For card-carrying members of Duggar Nation, Counting On Season 3 Episode 8 was an installment a long time in the making.
Jinger, Michelle, Jessa and Ben took a trip to the Northeast to meet Jeremy Vuolo’s family and friends in his old neighborhood.
But that wasn’t all. He had a surprise in store. A very big one.
If you watch Jill & Jessa Counting On online, you know that Jinger and Jeremy had been “unofficially” dating for just a couple of months.
Officially, it’s been even less. They are not wasting any time.
Granted, the Duggars never waste time … but even by their standards, some Duggars believe Jinger and Jeremy are moving too fast.
Regardless of the prudence of their decision making, it is on.
Jinger made a trip to meet some of Jeremy’s extended family, and naturally, Jessa, Ben, Spurgeon and Michelle Duggar joined them.
Can never have too many Duggar chaperones, after all.
After arriving in Jeremy’s hometown, Jessa, Ben, Jeremy and Jinger left Spurgeon with his parents and Michelle, and they went kayaking.
“It was a romantic time out there with my love on the water,” Jinger recalled, no doubt dreaming of embracing her man in a huge side hug.
The Duggar girls wore baggy board shorts instead of their usual skirts, but rest assured, Jim Bob, the shorts were not actually short.
Nor were they sexy. Well, unless you’re Jeremy Vuolo.
Dude wants Jinger to be his wife so hard, and after taking her to his grandmother’s house for dinner, and his old soccer field, it was time.
With the time of the proposal drawing near, he enlisted friends to orchestrate the surprise, one Jinger never saw coming (yeah right).
A photo shoot at sunset on the rooftop in N.Y. City with the Empire State Building in the background, and musicians playing their song?
Hard to get cornier or more romantic than that.
Fortunately, she went along with his ruse, which was sort of central to his whole plan; Jeremy joked about what would happen if she said no.
Then there was the unforeseen weather issue.
“I’m talking to Jinger, trying to act normal, but inside I’m just saying, ‘Lord, please stop this rain,"” Jeremy said, and lo and behold, a rainbow!
Then Jeremy dropped to his knee. Magic.
“Jinger Nicole, will you marry me?” he asked.
She said yes, of course, and they hugged.
“This woman, who I love and want to spend my life with is now my fiancée. It’s almost inexplicable, the feeling at that moment,” he said.
Jessa, Ben, and Michelle walked out congratulate them, along with some of Jeremy’s friends who also came along to share in the moment.
“This was definitely, by far, the most memorable trip in my life,” Jinger said, still on cloud nine after everything she just participated in.
“What’s next?” Jeremy asked his future wife.
“Hopefully a wedding soon!” they agreed.
