Poor Jana Duggar is in a rough place — everyone expects her to follow the same path as her younger sisters, but she’s simply not doing it.
The 19 Kids & Counting star is watching her younger sisters get married and pregnant, while it appears that she’s never even been courted by anyone. Jessa Duggar and Jill Duggar have happily shared their courtships with their fans on TV and social media, but Jana Duggar doesn’t have a social media presence.
The Hollywood Gossip speculates that Jana Duggar might not be settling down because Jim Bob isn’t letting her. There are rumors that she’s being “forced to take care of her younger siblings.” In other words, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar want to keep her around to be their live-in nanny as long as possible. Jana is going to have even more work to do without Jessa and Jill around.
The site also points out that 19 Kids & Counting viewers see a lot more of Jessa Duggar and Jill Duggar than Jana Duggar. This could be a sign that Jana simply isn’t a fan of the spotlight. It’s also rather telling that she doesn’t enjoy using social media like her younger sisters. However, people on social media have plenty to say about Jana.
All the Duggar girls are but Jana is bae how is she single???
— E (@evie_orta7) October 8, 2014
Jana Duggar, bolt in the night! Run into the warm embrace of tattoo artist or a lesbian painter and live ya life! #19Kids
— Katie Walsh (@heyyybrother) October 8, 2014
I want to read a great thinkpiece about Jana Duggar and why she’s not dating or courting and she’s the oldest daughter.
— skully jensen (@catagator) October 8, 2014
but Jana is seriously the prettiest Duggar. Why hasn’t she courted or married yet? #19kidsandcounting
— bre’ahn (@canuguessthis) October 8, 2014
Jana Duggar has seen what happens when her younger sisters start courting. They become tabloid darlings, and the 19 Kids & Counting cameras start focusing on them more. Maybe Jana simply doesn’t want this kind of attention.
Jana knows that she’s expected to start having babies as soon as she weds, so there’s even a possibility that she’s putting off courtship because she wants to enjoy her freedom as long as possible. She’s allegedly considering a nursing degree, so perhaps she wants to work for a while before becoming a wife and mother. She implied that she might do mission work in a foreign country in a TLC blog post that she wrote last year. She and Jill Duggar were recounting their experiences learning the art of midwifery .
“Jill and I feel like the training we are receiving, although our paths are both a little bit different, will serve us in the future on the mission field. Each of us would like to use our skills as a way to share the hope of Jesus in foreign countries, but for right now, the country we’ve been called to serve in is our own. We enjoy loving on our moms, babies, and families, and feel privileged to care for them.”
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar can’t expect all of their 19 kids to follow the exact same paths.
The oldest Duggar daughter is only 24, so she’s hardly a spinster — she still has plenty of time to find the right guy and start a family, if she so chooses. And as Bustle points out, “no one, no matter what pressure they might be receiving from their family, should ever have to be part of a relationship they don’t want to be in.”
The Duggars are extremely religious, so it’s also important to consider the possibility that Jana feels like her relationship with God is the only relationship she needs.
Unfortunately, no one will know for sure why Jana Duggar’s life trajectory is so different from that of her sisters until she decides to divulge that information herself. Why do you think she’s in no rush to wed?
[Image via: Duggar Fan Forever/ Facebook ]