory certainly makes some sense. After all, Jessa is definitely the best kid when it comes to following the rules. Her siblings even called her the "mean sister" because she was such a good enforcer for her younger brothers and sisters. Considering the fact that the teens and 20-somethings aren't even really allowed to hold hands until they're engaged (yeah, it's that strict), and forget about kissing, it makes sense that they would want to legitimately run, not walk, down the aisle.
Yep, we're pretty sure hormones account for that plenty. Especially when you have couples like Joy-Anna and Austin Forsyth and Kendra and Joe Duggar announcing pregnancies within weeks of getting back from their honeymoons. In fact, the married Duggar couples have no problem with PDA — or even straight up making out on camera. And though some of them may be shy about touching before the wedding (cough, Joe and Kendra, cough), others — like Josiah and Lauren in New Zealand — can be quite handsy. That is, by Duggar standards.
And fans point to one more piece of evidence, especially for the boys: ALERT Academy. Both Joe and Josiah have attended the program which Michelle called on her blog "life changing by pushing young men to accomplish things that are challenging and building confidence that with God's help, all things are possible." Translated into something with a little less PR shine, it basically means that the program is a punishment for boys who need a little extra help committing themselves to those strict religious beliefs and guidelines. Think this means that Jeremiah, the third brother to go, will be getting engaged next? Well, we'll just have to keep an eye out.
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