After more than a decade of marriage and five children together (plus one on the way), it still feels like it was just yesterday that we were watching Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald fall in love on 19 Kids and Counting. And now, the couple is sharing what was really going on behind the scenes during the early months of their courtship â including the fact that the Duggars were actually pretty suspicious of Ben at first.
Jessa was the first Duggar daughter to begin courting.
Since Ben lived several hours away with his family at the time, he lived at the Duggars’ guest house on their property during the early days of his courtship with Jessa, which gave the family plenty of time to get to know each other.
Or so you might think. For some of Jessa’s siblings, even having that time to spend with Ben wasn’t quite enough when faced with the prospect of him joining their family.
Some of her family members were more welcoming than others.
When Jessa joined sister Jinger and her husband Jeremy Vuolo on their Jinger & Jeremy podcast this week, Jessa admitted that some of the Duggars required a bit more convincing that Ben was a good dude when the couple made their relationship official … in particular, her younger sister Joy-Anna.
“It was so cute. She would sit there and sheâd be like, âWho is this guy?â She would just give us this eye,” Jessa said.
Ben was new to everyone, so he understood their skepticism.
âThere was a little more suspicion I think because I wasnât from their friend group, their circle,â he said. âIâm this stranger, this outsider. So they were a little more guarded, a little bit suspicious of me.â
That’s fair â and very good of Ben to understand. In a situation like beginning a new courtship with a Duggar daughter, which demanded seeking out the approval of parents Jim Bob and Michelle before moving forward and then being chaperoned until the wedding day, he had to be feeling pretty intimidated!
Jessa admitted she had high expectations for who she’d end up with.
âBefore I was in a relationship, I was like, âWhen I start getting to know a guy, I want every single one of my 19 siblings to love and adore him and give their blessing and approval and just be BFFs with himâ and all this stuff,” she admitted.
They might have been a little suspicious at first, but it seems safe to say that Jessa got what she wanted in the end. Sometimes, it just takes a little time!
