Despite all of the scandals and controversies involving her family, Jessa Duggar has managed to keep a low profile in recent years.

But she hasn’t backed away from the spotlight entirely, as some of her siblings have.

In fact, Jessa still posts occasional updates about her personal life on Instagram, where she enjoys interacting with her 2.5 million followers.

However, she’s managed to side-step recent tense conversations involving the patriarchal culture in which she was raised, the shocking crimes committed by her predatory older brother, and the cult-like organization that shaped the beliefs of her father, Jim Bob Duggar.

This tricky balancing act has created a tremendous amount of curiosity among fans:

Who is Jessa? Does she share her parents’ bizarre beliefs? And if not, how does she manage to get along with them (to say nothing of the rest of her massive, ultra-conservative family)?

No other Duggar has been able to so effectively balance their public and private lives, and there’s much to be learned from Jessa’s ability to have it both ways.

So join us as we offer up some …

Answers to the Most Common Questions About Jessa Duggar

We’ll begin with most important query of all:

Who Is Jessa Duggar?

Jessa Duggar is the fifth of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s 19 children.

It’s probably easy to feel lost in the crowd when you have that many siblings, but there are a few things that set Jessa apart from the pack:

For starters, when the first Josh Duggar sex scandal led to the cancelation of 19 Kids and Counting, Jessa and her elder sister Jill found themselves at the center of the family’s rebranding efforts.

After 19 Kids was canned, a new show, entitled Jill and Jessa: Counting On, took its place.

Eventually, the title was changed to just Counting On, and the focus expanded to once again include the entire Duggar family (allegedly at Jim Bob’s insistence).

Shortly thereafter, Jill quit the show and cut ties with Jim Bob, but Jessa remained a dutiful contributor to the Duggar media empire until the whole thing exploded amid Josh Duggar’s arrest on child pornography charges.

This loyalty has led many to conclude that Jessa is now her father’s favorite.

Some say she’s solidified that position by following in her parents’ footsteps and creating a large family at a very young age.

Duggar women are taught from a young age that procreation is their primary reason for being, and it’s their sacred duty to populate the planet with “soldiers for Christ.”

Jessa has two older sisters, but Jana is still single, and it doesn’t look like Jill is planning to have any more kids.

Jessa, on the other hand, has already welcomed four children (giving her one up on Jill), and there are those who believe she’s currently pregnant with her fifth.

She may never match her mother’s feat of birthing enough kids to make up two full baseball teams (with a spare to serve as umpire!), but it looks as though Jessa is just getting started.

How Old Is Jessa Duggar?

Jessa Duggar was born on November 4, 1992, which makes her 30 years old.

Like all of her siblings, she was born in Tontitown, Arkansas, where most of her family members still reside today.

Though she has four older siblings, Jessa is the only one to abide by her parents wishes that all of their children marry at a very young age and raise a large family (oh, and stay out of prison).

When Did Jessa Duggar Get Married?

Jessa Duggar married Ben Seewald on November 1, 2014.

The wedding took place just days before her 22nd birthday, and as was the Duggars’ custom in those days, it was a lavish affair with hundreds of guests in attendance.

The couple got engaged only after Ben survived Jim Bob’s rigorous vetting process (during which suitors are made to fill out a 423-question application), and in keeping with the family’s beliefs, they saved their first kiss for their wedding day.

How Many Kids Does Jessa Duggar Have?

Jessa Duggar is a mother of four.

She welcomed her first child, a boy named Spurgeon, on November 6, 2015, just over a year after she and Ben tied the knot.

In the years that followed, the couple welcomed three more kids in rapid succession — another boy, named Henry, and two girls, named Ivy and Fern.

The situation lead observers to note that Jessa was the Duggar daughter who seemed most likely to adhere to her parents’ views on family planning.

But after experiencing complications during her fifth pregnancy, Jessa may have decided that four is enough.

And that brings us to our next question.

Did Jessa Duggar Have an Abortion?

On February 24, 2023, the Seewalds posted a YouTube video in which they revealed that Jessa had suffered a miscarriage.

Specifically, Jessa was rushed to the hospital for a life-saving dilatation and curettage procedure in the eleventh week of her fifth pregnancy.

The Duggars are militantly anti-choice, and Jessa was slammed as a hypocrite by critics who claimed that she made an exception for herself while crusading to deny potentially life-saving medical care to other pregnant women.

Jessa has repeatedly denied these allegations, claiming that the procedure she underwent does not qualify as an abortion.

Critics maintain that Jessa is merely splitting hairs.

Jessa has been keeping a much lower profile in the months since news of the procedure went public, and many fans believe that when she returns to the spotlight she’ll be eager to share some exciting news …

Is Jessa Duggar Pregnant?

Rumors that Jessa is pregnant have been circulating for quite some time, but the 30-year-old mother of four has neither confirmed nor denied those reports.

Of course, she also hasn’t posted on social media in nearly two months, and many fans suspect that she’s keeping a low profile in order to conceal a baby bump.

The Duggars are a high-profile family, but there aren’t many paparazzi in Arkansas, so we probably won’t know if Jessa is expecting until she chooses to address the matter publicly.

Does Jessa Duggar Talk to Her Parents?

Another common topic in recent discussions about Jessa is how she’s managed to cope with the many recent scandals involving her family.

While Jill Duggar has cut ties with her parents, it appears that Jessa is still in regular contact with both Jim Bob and Michelle.

This is another issue that Jessa doesn’t discuss publicly, and we’re sure she shares many of her elder sister’s complaints about her upbringing, especially since both women were victimized by Josh.

But everyone copes with trauma differently, and it seems that Jessa has found a way to forgive her mom and dad for their horrendously negligent parenting.

But that doesn’t mean she still follows all of their ridiculous rules.

Does Jessa Duggar Wear Pants?

Though she was forced to wear long skirts at all times throughout her childhood, these days, Jessa Duggar proudly wears pants.

The Duggar dress code is one of the most notorious aspects of Jim Bob’s hyper-strict regime, as the main goal seems to be maintaining control over women and girls.

Along with her sisters, Jessa was forbidden to dress in “immodest” attire that might stir up lustful desires in the menfolk.

It’s impossible to believe that sort of thing still goes on in 2023, but the Duggars are quite open about the misogynistic nature of their belief system.

But once Duggar women get married, it’s their husbands, not their father, who decide what they’re allowed to wear, and Ben seems to be much more lenient than Jim Bob.

It’s not the most progressive system, but at least Jessa is finally experiencing a taste of freedom.

And that brings us to our final question:

How Is Jessa Duggar?

Jessa Duggar has been through a lot in her young life, and the past few years have been particularly challenging.

As her social media hiatus drags on, concerns about her well-being continue to mount.

We don’t know much about how well she’s holding up these days, and we can only hope that she’s getting the support that she needs from her loved ones.

 

Jessa Duggar: Answers to All of Your Questions About Jim Bob’s Favorite Daughter! was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.