14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this month, the Duggars, TLC’s biggest reality stars at the moment, thanks to their series 19 Kids & Counting, announced that daughter Jill had entered into formal courtship with Derick Dillard. The two are now confirming that they are engaged to be married.
If you’ve seen a single episode of the TLC show, you know that the Duggars are very religious and, because of it, choose to conduct their life by a set of rules that might seem strange at first but which have been paying off for them.
Their girls don’t go on dates like regular teens do: once their parents Jim Bob and Michelle approve of a boy, they enter a period of formal courtship, in which they get to know each other. This also entails strict supervision on dates, which only happen with chaperones for both, and a complete ban on touching or kissing.
The only exception to that last part is the occasional peck on the cheek in the parents’ presence and a “side hug.”
With Jill and Derick now engaged, this means that the courtship period confirmed what they had always felt: that they were made for each other. It also means that they can now hold hands and kiss on the mouth occasionally.
“When my dad first introduced Derick and I, we spent hours texting, calling, and talking on Skype while 8,000 miles away from each other,” Jill says for Yahoo! News in a statement confirming the engagement.
“And when we finally met in person in Nepal, we knew within days that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. I love Derick's desire to follow God and to serve others. Derick is so romantic and the proposal was perfect. We are incredibly happy and can't wait to share our courtship and engagement on ‘19 Kids & Counting.’ Next up, wedding planning!” she gushes.
It is a fact well documented on the reality show that Jill and Derick were “set up” by her dad, Jim Bob, who knew Derick as a prayer partner. At first, they had a long-distance relationship because Derick was in Japan and, when they eventually met in Nepal, they already knew pretty much everything there was to know about each other.
Jim Bob is thanking God he had the inspiration to think Derick would be a great husband for Jill, because he was obviously right.
“They're a match made in heaven and Michelle and I couldn't be more thrilled,” he says in a separate statement to the same media outlet. “We're so grateful to God and look forward to watching their love continue to grow as they prepare for their wedding and future life together. We're not losing a daughter, but rather gaining a son!”