If you’re a fan of the Duggar clan, then you’ve likely heard by now that Joy-Anna Duggar is expecting her first child.
We don’t know Joy-Anna’s due date, but there’s been plenty of speculation based on the below photo of her rather sizable baby bump.
Joy-Anna married Austin Forsyth back in May, and many fans have conjectured that she got pregnant during her honeymoon in Switzerland.
But not surprisingly, there are those who believe Joy-Anna is keeping mum about her due date because she’s farther along than she’d have us believe.
The Duggars, of course, take a hard line stance against premarital sex, forbidding unmarried couples from engaging in any physical contact beyond hand-holding.
Reports about Joy-Anna and Austin breaking the rules of courtship cropped up several times during the early days of their relationship, and now Joy-Anna’s bump is being cited as proof that the Duggars aren’t practicing what they preach.
Of course, every pregnancy is different, and in any case, it’s difficult to tell how far along an expectant mother is on the basis of a single photo.
So the folks at Radar Online took the investigation into Joy-Anna’s pregnancy a step further by consulting with National Enquirer Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Stuart Fischer.
After examining the photo for himself, Dr. Fischer decisively concluded that Joy-Anna is “four or five months pregnant.”
It’s important to point out that Dr. Fischer has never treated Joy-Anna, and his observation is based only on the image she posted to Instagram.
Since Joy-Anna and Austin tied the knot on May 26, if she’s as far along as Dr. Fischer claims, the Duggars would certainly have some explaining to do.
In all likelihood, most of the family’s fans don’t care if young people engage in premarital sex, and they’ve already demonstrated a willingness to forgive the family for some pretty egregious misconduct.
(It’s hard to imagine any other famous family surviving something like the Josh Duggar sex scandal.)
But another instance of the Duggars misleading their fans in order to maintain their wholesome image could still prove damaging.
By now, we’re well aware that version of the Duggars that appears on television is only loosely based on the reality of their day-to-day lives.
Still, like professional wrestling fans, reality television viewers want the illusion to be maintained as convincingly as possible.
If the Duggar slip-ups keep piling up, at some point ratings will decline right alongside the family’s credibility.
Watch Counting On online for more from reality TV’s most controversial family.
