Of all the rumors about the Duggar family -- and there are many -- one of the most unpleasant to contemplate is the claim that Jim Bob arranges his children's marriages.
Critics claim the patriarch hand-picks suitable partners for his children from other prominent fundamentalist families.
Now that Justin and Claire Spivey have entered a courtship while still in their teens, they've become the latest couple to be subjected to heavy scrutiny from arranged marriage theorists.
As usual, the Duggars have refused to acknowledge the speculation in any way.
But the same cannot be said for Claire's mother, Hilary Spivey.
Hilary recently posted a series of photos of Justin and Claire on her Instagram page, and she sang the couple's praises in the caption.
“What a joy it’s been to watch the Lord at work in their lives this last year!” she wrote, according to The Ashley's Reality Roundup.
“Sweet Justin has already been a special part of our family and we greatly love him!"
There's been much talk about when Justin and Claire might get married, and based on Hilary's high praise, we'd say these two are likely headed for the altar sooner rather than later.
But in the comments section, folks generally seemed more concerned with Justin and Claire's past than with their future.
“Was this really God that brought these two together, or a brokered deal with Jim Bob?” asked one follower.
“So odd. Guess Jim Bob arranged this one too,” another chimed in, seemingly remarking on how quickly these two appear to be moving.
The Duggar method is to simply ignore such speculation, but Hilary wasn't interested in that approach.
"Jim Bob has never once arranged a marriage,” she replied.
“All of those kids have been equipped well for life. They can handle lots of responsibility at a young age, unlike most in society today," Hilary continued, sounding very Karen-esque.
“Justin’s daddy told him that he knew he would marry young cause he was so responsible,” she went on.
“Trust me…we’ve been blessed to know [the Duggars] for years.”
For starters, it's not like Hilary would really know if Jim Bob had arranged any of his other kids' marriages.
We know the two families are friendly, but they also live in different states.
On top of that "all Jim Bob did was instruct the kid to marry young and then introduce him to the daughter of a like-minded family" isn't exactly the sort of story that's likely to silence the arranged marriage crowd.
As for when these two might tie the knot, that remains to be seen, as they're courting under unique circumstances.
They've been together since at least December of last year, but due to Justin's age (he's only 17) and the coronavirus, it might be a while before these two say "I do" in front of a couple thousand of Jim Bob's closest friends.
But when the time is right, it seems these two are ready and willing to make it official.
After all, Jim Bob didn't go to the trouble of arranging this thing just for Claire and Justin to break up! Just kidding, JB!
