Critics Slam ‘Counting On’ Star Jinger Duggar for Giving Advice on Being Single
Jinger Duggar needs to take a seat, critics say. On the August 5 episode of her and husband Jeremy Vuolo’s The Hope We Hold podcast, the Counting On shared advice with listeners on how to cope with being single. But some of her Instagram followers were quick to point out that she wasn’t in a good position to be offering tips on how to handle the wait for “the one,” given that she married at 22.
Jinger Duggar says she thought she’d be married at 18
In the podcast episode titled “Staying Encouraged While Staying Single,” Jinger spoke about how she expected to be married at a young age.
“Growing up, I thought I’d be ready to get married at 18,” the TLC star said. “Because I felt like I was more mature than I actually was. Looking back, I think I was a little naive.”
Jinger, now 26, explained that she was glad she waited a few years to get married, even though she sometimes felt discouraged when she was still single. She added that she eventually realized that marriage was not the “end all” of her life. She also said she wished she’d used her time before getting married more “wisely,” perhaps learning new skills or pursuing various interests.
Jinger doesn’t know what it’s really like to be single, critics say
After Jinger opened up about her experiences as a single woman, she received some blunt feedback on social media. Critics complained that she had not been single for that long. They also noted that she never lived on her own before getting married, meaning her experience was quite different from that of many people.
“Jinger was single for like 5 min,” one person wrote on Instagram. “Don’t think she knows much about that topic.”
“Jinger you lived in your parents house until you dated a dude for a month and got married,” another commented. “You’re out of your pay grade here.”
But others defended Jinger, saying she had a right to share her own experiences. “Sure, she might not have been single for very long … but it doesn’t make those single years less difficult, or at least doesn’t give Jinger any less of a voice in these matters,” a supporter wrote.
Some think she should have invited her sister Jana Duggar on the podcast
A few critics thought Jinger should have had a guest on her podcast who could speak about being single. And they had just the person in mind: her older sister Jana Duggar.
“I would be much more interested to hear how Jana feels about being single,” one person commented. “Especially as she is constantly surrounded by very young married couples and babies, in an environment that feels women should only be wifes and mothers. How does she deal with that?”
At 30, Jana is the oldest Duggar daughter who is still single. While a number of her younger siblings have married and started families of their own, she hasn’t married and still lives at home with her parents. Recently, she opened up about how it felt to not be in a relationship.
“Yes, I long to be married and one day I think that will come, but I think … I’m just also just trying to stay busy with whatever comes along my path,” she told Us Weekly.
But, she added, she was focused on “making the most” of her time as single woman. “I think if I sit there and I’m like, ‘Oh no, I’m not married’ and just [get] all worried about it, it makes things way worse,” she said.
