How Many Sets of Twins Do the Duggars Have?
In 2013, twins occurred in 3 out of every 100 births in the United States. It’s true that instances of twins and higher multiple births has been increasing in recent years, especially now that fertility treatments are becoming more common. But it’s not that strange to have a natural twin birth, too.
You’re more likely to have twins if there are other sets of twins in your family tree. There is also evidence that the chances of having twins increases as you get older, so getting pregnant later in life may also be a factor. One other obvious way to increase your chances of twins? Get pregnant a lot.
Michelle Duggar from the show 19 Kids and Counting has been pregnant many, many times – 21 times, to be exact. And like so many other huge families, the Duggar clan is made up of more than one set of twins. But there are some things about the Duggar twins that you may not realize.
Jana and John David
The first set of twins the Duggars welcomed were Jana and John David. The two are obviously fraternal twins, not identical (identical twins cannot have different genders).
Jana and John David were born on January 12, 1990. They were the second and third children born to Jim Bob and Michelle after the oldest, Joshua. Sadly, the couple experienced a miscarriage after Joshua and before the twins were conceived.
In an interview with TLC, Michelle explained that even though they were twins, the brother and sister were not much alike. “Jana and John, of course, being boy and girl, had a lot of differences in that respect, but their personalities were so different, too. One was so laid back and the other one was so energetic and into everything. John David just watched Jana because she had enough energy for both of them.”
Interestingly, a lot of the younger Duggar children got married before the twins even though they were among the oldest. Jana is still unmarried and living at home. Sources speculate on the real reason she isn’t married yet, especially when so many of her siblings marry young. Jana claims it’s just because she hasn’t found the right person yet.
Jana’s twin John David just wed Abbie Burnett on November 3, 2018.
Jedidiah and Jeremiah
The second set of Duggar twins was born on December 30, 1998. But even though the boys have very similar names, their parents admit that their personalities are also quite unique from one another. Michelle had this to say in the same TLC interview: “They’re the same as Jana and John David [in] that their personalities are almost opposite. One took off fast, and the other one was more steady and slow.”
“Now they’re fifteen and they do things together all the time because they’re both boys. They have the same interests and they’re really close. Jed and Jer are constantly doing things together. They’re almost opposites in personality though,” Michelle Duggar explained.
One thing the boys won’t do together? Court a future wife. Rumors are swirling that Jeremiah – who fans call “the hot one” – is currently courting one lucky lady. Meanwhile, Jedidiah was the first one to get involved with Jenna Caldwell, but supposedly his father put a stop to the relationship. That’s when his older brother Joseph swooped in and married her instead.
Will any of the Duggar children follow in their parents’ footsteps and have a few sets of twins? Anything is possible!
