Joy-Anna Duggar And Austin Forsyth’s Pre-Wedding Video Sparks Debate About Marrying Young

Joy-Anna Duggar and Austin Forsyth recently shared a few details about what they did during their joint bachelor/bachelorette party, and some fans are worried that the young couple is moving too fast. However, others are coming to the Counting On stars’ defense ahead of their wedding.

According to the Duggar Family Blog, Joy-Anna and Austin hosted their joint bachelor/bachelorette party over the weekend. They kept the party rated G by inviting friends and family members to join them for a booze-free campout in their home state of Arkansas. The couple wanted to have their pre-wedding bash sooner, but the rainy weather just wasn’t cooperating. In the video below, Joy-Anna and Austin talk about how much fun they had camping and kayaking.

It’s highly likely that 19-year-old Joy-Anna Duggar and 23-year-old Austin Forsyth will be getting married sometime this month, and some Duggar fans are dismayed that Joy-Anna is getting married so young. She’s also rushing to the altar after being engaged for only two months. As the Inquisitr previously reported, short engagement periods are the norm for the Duggars.

“I couldn’t get over how young they are. I felt sad thinking in a few months, she is going to be pregnant,” wrote one fan on the Duggar Family News: Life Is Not All Pickles & Hairspray Facebook page.

“Too too soon. She might even be pregnant before Jinger,” commented another.

There’s no doubt that the teenager will be the youngest Duggar bride. Jill Duggar was 23 when she and Derick Dillard tied the knot, Jessa Duggar was 21 when she married Ben Seewald, and Jinger Duggar was 22 when she and Jeremy Vuolo walked down the aisle.

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According to a study conducted by University of Utah professor Nicholas Wolfinger, men and women who marry young are more likely to get divorced.

“Someone who marries at 25 is over 50% less likely to get divorced than is someone who weds at age 20,” Wolfinger concluded after analyzing data collected by the National Survey of Family Growth.

As Mic reports, the professor added that “youthful couples simply do not have the maturity, coping skills and social support it takes to make marriage work.”

However, Joy-Anna’s ultra-conservative Christian family places a strong emphasis on making a marriage work no matter what. Some of the Duggars have even taken steps to make it harder to get divorced if they are ever tempted to leave their spouses. As People reports, Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard chose to have a “covenant marriage.”

“In Arkansas, where the couple married, the covenant marriage law allows for couples to agree up front that they will seek counseling before a divorce could be granted,” the outlet explains. “It also offers more limited grounds for divorce – and increases the time that a separation has to be in place before a divorce can be granted.”

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Some Duggar fans disagree with those who say that Joy-Anna is making a mistake by marrying young.

“In years to come, time will reveal who keeps it together. I like it that they are taught to be married better than dating a zillion guys and getting into fornication,” wrote one fan on the Counting On Facebook page.

“She has known him 15 years,” commented another. “They have been getting closer for a couple years as friends, now they took it a step further and started courting and then marriage. It’s not that strange.”

As Entertainment Weekly reports, Joy-Anna’s mother, Michelle Duggar, got married when she was just 17 years old, and she believes she’s discovered the secret to making a marriage last. Michelle’s advice for wives is to submit to their husbands, especially when it comes to sex. She preaches that women should always be “joyfully available” to their husbands, even if they’re “exhausted and big and pregnant.” However, will Michelle dare to share her favorite pre-wedding advice with Joy-Anna Duggar in front of the Counting On cameras? What do you think?

[Featured Image by Duggar Family/Facebook]