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Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard no longer associate with TLC’s Counting On. Instead, they’ve decided to follow a different path than many of the other Duggars, leading to a possible rift. Now, Jill and Derick are taking to YouTube to answer fan’s burning questions regarding their lifestyle, how they grew up, and their courtship.

In a November 2020 Q&A, Jill and Derick explained their courtship was “played up” for TV. Here’s what they said.

Jill Duggar met Derick Dillard with the help of Jim Bob Duggar

While Jill may not be close with Jim Bob Duggar anymore, he was the one who brought her and Derick together. Back in 2012, Derick was doing humanitarian work in Nepal, and he wanted to share the work he was doing with Jim Bob. From there, Jim Bob knew Derick and Jill should meet.

“He sounded like an amazing young man,” Jim Bob explained. “I felt like from the beginning, they had similar personalities and goals. I thought they would hit it off.”

Derick and Jill then “met” via phone and video calls, and they got to know each other quite well before ever meeting in person. Finally, Jill traveled to Nepal along with Jim Bob to finally meet Derick. “I traveled over 36 hours to meet him and we had a film crew filming and jet lag so it is a different dynamic than most people have,” Jill explained. “But it was really special.”

Jill said her courtship wasn’t as ‘weird’ as fans think it was

Fans have plenty of opinions regarding Duggar courtships. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar explained their courtships have many rules, including no kissing, hugging, or alone time for the couple until marriage. But Jill took to YouTube to explain to her fans that her courtship wasn’t nearly as “weird” as it seemed on TV.

“I feel like there were maybe some misconceptions about our courtship,” Jill told her fans in her Q&A. “It was definitely a little bit more played up for the show and all that. So, things maybe weren’t as weird as they seemed.”

Jill then explained that she and Derick set their own “standards and rules” for their courtship, though the show made it seem like Jim Bob and Michelle set the rules. “We were encouraged by our parents — by my parents — to make rules for ourselves that we came up with on our own, but we probably would’ve done that anyways,” Jill added.

Derick mentioned he wished he called his courtship to Jill something other than a courtship, as the term feels “archaic.”

Derick said he should’ve held Jill’s hand during their courtship

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Jill and Derick full admit they didn’t do everything perfectly in their courtship. And they actually wished they would’ve taken some more liberties while dating. Derick said he wished he held Jill’s hand at the time, but he didn’t.

“We waited to hold hands until we got engaged,” Derick said. “That’s something that wasn’t a rule. We could’ve held hands before that, we just didn’t. And that might actually be something that I would’ve done differently, that we could’ve done differently. … I was 25 when we got engaged. I don’t know what I wasn’t holding your hand already.”

“No, you would’ve had to clear it with my dad,” Jill reassured. “You totally would’ve.”

“You think?” Derick asked.

“Yes!” Jill exclaimed.

Jill and Derick spilled even more tea about their personal relationship during their Q&A session. And we’re loving their honest takes on how they were presented on TLC!

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