14 DAY TRIAL // The Duggar kids sure are growing up fast: hot on the heels of her sister Jessa’s entering official, chaste courtship with Ben Seewald, Jill is now being formally courted by Derick Dillard, her father’s former praying partner.
Jill is 22 and Derick is 25 and they got to know each other through her dad, whom Derick contacted by letter, as Jim Bob himself explains in the video below, a preview of a new episode of the family’s hit TLC series, 19 Kids & Counting.
Jill and Derick first communicated by phone, letters and Skype as he was in Nepal on humanitarian work but, now that he is back in the US, he is officially courting her. Unlike what is commonly understood by the term courting (or dating), with the Duggars, that means that 2 young men are meeting regularly in the presence of chaperones, to see if they have enough in common to be future spouses.
Viewers of the hit series learned from Jessa and Ben that formal courting means they’re not allowed to have physical contact, save for the occasional peck on the cheek and the occasional “side hug,” and that they’re never to see each other alone.
The two are now engaged and, while they’re still not left unsupervised, they’re allowed to hold hands and hug normally. In their case, the courting proved they’re a good match – and the Duggar parents hope the same will happen to Jill and Derick.
A single look at Jill could indicate that this is the route they’re going down on because she’s completely smitten with Derick.
“I was really impressed with his character and I was surprised how much we have the same vision and life goals. He's a great guy,” she tells People magazine. In the video below too, you can see her face lighting up when she Skypes with him, but also when she talks about him to the camera guy.
It pays that her parents also approve of her choice. In fact, it was her father who set them up – and he couldn’t be more pleased about it.
“I was impressed with him as I got to know him over the years. He sounded like an amazing young man. I felt like from the beginning, they had similar personalities and goals. I thought they would hit it off,” Jim Bob says smiling.
Expect the budding romance to be duly documented on 19 Kids & Counting.