Like most casual Duggar family watchers, I only really gave a crap about the sisters. I still feel a wave of (possibly misplaced) sympathy for Jessa, Jana and Jill Duggar. So I rarely paid attention to one of the teenage Duggar boys, Josiah Duggar. I did clock the fact that the family’s announcement – months ago – that Josiah was “courting” a girl was still somehow People Magazine’s top story even months later. Which tells you a lot – some people are fascinated by the rigid and somewhat creepy courtship rules for the Duggars. None of the children are allowed to simply date around and make romantic mistakes and learn about respect, sex, love, broken hearts and all of that. Nope. When a Duggar child is interested in someone, they have to officially “court” them and courtship is seen as a down payment on engagement. Most of the Duggar kids only court one person and that person becomes their spouse. During a courtship, the courting couple is rarely left alone with each other as well.
So, it was a big deal that 18-year-old Josiah began courting a 17-year-old family friend named Marjorie Jackson. She’s part of the same circle of ultra-conservative families that surround the Duggars and she’s been described as (no joke) a “Bible study author and blogger.” But as it turns out, the courtship crashed and burned. Radar got the ball rolling yesterday by noting that Josiah and Marjorie haven’t been seen together publicly in months. Then this announcement from People:
Josiah Duggar and Marjorie Jackson have ended their courtship after four months, PEOPLE confirms.
“Both Josiah and Marjorie have enjoyed getting to know each other and to build their friendship over the past months,” the Duggar family and the Jackson family tell PEOPLE in an exclusive statement. “We are so grateful that they each are seeking the Lord’s will for their future. A few weeks ago Marjorie and Josiah agreed to end their courtship, keeping in step with what they believe the Lord’s will is. Both are thankful for the time getting to know each other, and their families continue to enjoy each other’s company and close friendship.”
Josiah, 18, revealed exclusively to PEOPLE that he officially entered into a courtship – a Duggar-approved way of dating that has couples get to know each other in preparation for marriage – with Marjorie, 17, on April 6.
The two met when Josiah was taking Spanish lessons from Marjorie’s mother, and Josiah told PEOPLE in April, “She really caught my eye. That is really where I noticed her.”
What do you think this is, Josiah? A regular high school where you can just pick and choose who you date without repercussions? Now Marjorie will get a reputation! All the boys will know she just courts with anyone. And I really do have to wonder… just how bad did it get? Their courtship began before the Josh Duggar revelations went public. Do you think that affected their courtship? I do.
Photos courtesy of Josiah Duggar’s Instagram.
wasn’t this dumb show cancelled because one of the sons is a pedo? why continue covering them?
Excellent point, Meme
This is a fantastic point.
Seriously. Have they lost their damn minds at People?
Yeah, enough coverage of them. I thought we were finally free ….
Now if only everyone from magazines to blog sites would stop covering them. Maybe they’ll get actual jobs instead of begging for money on gofundme.
Eeeeewwwww. God, his face is creepy. I can’t help it. That girl dodged a major bullet.
You don’t like the way his eyes are staring into your soul to see if you’re worthy of his courtship? Wth is wrong with you, Jan Harf? smh
That’s what I think every time I see picture of Josh Duggar. Maybe dead eyes are a family trait?
HIS HAIR.
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/OTYwWDcyMA==/z/kgkAAOSwNSxVSSPT/$_35.JPG
Omg @kiddo. Hahahaha. Poor kid – balding at 18.
He looks about two seconds away from dry-humping the crap out of your leg.
So much ick.
Heck yeah she dodged a bullet, Jan. I’m impressed with her parents, whomever they may be. If one of Jim Bob’s daughters found out that the guy she was courting came from a family of pedophiles, pedophile shielders, and pedophile apologists, he’d probably buy the guy a fruit basket. Alls I’m saying is: I’m impressed with her parents for allowing her to get the f*ck out of that mess.
The woman in her family wear pants and her parents have 5 spaced out daughters. They are smarter than the Duggars.
Can’t say I’m impressed by her parents. They have been friends with the Duggars for years, so they knew what they were dealing with when they allowed their daughter to start courting (with the intent to marry) one of them at seventeen (and FWIW, he seems like a nice enough kid, so my rant is not directed at him). I think Marjorie and her parents saw fame (take a look at some of her videos – she seems very ‘enthusiastic’ to be in front of a camera) and $$$$, only to have the bottom drop out weeks into the courtship. Glad they are both moving on – now if he could only escape his wackadoo family…
All of the Duggar boys have that creepy face. I’m willing to bet he’ll be going bald in 3 years.
He already is going bald. Very premature.
He’s already halfway there. Yikes…
Nah…Jackson and Justin are adorable. Little cuties!!
My stomach turned & I grimaced a little bit when I saw the picture.
I know. He looks like a demented duck.
I really think they broke up because the Duggars can’t control her. Marjorie looks like she has a lot of spunk and would talk back. Duggars want malleable robots. Marjorie doesn’t look like she would be a good puppy.
Anybody have a spare first class ticket to Mars? I want off this planet, today, and I want it to happen with mimosas.
I’ll go half on that baby with you Mimif!…… It’s probably her wearing jeans what caused the end of this love, in case you wanted to know!
He looks about 12.
with a 40-year-old’s hairline
Exactly!
Yes! I kept staring at the hairline, like, wow, that’s a bit early. And then I felt bad for focusing on that. Not bad enough, clearly.
Maybe she decided to go to college and study to become a lawyer after which she would take time off to backpack around Europe?
Hahahahaha! Whoops sorry! I forgot she’s just a worthless female made only for breeding and unquestioning obedience. Silly me!
Hahahahahahaha.
Except that when I really think about it it’s so sad. Poor girl.
I shouldn’t laugh (because according to the Duggars that’s enough to get me a first class ticket to Hell) but I actually LOL’d at your comment.
Anyone else get a ping from Josiah? I wonder if he’s the gay Duggar we’ve all been ‘praying’ for…
Pinging hard.
Yep, and he was the one they sent to some military camp a couple years ago. They know.
Ping three, here.
YES! My gaydar is definitely going off!
what is bigger than a ping? That.
If true, I feel bad for the kid 🙁
Yes, the Force is strong with this one.
Plus- he’s just beautiful. Wistful sigh.
It really is one of those laugh or you’ll cry things. In this day and age in a supposedly modern and advanced country. That she doesn’t even have the option!
A gay Dugger? We’d never know. They’d be more disturbed by that than their child molester son…and that tells me everything I need to know about these disgusting “parents”.
Get out while you can, child.
If she were smart she ran for the HILLS!!! This is not a family I’d want to be married into, and yes I said married, because that’s the only option you have with this family. You date, get married and have babies within a year.
Oh!! And GUNS!
I just had to point that out.
Noticed that first thing
It makes sense, doesn’t it?
Yes, guns seem to be a required accessory to the mating rituals of this particular breed of idiots.
P.S. To People – WHO THE F CARES??? Teenage romance between nobody cult member and soon to be nobody cult member didn’t last. Wow. Cover story.
https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fthumbs2.ebaystatic.com%2Fd%2Fl225%2Fm%2FmzIYWgl9s_l4e_tJJ9WzlRQ.jpg&f=1
You are sick. Lol
To be fair (this once) they’re totally on a ride, and the guns are hooked up to what I assume is water. There’s a sign in front of them saying to keep hands inside the boat.
True, but that’s not the impression they’re trying to give. Just like that sister of his constantly posing with guns – they think they look hot.
Pfft. They could walk on water, if they chose to.
She’s wearing PANTS. I bet that’s when he knew it was over for good.
Worse than pants — JEANS! What a harlot!
And her mother has a (sort of) job teaching Spanish lessons! THE HORROR!!!
I know, right? Having grown up in a Bible Belt area with more than its fair share of ultra-rightwing religious nutters, my first thought was, “I bet Jim Bob put an end to this when he saw those jeans.”
It’s completely normal for a teenage boy to have a relationship with a girl that doesn’t work out, yet they’re making it sound like some kind of earth shattering event. God himself, the creator of the universe and everything in it, has personally intervened in this torrid affair and revealed his “will” that Josiah shall not engage in side-hugs with Marjorie any longer!
I feel very very sorry for this poor kid. His parents had no business being involved in his love life to begin with, much less steering him to announce whom he’s dating to national magazines, and even much less trumpeting out to the world that he’s been dumped. And it doesn’t help that “Josiah” is just a few letters off from “Josh.” If I was him, I’d change my name to Chad or Brad, stat. Hopefully, now that he is probably damaged goods in the eyes of his gross christian community, he will be set free to have a normal dating life.
This girl loved the limelight (remember she willingly did early publicity on People.com) — like with Anna Duggar, her family probably thought this was a good move with the fame and money. But now it crashed and burned.
Did you see that video announcement she made of the courtship? Girl is thirsty.
And now the internet archives will forever link her name to the Duggars and by extension to the Josh Duggar sexual abuse scandal. I guess that is not the fame they were seeking.
You reap what you sow. I should think a Bible blogger would know that at least.
You know what affected the courtship? Marjorie finding out she wouldn’t be on tv after his show was cancelled. Also, finding out that’s he gay. I didn’t watch the show “religiously” but Josiah always struck me as the one Duggar son who was possibly in the closet. I’m sure his family attempted to change his sexuality, this courtship being one example. With 19 kids, the odds are that at least 1-2 of them are gay.
If that’s the case with him, as a few of us are guessing, I certainly hope he is able to get away from this cult and live his own life his way. He deserves to be happy.
And then maybe he can also be the one who helps a few other siblings escape this freak show.
You make a good point!
Hopefully she (or more like her parents, knowing their cult) were smart enough not to get involved with the Duggars after all of the controversy. Good for her, though! She dodged a major bullet!
Maybe she realized he’ll be bald by the time he’s 25. Even though it’s easy to say she dodged a bullet, there will be no bullet dodging. Whether it’s a Duggar or not, this girl will be sold into marriage and turned into a brood mare before she’s 20. It’s disgusting.
So disgusting.
Isn’t he the one who was sent “away” aka probably Gay Reformation Camp or was that another one of the boys?
That girl saw the hills and ran for them. good on her for it. God, they are so damn creepy. I thought Flowers in the Attic was bad, but the Duggars are Turnips In The Root Cellar. Ew.
Turnips in the Root Cellar! HAHAHA
Turnips in the Root Cellar – the Duggar Story. You should market that! It’s brilliant!!
Turnips in the root cellar. HAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaha!
Run, girl, RUN!
I knew it. I questioned why her parents would continue to allow her to court him, after all of the Josh revelations and aftermath. Maybe they finally realized that this was a toxic family they didn’t want to be a part of or associated with. Now she can continue wearing pants in public without worrying about what Ma Duggar thinks about it, lol!
I think after the gravy-train stopped and Marjorie’s fam realized there would be no fame or money from the Duggar’s they decided to end the whole ordeal. That and the general creepiness of the family. I certainly wouldn’t want to marry into a family where the my husbands brother sexually abused many of his sisters and the family covered it up, avoided responsibility and never truly got him help.
Whatever the reasons, be grateful you out Marj!
GAYFACE.
Girl just didn’t want to be a beard. He’s the one that went to a “pray the gay away” camp.
This is a good time to remind everyone to watch Saved!
I hate to say it, but I thought the same thing. But how would she know if he’s gay or not. They are never alone.
Gay voice too… thats for sure. I do think he is gay and feel endless pity for him to have to fight it forever in that crazy family..
Why would “Bible study author and blogger” be a joke?
Because she is a mere seventeen years old.
Good for her. She escaped before it was too late.
I’m a fan of Josiah. He’s well spoken and, well, rather flamboyant. Check out the video for his graduation. They joke that he’s a bit different.
From all the Duggar boys, he was the most sensitive one, and people said he would be the one to nreak away. He also had ti go ti their military/evangelical camp twice because it didn’t work the first time.
Hopefully she realize that with him her future would be limited to that of a baby incubator.
Them Duggar boys bald early! Unfortunate…
I would love to think that her parents found out about Josh and were like hell to the fuck no and left the duggars out on the porch but I’m not sure I trust anyone in that circle much.
The courtship failed because: One–Show canceled, so no money rolling in, and Two–He’s gay.
Seriously–my gaydar goes off big time with this kid.