Long before Jim Bob, a brood of 19 kids, the cultish Institute of Basic Life Principles, and a strict modesty policy, Michelle Duggar was like any other typical teenager living in the US. Old photos of the Counting On star even show her baring her legs in a miniskirt — something she'd never let her teens do today — leaving fans wondering what could have been had her life taken a different path.
Without a Crystal Ball's Katie Joy shared a throwback photo of Michelle on Tuesday.
Kate found this old snapshot of the Duggar matriarch and was able to connect with some people who knew Michelle when she was a teenager. Katie posted the image on her popular Instagram page and shared some of the details she uncovered about Michelle, which include the fact that she attended a public high school.
Michelle was a cheerleader.
Although Michelle seems decidedly less cheerful these days after everything she's been through over the years, she was full of pep as a teen. She was part of the cheerleading team up until her last year of high school when she met Jim Bob.
We have a hunch that her new boyfriend didn't like the access it gave Michelle to a certain dating pool.
It sounds like Michelle had a thing for the boys on the field.
Katie revealed that Michelle had quite the active dating life before she settled down with Jim Bob. "She dated several guys from her school and regularly partied with football players," she wrote.
According to those who knew her at that time, Michelle was outgoing and full of confidence, meaning she likely was someone with a large social circle and lots of options for her future.
Most shocking of all, though, is the fact that Michelle didn't follow any kind of dress code.
The Duggars are just as famous for their oversized family as they are for their rules around modesty, which tell women that they can't show their legs, cleavage, or even their shoulders. But as a teen, Michelle wore whatever she wanted.
"Neighbors used to ask her to cover up when she mowed the lawn in a bikini and short shorts," Kate's post continued.
A bikini? We're shook!
Of course, everything changed when she met Jim Bob.
And the rest, as they say, is history. It's hard to reconcile the Michelle we know today with the young Michelle that Katie describes, mostly because of how fully the reality TV mom has thrown herself into her faith. We assumed she had been raised that way, not that it was something that she embraced later in life.
We have to wonder how her kids feel knowing their mother wasn't subject to the same strict rules growing up. We cannot imagine they're happy they were denied the same normal teen experiences that Michelle was free to enjoy at that age.
