Who Is Lawson Bates, and Why Do People Think He’s Courting Jana Duggar?
Normally, it’s not a major media event when a person joins Instagram. But things are a little different if you’re a Duggar. When 28-year-old Jana Duggar made her debut on social media this week, fans freaked out. That’s because in the past, the Duggar daughters have only started using social media until after they start courting (the Duggar-approved version of dating) or they get married.
While Jana’s sister Jessa shut down the courting rumors, fans aren’t convinced she’s telling the truth when she says her big sibling is “not in a relationship.” Many believe Jana might be involved with Lawson Bates.
Who is Lawson Bates?
Like Jana, Lawson comes from a big family with a background in reality TV. He’s one of 19 kids in a fundamentalist Christian family who star on UP TV’s shows Bringing Up Bates.
The 26-year-old musician has released several solo albums and toured around the country. While he’s not quite as famous as the Duggar siblings, he has a solid fan based going by the numbers of followers on his Instagram and Facebook accounts. He’s said he wants to make it on his own as an artist independent of his family.
“With [my] music [career], it has been different,” Bates told Fox News in 2017. “It’s not me with the Bates family. It’s make it or break it based off of my music strictly. That is a little scary especially when you’re writing country music you share a lot of your heart.”
Why do people think Lawson and Jana are courting?
While Jana and Lawson obviously have some things in common, that’s not the only reason why fans think the two might be getting ready to make a big announcement. After Jana joined Instagram, Lawson made a friendly comment on her first post, writing “so tech savvy” followed by a couple of emoji. That caused some people to speculate that the two were involved.
It’s not the first time Jana and Lawson sparked social media rumors. Last summer, the singer posted – and then quickly deleted – a photo of Jana on his Instagram. That caused some to speculate that the two were an item, but not yet ready to make a public announcement, noted the Inquisitr.
The Jana-Lawson gossip isn’t new by any means. Back in 2017, Lawson’s mom Kelly Jo Bates addressed rumors the two were courting, saying nothing was going on.
The Duggar and Bates families have been friends for years, and at least some people think a marriage is bound to happen between two of the kids eventually.
“I personally think, hey you have 19 kids on each side, I think it’s almost inevitable somewhere down the line,” Lawson’s sister Erin told ET in 2015. “As much as we see each other, I think there’s going to be an attraction somewhere. I don’t know where yet, but I think it’s gonna happen.”
Why isn’t Jana Duggar married?
Duggar family fans have long wondered why Jana, who is the oldest girl in the family, hasn’t married. Several of her younger sisters have courted, married, and had kids of their own, but she still lives at home in Arkansas.
While it’s hardly unusual for someone to still be single at 28, it’s a bit odd in the Duggar world, where people – especially women – tend to marry young. But Jana seems content to bide her time until the right guy comes along.
“There have been different guys come along and ask, but they haven’t been the right one. It’s just one of those things,” she said on Jill and Jessa: Counting On in 2016. “I’m not just out to get married to the first one who comes along … [I’m] just being busy with where God has me right now and being content in this place and learning as much as I can.”
