Jessa Duggar of '19 Kids And Counting' Announces Engagement To Boyfriend
Another member of the reality show family the Duggars has announced her plans to wed after an 11-month courtship period with her boyfriend.
Jessa Duggar, 21, released a statement Friday announcing that she and her boyfriend of 11 months, Ben Seewald, would be tying the knot. Jessa is daughter to Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, strict evangelical Christians who practice traditional courtship rules for their children. The family stars in the TLC reality show series "19 Kids and Counting."
"We are so blessed to be engaged!" Jessa and Seewald said in a joint statement released by TLC. "God has written an amazing story through our courtship, and another chapter has just begun! We are thrilled to see what the future holds -- especially the wedding bells!"
Jessa is following the recent footsteps of her older sister, Jill Duggar, 23, who married her fiancé Derick Dillard, 25, on June 21. The daughters of the Duggar family are required to follow strict courtship rules that include no kissing until their wedding day. Rather, the girls are allowed to give their significant others only modest side hugs during their courtship period.
Jessa previously told People magazine that she and her 19-year-old fiancé "have a lot in common."
"He is a mellow personality, very romantic and very sweet. I am very cut and dried. And my sisters are coaching me on sweet romantic things to say."
Seewald added to the media outlet that "people always ask us when we are getting married," but confirmed that he and his soon wife-to-be "don't feel pressure to get married. If there's any pressure, it's a good kind of pressure."
