Joy-Anna Duggar Reveals a Sibling Ratted Her out for Breaking a ‘Courtship Rule’
Joy-Anna Forsyth has been married since 2017. The former reality TV star has stepped back from YouTube in recent months, but she’s not against sharing information about her upbringing online. In a recent podcast interview, Joy-Anna confirmed what Duggar family followers long suspected: the Duggar kids were more than happy to “tell” on each other. She recalled her brother ratting her out when she broke one of the family’s courtship rules.
Joy-Anna Duggar got in ‘trouble’ for touching Austin Forsyth before engagement
Joy-Anna Duggar recently appeared on The Unplanned Podcast to discuss her life and upbringing. During the chat, the former reality TV star revealed that she and Austin Forsyth, her now husband, were reprimanded by Jim Bob Duggar for breaking a courtship rule when they were dating.
Joy explained that Austin had been in a car accident while they were dating. She headed to the site of the accident with her father to support him. Joy recalled being so overwhelmed with concern that she held Austin’s arm tightly, an action considered verboten during courtship for the family. She revealed that her father had told her to let go of him and admonished the couple for touching during the courtship phase.
Her own brother told on her
While Jim Bob Duggar told Joy to stop touching her then-boyfriend, he overlooked the infraction at first. Joy revealed that one of her brothers, who happened to be on-scene, pointed out the couple’s physical closeness to Jim Bob. Joy said she was “annoyed” that her brother felt the need to tell on her, considering the circumstances. She didn’t reveal which of her ten brothers was the whistleblower.
While the Duggar kids clearly told on each other to their parents, both as kids and young adults, they’ve been careful to cover for each other in public. Joy isn’t the first Duggar sibling to not name names. Jill Dillard didn’t name which siblings were on her side and which were against her during the earlier stages of her rift with Jim Bob Duggar. Family followers, however, have their own theories.
What are the Duggar family’s courtship rules?
The Duggar family is no longer on TV. Since the cancelation of their reality TV series, they have seemingly loosened up courtship rules. Jason Duggar and his new wife, Maddie Jones, didn’t follow most of the family’s rules. Jeremiah Duggar and his wife, Hannah Wissmann, seemingly forewent some rules against physical touch before marriage, too. Still, the stricter rules were in play when Joy was courting Austin. So, what rules were they forced to follow?
As Joy pointed out during her podcast appearance, she and Austin weren’t allowed to hold hands before engagement. The Duggar family also bans kissing and front hugs before marriage. Additionally, courting couples weren’t allowed to spend time alone together, nor were they allowed private conversations or texts. Once they set the wedding date, side hugs and hand-holding were allowed. All other physical affection remained off-limits until after they read their vows.
