‘Counting On’ Viewers Speculate Jinger Duggar Married Secretly For Ratings

Viewers of the TLC reality show Counting On are speculating that Jinger Duggar may have been married secretly, with the network and family holding news back from the public in order to stretch out the event until the end of the season for ratings. Viewers point to posts by the stars of the Duggar family’s reality show as well as other hints the family and network have dropped about Duggar life off camera (or on-camera but as yet unaired.)

Since the Duggar family’s previous reality show 19 Kids and Counting was canceled over multiple scandals, the new program has been something of a controversy. Members of the viewing public have called for advertisers to quit running their ads on Duggar programming — and companies have complied, even saying their products were associated with the Duggar show without permission.

Further, the latest season of Counting On has been plagued with complaints from Duggar fans who say the show has gotten too repetitive, with too many re-caps, flashbacks, and replays of the same footage.

With that in mind, it’s small wonder that viewers might conclude Jinger Duggar’s courtship and engagement story are being drawn out for the sake of ratings, and that they’re scouring the family’s social media pages for clues.

Key amongst these is a photo posted by Jeremy Vuolo, Jinger Duggar’s fiance (unless the speculation holds up, in which case he’s actually already her husband), earlier this week.

https://www.facebook.com/368875003236443/photos/a.382183248572285.1073741828.368875003236443/413071525483457/?type=3&theater

Can you see what Duggar fans are seeing?

The comment thread below reveals all — some commenters believe that the photo shows a wedding ring on Jeremy’s left hand. Others say the Duggar husband-to-be just happens to have a gleam of light on his finger and that there’s no ring to be seen.

Commenter 1: “Did you get Married this past weekend?”
Commenter 2: “He’s not wearing a band, so I doubt they did.”
Commenter 3: “It looks like he is though.”

Others go back and forth: maybe it’s a gleam of light, maybe it’s white gold. Since Jinger and Jeremy aren’t answering (many commenters on the photo have asked the same thing), each viewer is left to look at the couple’s hands and draw their own conclusions.

As Inquisitr previously reported, TLC has announced Jinger’s wedding episode is coming up soon — leaving viewers to wonder if the wedding has already taken place or whether the episode will air very shortly after the wedding itself.

An Instagram post of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar out together has also fueled speculation, as viewers wonder if perhaps the “weekend getaway” is a trip to Laredo, Jeremy’s current home, for Jinger’s wedding.

Alongside Jinger’s engagement, Counting On has been airing flashbacks to other Duggar engagements. Well, more accurately, there have been flashbacks to two engagements — the two that have resulted in marriages without any porn or molestation scandals. In the clip below, Jessa and Jill’s engagements are showcased, with Josh Duggar conspicuously absent.

The network promised that Josh would be left out of future Duggar programming after documents were released regarding the reality star allegedly molesting multiple underage girls, and further information showed Duggar’s activity on dating sites devoted to extramarital affairs.

However, Josh Duggar’s wedding to Anna Keller was the first wedding in the family to be aired, and was treated as a major event, with footage of rehearsal activities, interviews with the Keller family, and Jim Bob Duggar giving his son “the talk” — an on-screen “private” chat between father, son, and the cameras in which the Duggar patriarch imparted the “wisdom” that men are more concerned with the physical aspects of a relationship and women care more about the emotional aspects.

If Jinger Duggar’s wedding is given the same camera treatment as her engagement — with flashbacks to her sisters’ weddings — the complete omission of any mention of A Very Duggar Wedding may be yet again a very loud silence. On the other hand, if Josh Duggar, who is now out of sex rehab and home with his family, is included in any way, viewers and advertisers alike may be very unhappy.

With Jinger Duggar’s wedding as the Counting On season finale, viewers have another question: will the lack of sponsors finally lead to the show’s downfall or is another season coming?

[Featured Image by TLC]