It's official: After a long stretch with no courtships in the Duggar family, there's a new couple on Counting On, and it totally took us by surprise. In September, the family announced that 17-year-old Justin Duggar is dating Claire Spivey, the daughter of one of the families the Duggars are close with. The courtship certainly seemed to come out of nowhere — especially because Justin has older siblings we totally thought would be courting first — but so far, these two really seem to have hit it off.
We haven't seen too much of Claire and Justin in action. (Neither of them are very active on Instagram just yet, and Counting On is over for the time being.) So far, we have gathered a few details about these two crazy kids, their family, and their love story so far … which, apparently, has been going on for much longer than we may have thought.
Curious to know what's up with Justin and Claire's courtship? Read on for everything there is to know so far. Our fingers are crossed that they'll share more details — and more adorable coupled up photos — soon.
Justin Got His Own Instagram Account Right Before the Announcement
Usually, the oldest members of the Duggar family don't open their own personal Instagram accounts until they're courting — with a few exceptions, of course. As soon as Justin's account popped up over the summer, it seemed inevitable that a courtship announcement was coming.
And as it turned out, a few months later, it did.
Courting During Quarantine
Before the Counting On finale aired, the show teased a quarantine courtship reveal, sharing with fans that a certain member of the family had been seeing someone while under lockdown earlier this year. As it turned out, that happened to be Claire and Justin, though it wasn't revealed until right before the episode aired.
Surprising News
Considering the fact that Jim Bob and Michelle usually have to approve courtships in their family, of course, they knew ahead of time that Claire and Justin were together … but the rest of the family didn't! Claire and Justin got to surprise the family with their announcement via a Zoom call, and everyone seemed thrilled for them.
Their Families Have Known Each Other for a Long Time
It seems that before Justin and Claire were ever in a romantic courtship, they were friends — and so were their families. On the Spivey family's Instagram, there are plenty of photos that include various members of the Duggar family — Justin, his siblings, and even his parents. It seems like the Spiveys and the Duggars go way back!
Claire Recently Debuted Her Own Instagram
Just like Justin, Claire recently got her own personal Instagram account, and it's there that she used her first post to share her big relationship news, writing:
"Words will never express the depth of my love and admiration for this amazing man! He is the most tenderhearted person, and every moment spent with him is treasured. I'm so thankful for the man of God that he is. Whether we are in person, or long distance, he cherishes and loves me unconditionally. His example to me and all he meets, is unlike any other. I am the most blessed woman on earth to be in a relationship [with] you. I'll love you forever."
They've Been Together for a While
When Justin shared the exciting news on his Instagram account, he included a lot of photos that had been taken over the past year — from Christmastime in 2019, all the way up to fall 2020. That meant that secretly, these two had been seeing each other for a year without any fans ever being the wiser. That's impressive!
There's a Bit of an Age Difference
As it turns out, Justin and Claire are just a little less than two years apart in age. Though Justin is currently 17, he'll be turning 18 in November 2020 — and Claire is already 19 years old. Fortunately, there's not a huge gap between them … and this has happened in the fam before, since Jessa Duggar is older than her husband, Ben Seewald.
Long-Distance Relationship
Unfortunately, the Duggars and the Spiveys don't live in the same place, and that's why their courtship has required a bit of long-distance coordination — and why Claire and Justin made their announcement via Zoom instead of in person. While the Duggars hail from Springdale, Arkansas, the Spiveys live in Texas.
Some Fans Think Claire Looks Like Jana
Almost immediately after the courtship was officially announced, fans began pointing out that Claire and Jana Duggar looked a lot alike. While both ladies are beautiful in their own way, it's definitely true that there are a few similarities there — at least, from the photos of Claire we've seen so far, anyway.
Claire's Family Is Totally on Board
When the courtship was announced, the Spiveys made their own announcement on Instagram, sharing more photos of Claire and Justin together and writing about how excited their were for their daughter.
"So proud of these two. What a joy it's been to watch the Lord at work in their lives this last year! Sweet Justin has already been a special part of our family and we greatly love him!" said the post.
Justin's Already Working Hard
Justin may still be young, but he's already working hard to prove that he can make a living — and maybe even support a family sooner or later. Like many of his siblings have in the past (and still do), Justin's been working on flipping houses, and this one that he shared on Instagram looks so gorgeous already.
Spending Time Together at Camp
On both 19 Kids & Counting and Counting On, the Duggars have talked about a camp called ALERT that the kids are frequently campers at. As it turns out, the Spiveys go there, too, and in the above Instagram post, swiping over will reveal a super cute pic of Justin and Claire together at the camp on the last slide.
Claire's Mom Has Defended Their Relationship
Although the comment seems to have disappeared now, The Ashley's Reality Roundup reported that Claire's mom, Hilary, responded to fans in the comments who questioned if Jim Bob arranged this marriage, considering the fact that Justin is only 17.
"Jim Bob has never once arranged a marriage," she wrote, according to the site. "All of those kids have been equipped well for life. They can handle lots of responsibility at a young age, unlike most in society today. Justin’s daddy told him that he knew he would marry young cause he was so responsible. Trust me…we’ve been blessed to know [the Duggars] for years."
We'll Probably See More of Them on 'Counting On'
Though Counting On is officially done for the season, we don't doubt that we'll get to see much more of Justin and Claire's relationship on the next season … and eventually, their engagement and wedding, if things continue to work out between them. Since they're the latest couple in the fam, we're sure there will be plenty of focus on them!
An Engagement Could Be Right Around the Corner
Even though Justin and Claire are both still so young, we wouldn't be at all surprised an engagement happened sooner than later. After all, they've been together for over a year now, and Justin is turning 18 in November, so we wouldn't be surprised if these two announced their engagement before the end of 2020.
