You know what you think of the Duggars, but what do the Duggars think of the Duggars? On the Tuesday, October 25, “After Show” special of Counting On, the TLC show’s producers gathered the gang in Tennessee to watch footage of highlights from the season and get their reactions. First up was Jessa and Ben Seewald‘s recent pregnancy news.
“I am 17 and a half weeks along, and I’m feeling great,” Jessa reported with a smile. “I think with the first pregnancy, it seemed a lot longer because every week we were counting down the weeks, the months, until the baby would be here, and this time around we are chasing little Spurgeon, and so I think the weeks are going by a lot faster. I can’t believe we’re almost to the halfway mark already.” That said, she had yet to have an ultrasound, so she didn’t know much else (like if there were twins in there or what the gender was). Even if she did know, however, it sounded like she and Ben weren’t about to share.
“We might just keep it to ourselves,” Ben said. ICYMI, that’s what they did the first time around, just to keep the family in suspense. From there, the conversation shifted to basically mocking Ben for his terrible rapping skills, and replaying footage in which various family members confirm they’re not rap fans.
Jill and Derick Recount a Scary Night in Central America
Another theme that came up again and again was how dangerous life was for Jill and Derick Dillard when they were in Central America with their son, Israel. “One night we were getting ready to go to bed, and we heard this loud crashing sound,” Jill recalled. Her eyes welled with tears as she explained how she had gone to the bathroom with Israel (which was apparently their “safe room”) while Derick checked out what had caused the noise. While she was in the bathroom, she was messaging people back in the States to pray for them — but it turned out that the crash was just a shower rack falling to the floor. (It was unclear whether that falling fixture was in the bathroom where Jill was hiding or not.)
They also admitted that while Jill wasn’t pregnant yet, if she were to become pregnant, it could derail their plans to go back to do another round of missionary work.
Jeremy Surprised Jinger (Again!)
In what has become another theme of the season, Jeremy Vuolo arrived to surprise Jinger. He showed up with a dozen red roses for her, and she was delighted to have him there. Jeremy then discussed details of their courtship, like when Jim Bob grilled him over how he was planning to support Jinger’s thrift-store shopping habit. (Jessa chimed in that Jinger had told her she was “giving up” shopping after she got married — good luck with that, Jinge!)
He also confessed that there had been drama about Jinger’s ring because Jessa had initially told him Jinger was a 5½, but after he bought the ring (which was a 5½) she said she wasn’t sure anymore and had to get her own finger remeasured to confirm if she had told him the correct size. Jeremy said this caused him a lot of stress because apparently no one told Jeremy that rings can be resized pretty easily.
As for their racy courting habits (“racy” in that he sometimes puts his arm around her), Jeremy explained, “Jinger and I are both very affectionate. It means a lot to have an arm around or something, and that’s how we express our affection. We have a clean conscience as long as it’s not leading us to impurity.”
Jinger and Jeremy Reveal Baby Plans (Kinda)
Jinger and Jeremy also got grilled about their post-marriage plans. Jinger said that she would be moving all of her stuff to Laredo, Texas, before they got hitched so that she could settle in with him as soon as they got back from their honeymoon. In other news, when asked when they might start a family, Jeremy explained, “We really are just looking to the Lord to see what he provides.”
Derick chimed in with his own prediction. “Expecting by the end of the year!” he said with a smile. Neither Jinger nor Jeremy commented on that.
Tell Us: Do you think Jinger and Jeremy will be expecting a baby before the end of the year?
Counting On airs on TLC Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.