As we reported earlier this week, Justin Duggar and Claire Spivey are engaged after what appeared to be a very brief and very intense courtship.
Now, Duggars getting engaged at a very young age is obviously nothing new -- but Justin took it to a new level.
Jim Bob and Michelle's 14th child just turned 18 this week, and he celebrated the occasion by proposing to his girlfriend.
It seems that even other members of the Duggar clan were surprised by this development, especially as Justin and Claire courted for a mere two months.
Lately, the best (read: only) honest source for inside Duggar news has been Derick and Jill Dillard, who are completely on the outs with her family, and thus have nothing to lose by speaking out.
"Amazingly surprised that your brother is 17 and engaged!!!" a fan recently commented on Jill's Instagram page.
"Why do you guys rush to married life? He's a kid and Claire too!!"
Derick responded on Jill's behalf, and he cut right to the chase in a way that we're not accustomed to from Duggars.
"Because we want to have sex," Derick replied.
Jill added a licking lips emoji, which is more than a little gross when you consider that this started as a conversation about her brother's sex life.
Because she's still a Duggar woman, Jill was not allowed to pass up this opportunity to compliment her husband's sexual prowess:
“And you’re more popular than me babe,” she wrote, seemingly implying that Arkansas evangelical chicks were falling all over themselves to bang a WalMart accountant named Derick.
We're sure Jill and Derick think they're being relatably edgy here, but they're really just highlighting the stupidity of the Duggars' ban on premarital sex.
Marriage is an important decision and a major commitment, and it's not something that two teens should rush into solely because they're desperate to get laid.
Joking about it is an important step in the right direction for Jill and Derick, but really, the Dillards should be speaking candidly about what an insane system they were born into and vowing to break the cycle with their own kids.
Now, that would be real progress.
The rebellion against Jim Bob is amusing to watch, but it's meaningless unless it results in real change for future generations.
Jill drinks alcohol now, and that's great, but hopefully she's really thinking about why she was taught it was evil and vowing not to fill her kids heads with such nonsense.
As for Claire and Justin, they seem to have no problem with jumping through some hoops before they're allowed to jump each other's bones.
“There is nothing comparable to finding the one you are meant to spend your life with,” the pair recently told Us Weekly.
“We know we have found that in each other. We cannot wait to be married and are looking forward to a life together of faith in Christ, love for one another and happiness!”
It's great that these two are happy.
But it's beyond sad that this is the only way they could get physical with one another without being disowned by their parents.
