Which Duggar Family Marriages Were Arranged?

Many TLC fans wondered over the years if the Duggar family arranged the marriages for the kids, but it seems a bit hard to pin down for some of them. While most of the Counting On stars were married after courting, it seems that the bulk of them at least had some personal choice. But, it’s not as if the parents had nothing to do with the final decision.

Derick And Jill Duggar Seemed To Have Elements Of Being Arranged

Derick Dillard claimed that he had to fill in over 400 questions in his application to marry Jill. Most people agree that probably, their marriage was arranged. Not by Derick’s dad, because he had passed away. Apparently, it’s common for men to approach Jim Bob, and Derick felt interested in Jill. Counting On fans agree that Jim Bob Duggar probably placed the couple together because he was a missionary and Jill seemed interested in that.

Duggar Family Proposals - Derick Dillard, Jill Duggar - TLC YouTube
Duggar Family Proposals – Derick Dillard, Jill Duggar – TLC YouTube

The Duggar family fans suspect that the involvement of parents probably threw Josiah and Lauren Swanson together. In fact, many Counting On fans agreed that Josiah and Lauren seemed very mismatched. In 2020, plenty of TLC fans talked about Jim Bob Duggar wanting to settle Josiah down with a marriage. Additionally, TLC fans think the same applies to Justin. Then, there was the wedding of Josh Duggar and his wife, Anna Keller.

Some Duggar Family Kids Met Socially

On Reddit, some Counting On fans think that Joy-Anna Duggar and Austin were arranged. However, many of the kids met each other through social events and family friends. Certainly, Joy-Anna and Austin Forsyth seemed suited to each other. And it was Austin, who knew his future wife for years, who approached Jim Bob Duggar for the request to court his daughter. The discussion arose again this week when an OP wrote:

Who’s in an arranged marriage?…I saw a comment on another post a while ago saying “it’s been confirmed that Jeremiah and Hannah are an arranged marriage.” I need more tea. Who’s in a confirmed or suspected arranged marriage? More importantly, how do we know?

counting on Josh Duggar Anna Duggar
Duggar family marriages – Josh Duggar, Anna Keller – TLC

In the comments, Duggar family fans agreed that Jeremiah and Hannah Wissmann  might have been pushed together by their parents. However, Josh Duggar and Anna Keller seemed like the most obvious arranged marriage.

Here is their reasoning for thinking that Josh and Anna were arranged”

  • Pest and Anna for sure. Mike Keller saw that marriage as a business transaction.
  • Absolutely. They even said as much in their old blog. They never had a courtship and went straight to engagement.
  • She said she didn’t want to court or get engaged until 20 so they bombarded her with a proposal on her birthday. So sad.
  • I have a lot of empathy for teenage Anna. They absolutely bombarded her, on camera. She didn’t stand a chance.

Katey Nakatsu & Jed

And, what about Katey Nakatsu and Jed Duggar? After all, she said that she knew her dad would find her a nice guy. However, she also claimed that they met while doing some prison ministry work.

What are your thoughts on who had the most arranged marriage? Justin, Jed, Josiah, Josh, or Derick? While all the marriages had Jim Bob Duggar involved, possibly, TLC fans theorize, only Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald, and Jinger and Jeremy Vuolo happened without much interference from him. Sound off in the comments below, and come back here for all your Duggar family news.

James Michael

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