If you watch Jill & Jessa: Counting On online, you know that Jim Bob and Michelle remain as strict as ever with regard to limiting pre-marital contact between their many daughters and the girls’ parentally-approved suitors.
Some would argue that the parents should have invested some of that energy into limiting conflict between the girls and their brother, but that’s a conversation for another time.
The Duggar rules of courtship stipulate that there is to be no hand-holding without a ring on the finger, no “front hugs” (side hugs are permitted) until the wedding, and no un-chaperoned pre-marital contact of any kind.
And you thought your school night curfew was strict.
In a new edition of the Duggars kids’ book, Growing Up Duggar, Jessa reveals that she and husband Ben Seewald actually violated the rules of courtship on several occasions in the months leading up to their marriage:
“The day Ben and I started courting, we began our tradition of calling each other on the phone every night. These were such special times. These calls were not ‘chaperoned.’ They were private just between the two of us.”
“We would talk about everything from how our day went, to what we had ben learning from our Bible reading, and then just anything else that we want to talk about.:
Uh … scandalous stuff, right?
Okay, so the Duggar kids remain about as rebellious as a kale salad, but as many fans have pointed out, Jessa and Ben actually broke just about every one of the family’s famous courtship rules when they first met.
First they held hands during a family prayer session – a move that did not go unnoticed by family patriarch Jim Bob.
Shortly thereafter, they engaged in the dreaded front hug.
Jim Bob wasn’t on hand for that one, but he was reportedly cool with it, as the couple was already on the verge of getting hitched.
And people say he’s strict to the point of forever warping the way his kids view sex and relationships!
