The Duggar Family: Every Theory Regarding Jana Duggar’s Single Status
Jana Duggar turned 33 in January. She remains unmarried. While that’s nothing to even talk about most of the time, in the Duggar family’s ultra-conservative Christian circle, an unmarried 33-year-old woman certainly gets looks. Duggar family followers have been curious about Jana Duggar’s perpetually single status, too. Multiple theories about why she remains single have been tossed around. We’ve collected them all.
Theory #1: Jana Duggar has stayed behind to protect her siblings
By the time the Josh Duggar molestation scandal broke, Jessa Seewald and Jill Dillard were married. Jinger Vuolo was heading toward courtship with Jeremy Vuolo, and Joy-Anna Forsyth had her eye on Austin Forsyth. Jana didn’t have any significant dating prospects on the horizon.
Some Duggar family followers have theorized that Jana Duggar refused suitable dating prospects and stayed single to stay behind and protect her younger siblings from possible abuse. The theory has been floated around several forums for years. There is no real evidence to support the claim, though.
Theory #2: Jana Duggar hasn’t married because she doesn’t want children of her own
The Duggar family doesn’t believe in using birth control. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar built their entire brand around that fact. While several Duggar kids seem interested in letting fate dictate the number of kids they have, others have decided to utilize family planning methods to inform the size of their families. Whether or not the Duggar kids opt to use birth control seems directly influenced by their religious beliefs. Those still involved with the IBLP don’t seem to use birth control. The family members who have left the controversial ministry do.
Since Jana is still involved with the IBLP, it’s possible that she’s opted to forgo marriage because she doesn’t want children of her own or would like to limit the number of children she has. If she had gotten married in her early 20s, she could have had 10 or more children. Now in her 30s, she has fewer childbearing years left, even if she were to get married. It would be an interesting strategy, and the theory seems sound. Still, Jana has never openly discussed her feelings about having her own kids.
Theory #3: The Duggar daughter had her heartbroken and has never recovered
Jana Duggar has never publicly announced a romance. Year after year, her siblings got married. Year after year, rumors persisted that Jana was finally dating someone. Followers suspected she was seeing Lawson Bates briefly. There was talk of a romance with Tim Tebow. Most recently, she was linked to Stephan Wissmann after being spotted at the home of Wissmann’s family.
None of those courtship rumors became a reality, but some followers think Jana might be nursing a broken heart. Reddit users have speculated that Jana was once interested in Chad Paine, but he opted to marry someone else, and Jana has never recovered from the heartbreak. Chad Piane has been married to Erin Bates since 2013. There is no concrete evidence that Jana was interested in Chad, though.
Theory #4: Jana has her sights set on a female friend
Jana Duggar might not be married, but the 33-year-old has a pretty active and robust life. She travels, visits her siblings, and has a social circle. One person keeps popping up on her social media feed. A woman named Laura DeMasie spends a lot of time with Jana and the rest of the Duggars.
Laura has accompanied the Duggar family on trips and has planned events for them. At 38, she, too, is unmarried. Since Jana and Laura are both single and spend a lot of time together, some Duggar family followers question whether their friendship has taken a turn toward the romantic. Jana insists that is not the case.
Theory #5: Jim Bob won’t let her get married
Duggar family followers have spent years giving Jim Bob Duggar the side eye. While he tried to project a goofy and likable image on Counting On and 19 Kids and Counting, family followers still suspect Jim Bob is completely in control of his family. Derick Dillard made it clear that Jim Bob keeps money from his kids, and several Duggar sons-in-law have discussed the questionnaire they had to fill out to get past Jim Bob to court one of his daughters.
Based on the infamous questionnaire and the courtship rules, some family followers suspect Jim Bob has been holding Jana back from a courtship. They theorize that Jana is too important to the upkeep of the household, so Jim Bob has been turning away suitors until he feels things can be managed without her. Currently, the youngest Duggar child is 13, so Jana should be getting her chance to marry any day now if this theory is correct.
What has Jana said about the situation?
While there are plenty of theories about why she has failed to walk down the aisle, Jana doesn’t speak on the topic often. Still, she’s made some snarky social media posts about her single status. She has also gotten real on camera about it at least once.
In a later episode of Counting On, Jana discussed her plans for the future. She was wistful in the sitdown interview and said she hoped she’d be married within five years. That hasn’t happened, but based on her answer, it seems she’s interested in settling down. Unless one of the other theories is proven correct, it appears that Jana just hasn’t happened upon “the one” just yet.
