Josiah and Lauren: He Has To Marry Somebody

[Albanyguy]

2 minutes ago, Churchhoney said:

And, of course, at the Duggar house your life has always been a performance for not just fans, but for the people who are supposed to be following your example to a holy life! The people who "love," "admire" and "look up to these people." And I'm sure their duties to those people have been repeatedly banged into their heads by their hideous, disgusting, loathsome mother and father. 

And unfortunately, there are enough leghumpers out there, lavishing praise on every message and photo the Duggars post, to reinforce this belief.

[Churchhoney]

4 minutes ago, Albanyguy said:

And unfortunately, there are enough leghumpers out there, lavishing praise on every message and photo the Duggars post, to reinforce this belief.

So true.

And really, I think just about anybody would fall for this. 

If something you do gets thousands of people fawning over you, who isn't going to repeat the thing?

Are any of us actually sensible and disciplined enough to stop, reflect, and realize that we shouldn't? I kind of doubt it. Or at least not more than about a thousandth of one percent of the population. Seriously. 

[JoanArc]

20 minutes ago, NotthebadVictoria said:

Laughed so hard I spit coffee

Ultrasound of an empty uterus? (While not kissing)

Edited May 13, 2019 by JoanArc

[rue721]

7 hours ago, Barb23 said:

Once again we ask the question why did he need to put this private message on social media? He could have written a generic Happy Mother's Day wish to all mothers or to Mechelle & Lauren's mother & kept this message between just him & Lauren. 

In this case, Josiah is probably under immense familial/religious/social pressure to "prove" his righteousness by being "blessed" with a child, so it's a complicated situation. He and Lauren are probably racked with fear right now that they haven't had a baby because they aren't right with God, that Lauren has failed to "save" Josiah from himself, that Josiah is still a sinner, etc.

From what we've seen of this crowd, I think their childlessness is probably like a scarlet letter, so by making a public statement that basically declares Lauren a mother despite that apparent lack of children, I think he's probably trying to defend Lauren, their marriage, himself (like someone else said up-thread).

I don't think that's the case for all of these couples, but I think it's the case for Josiah and Lauren in particular. Like, I don't think that anybody was thinking that Jinger wasn't right with God when she didn't get pregnant right away, etc, but it seems like Josiah has had different problems with his family than Jinger did and got married for different reasons.

Of course, what do I know! This is just based on my intuition.

[luvbadtv]

On 5/12/2019 at 4:54 PM, Lunera said:

OMG just stop! Lauren was never a mother! They are doing entirely too much. Are they celebrating the fetus's bday too? I don't remember seeing a stocking for their "sweet baby" during Xmas. If she has more miscarriages will they treat "it" as special as the fist. 

Do they not own an iron?

[madpsych78]

On 5/13/2019 at 7:31 AM, rue721 said:

In this case, Josiah is probably under immense familial/religious/social pressure to "prove" his righteousness by being "blessed" with a child, so it's a complicated situation. He and Lauren are probably racked with fear right now that they haven't had a baby because they aren't right with God, that Lauren has failed to "save" Josiah from himself, that Josiah is still a sinner, etc.

From what we've seen of this crowd, I think their childlessness is probably like a scarlet letter, so by making a public statement that basically declares Lauren a mother despite that apparent lack of children, I think he's probably trying to defend Lauren, their marriage, himself (like someone else said up-thread).

I don't think that's the case for all of these couples, but I think it's the case for Josiah and Lauren in particular. Like, I don't think that anybody was thinking that Jinger wasn't right with God when she didn't get pregnant right away, etc, but it seems like Josiah has had different problems with his family than Jinger did and got married for different reasons.

Of course, what do I know! This is just based on my intuition.

I think the difference between Josiah and Jinger is that with the Vuolos, Jeremy calls the shots. I suspect that Jeremy decided that he and Jinger were going to get to know one another during their first year of marriage. I don't think Jeremy gave two shits about what any other fundies thought as long as he ascribed their childlessness in their first year to God's will. 

In contrast, Josiah's the headship and he comes from a family of 19 children. Even Lauren comes from a family of 9 (?) children. The pressure to have a large family is bigger with them, in my opinion, than with the Vuolos. 

There was a post on the Fellowship thread about Marjorie graduating from college. Although the sentiment was that Marjorie dodged a bullet when the courtship ended by not infiltrating herself with the Duggars, I think the big unknown for me is Josiah's role in all of this. I don't know how his feelings for Marjorie compare to that of his feelings for Lauren, but I think it's pretty clear that Lauren has chugged copious amounts of Kool-Aid compared to Marjorie. If Josiah had ended up marrying Marjorie, would she have become more sucked in to the Duggar vortex? Possibly, but I think due to JB and Michelle, as I just can't imagine Josiah having such a dominant personality where it's his way or the highway. He seems like Ben in this regard. 

[Barb23]

1 hour ago, luvbadtv said:

Do they not own an iron?

I was thinking the same thing.  Plus they have plenty of time to iron.

[sleepysuzy]

My social media feeds have plenty of posts from women of all religious beliefs and backgrounds memorializing pregnancy losses on Mother's day, infant and child loss day (October 15), and many other times throughout the year. A major point in loss support groups is not to minimize early loss. Gothard, fundamentalists, and Laren Duggar are not unique in this. I know women with living children who mourn for and have given names to early first trimester losses. Single moms, women who have been divorced multiple times, career women with college degrees - about as different from the Duggars as anyone.

[FizzyPuff]

On 5/13/2019 at 5:23 AM, Barb23 said:

Once again we ask the question why did he need to put this private message on social media? He could have written a generic Happy Mother's Day wish to all mothers or to Mechelle & Lauren's mother & kept this message between just him & Lauren. 

Unfortunately everyone seems to put everything online nowadays, no sense of privacy anymore. They’re in the public eye though so they probably feel like we should know all this. I wonder if anyone of them is reluctant to share though? Josiah doesn’t seem like the sharing type.

Also wish he didn’t change his username siduggar always made me laugh. 

[Churchhoney]

22 hours ago, madpsych78 said:

In contrast, Josiah's the headship and he comes from a family of 19 children. Even Lauren comes from a family of 9 (?) children. The pressure to have a large family is bigger with them, in my opinion, than with the Vuolos. 

Yeah, I don't think Jeremy's been imbued with any pressure at all to produce a lot of children.

I actually think that if he ends up being a parent who pressures or manipulates his own children in any way it's going to be because that's his personal character, personality, beliefs and choice and not some tradition or genetic quirk he got from his parents.

I disagree with the vast majority of what I've ever heard Chuck Vuolo say about religion and i disagree with everything I've heard him say about the place of women in the world. However, given how his own three kids are living their lives, I'm pretty sure Chuck and Diana have allowed their kids to make their own choices and become the individuals that they are and choose to be and that they believe that's the right way to parent. 

That sets them at the opposite pole of parenting (the good pole) from JB and M, and, most likely, from the Gothard-embracing Swansons as well. 

Edited May 15, 2019 by Churchhoney

[mynextmistake]

22 hours ago, sleepysuzy said:

My social media feeds have plenty of posts from women of all religious beliefs and backgrounds memorializing pregnancy losses on Mother's day, infant and child loss day (October 15), and many other times throughout the year. A major point in loss support groups is not to minimize early loss. Gothard, fundamentalists, and Laren Duggar are not unique in this. I know women with living children who mourn for and have given names to early first trimester losses. Single moms, women who have been divorced multiple times, career women with college degrees - about as different from the Duggars as anyone.

Thank you. I had an early miscarriage after having Mini Mistake, and I grieved. I was unaware that people think that only women who carry to a certain number of weeks are allowed to be upset when they miscarry. It’s a deeply personal experience. Lauren and Si are allowed to share their feelings about her miscarriage and the fact that some random internet stranger’s sister-in-law didn’t think her miscarriage counted until the second trimester doesn’t matter a bit. Can’t we snark without being heartless? 

[Lunera]

Lauren wore Jinger's old maternity dress to her birthday dinner 

[jcbrown]

1 hour ago, Lunera said:

Lauren wore Jinger's old maternity dress to her birthday dinner 

Jill looks certifiable in the first pic.

[ozziemom]

58 minutes ago, jcbrown said:

Jill looks certifiable in the first pic.

Dead eyes. Lauren’s mom looks younger than Jill.

[BigBingerBro]

That's her mom!?!  I thought it was a slightly older sister!

[Sew Sumi]

Lauren's the oldest Swanson spawn.

[JoanArc]

Ooh shit.  Looks like she forced Josiah  to do the deed again. 

[fonfereksglen]

1 hour ago, JoanArc said:

Ooh shit.  Looks like she forced Josiah  to do the deed again. 

I look at it differently and feel sorry for this girl.   Very sad situation.

[Lunera]

I can imagine Lauren making them have a weird prayer ritual  before sex. These two are so strange, that's all they care about. There is no spark like there is between Abbie and JD.

[BrianJ1962]

1 hour ago, JoanArc said:

Ooh shit.  Looks like she forced Josiah  to do the deed again. 

Missionary position I'm sure, no kink only vanilla

[fonfereksglen]

2 minutes ago, Lunera said:

I can imagine Lauren making them have a weird prayer ritual  before sex. These two are so strange, that's all they care about. There is no spark like there is between Abbie and JD.

How is that her fault?  In that picture, she is the young heifer surrounded by a bunch of perpetually milking cows.

[awaken]

Holy flaring nostrils, Lauren’s mom!!  

Yep- maternity dresses the last few photos, cradling the belly in this one.  It’s official. 

[zoomama]

58 minutes ago, Lunera said:

I can imagine Lauren making them have a weird prayer ritual  before sex. These two are so strange, that's all they care about. There is no spark like there is between Abbie and JD.

lauren LOOKS preggers here....maybe keeping quiet till further along but her belly looks pretty rounded.

[Barb23]

7 hours ago, ozziemom said:

Dead eyes. Lauren’s mom looks younger than Jill.

10 hours ago, Lunera said:

Lauren wore Jinger's old maternity dress to her birthday dinner 

Notice how nice Lauren's mom's hair looks compared with Jill's mop.  Jill could have at least combed or brushed hers that morning.  Or it looks much better when she braids it or wears it up. Lauren's hair looks nice as well.

6 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

That's her mom!?!  I thought it was a slightly older sister!

I'm surprised too.  I didn't recognize her & was going to ask who she was.

[mynextmistake]

If she is pregnant, Josiah’s mother’s day post doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. 

[floridamom]

I don't remember Lauren being that 'well endowed'. Her bust looks like it grew 4 cup sizes. I have to wonder too, if she's expecting.

[FizzyPuff]

7 hours ago, Barb23 said:

Notice how nice Lauren's mom's hair looks compared with Jill's mop.  Jill could have at least combed or brushed hers that morning.  Or it looks much better when she braids it or wears it up. Lauren's hair looks nice as well.

I'm surprised too.  I didn't recognize her & was going to ask who she was.

I hope Lauren’s mom gave them all tips about the benefit of getting a hair cut now and again. Does anyone find it weird that Jill has a nose piercing but she’s never had a hair cut?

[BitterApple]

Lauren's definitely pregnant. Her boobs are huge, she's wearing a maternity dress and you can see a slight rounding in her belly. I'm assuming they're just waiting longer to announce.

I hope things go well for her this time around, but there's just something about her and Si's relationship that is so sad. 

[ginger90]

[Scarlett45]

1 hour ago, BitterApple said:

Lauren's definitely pregnant. Her boobs are huge, she's wearing a maternity dress and you can see a slight rounding in her belly. I'm assuming they're just waiting longer to announce.

I hope things go well for her this time around, but there's just something about her and Si's relationship that is so sad. 

I think so too. I don’t think Josiah would be an unkind or cruel husband, but yes there is something about their relationship that’s just “off”. You can tell Joe & Kendra like each other quite a bit, Josiah seems to barely tolerate Lauren sometimes. 

She JUST turned 20? So she married at 18? Didn’t see and Josiah get married a year ago?(she was 18, almost 19). Golly. I’ll have to look at Duggar data but Kendra was the youngest bride and she was a close second. 

[madpsych78]

There's something about Josiah wearing a Superman shirt that I find delightful. 

Edited May 19, 2019 by madpsych78

[JoanArc]

14 hours ago, fonfereksglen said:

I look at it differently and feel sorry for this girl.   Very sad situation.

Oh I feel sorry for her , and everyone who isn’t a parent responsible for this. But there are levels of responsibility.

[Lisa418722]

14 hours ago, fonfereksglen said:

I look at it differently and feel sorry for this girl.   Very sad situation.

I feel sorry for both Lauren and Josiah because they are in a relationship that neither one of them really wanted, in my opinion.   If she is pregnant, I am happy for both of them so that maybe people will lay off them for a little while (family as well as their followers). 

[Temperance]

1 hour ago, Scarlett45 said:

I think so too. I don’t think Josiah would be an unkind or cruel husband, but yes there is something about their relationship that’s just “off”. You can tell Joe & Kendra like each other quite a bit, Josiah seems to barely tolerate Lauren sometimes. 

She JUST turned 20? So she married at 18? Didn’t see and Josiah get married a year ago?(she was 18, almost 19). Golly. I’ll have to look at Duggar data but Kendra was the youngest bride and she was a close second. 

She and Josiah got married last June at the end of June.  (She would have turned 19 in May). Every Duggar and Bates bride/groom has been at least 19 when they got married. Kendra was the youngest Duggar bride, then Lauren, etc. Here is the chart from Duggar Data:

"Kendra Caldwell   Age 19.08

Lauren Swanson   Age 19.12

Ben Seewald   Age 19.46

Joy Duggar   Age 19.58

Anna Keller   Age 20.26

Josh Duggar   Age 20.57

Josiah Duggar   Age 21.84

Jessa Duggar   Age 21.99

Joseph Duggar   Age 22.63

Jinger Duggar   Age 22.87

Jill Duggar   Age 23.10

Austin Forsyth   Age 23.46

Derick Dillard   Age 25.28

Abbie Burnett   Age 26.55

John Duggar   Age 28.81

Jeremy Vuolo   Age 29.17"

[zoomama]

44 minutes ago, Temperance said:

She and Josiah got married last June at the end of June.  (She would have turned 19 in May). Every Duggar and Bates bride/groom has been at least 19 when they got married. Kendra was the youngest Duggar bride, then Lauren, etc. Here is the chart from Duggar Data:

"Kendra Caldwell   Age 19.08

Lauren Swanson   Age 19.12

Ben Seewald   Age 19.46

Joy Duggar   Age 19.58

Anna Keller   Age 20.26

Josh Duggar   Age 20.57

Josiah Duggar   Age 21.84

Jessa Duggar   Age 21.99

Joseph Duggar   Age 22.63

Jinger Duggar   Age 22.87

Jill Duggar   Age 23.10

Austin Forsyth   Age 23.46

Derick Dillard   Age 25.28

Abbie Burnett   Age 26.55

John Duggar   Age 28.81

Jeremy Vuolo   Age 29.17"

call me dim but i do not understand this chart.

[MsJamieDornan]

Age plus days ???

Edited May 19, 2019 by MsJamieDornan

[Churchhoney]

35 minutes ago, zoomama said:

call me dim but i do not understand this chart.

Not dim at all. Just an unusual presentation. (very unusual!)

I think the number after the decimal point is the percentage of their next full year of life the spouse had attained by the wedding day....

So Kendra turned 19 in August and got married in early September -- and wasn't even a tenth of the way to turning 20. She'd passed through a mere 8 percent of her 20th year when she got married. That made her 19.08 years old when she married. 

And so on.....

Boy,  I'd almost forgotten how young Bin was when he got himself into the soup. 

Edited May 19, 2019 by Churchhoney

[Scarlett45]

26 minutes ago, Churchhoney said:

Not dim at all. Just an unusual presentation. (very unusual!)

I think the number after the decimal point is the percentage of their next full year of life the spouse had attained by the wedding day....

So Kendra turned 19 in August and got married in early September -- and wasn't even a tenth of the way to turning 20. She'd passed through a mere 8 percent of her 20th year when she got married. That made her 19.08 years old when she married. 

And so on.....

Boy,  I'd almost forgotten how young Bin was when he got himself into the soup. 

Yes exactly that’s how the information is presented. 

[Churchhoney]

29 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

Yes exactly that’s how the information is presented. 

It really highlights Bin. He wasn't even 19 and a half. And on the fast track to fathering a baseball team. Yikes. 

ETA: Just noticed that, on the same wedding day, wife Jessa was 99 percent of her way from 21 to 22. I knew they backed the wedding up against her birthday to keep her 21 when she married the 19-year-old. but I love seeing the .99 after her 21. 😁

Edited May 19, 2019 by Churchhoney

[BrianJ1962]

34 minutes ago, Churchhoney said:

He wasn't even 19 and a half.

Blessed Jessa was almost robbing the cradle with Dust Bin.

[Lunera]

Yup, Jessa was so desperate to leave Boob's grasp she settled for a teen groom. Shows how immature she was too, being 21 and going after and 18 year old. He turns 24 today btw.

[Scarlett45]

18 minutes ago, Lunera said:

Yup, Jessa was so desperate to leave Boob's grasp she settled for a teen groom. Shows how immature she was too, being 21 and going after and 18 year old. He turns 24 today btw.

This doesn’t bother me- it wasn’t as if Jessa was especially worldly or emotionally mature. She had more hours of childcare duties due to being a Duggar but she wasn’t out living as an adult for 3 years and trying to “date” someone just out of high school. 

Kendra & Joe, Austin & Joy are also about 2.5 yrs a part. 

I do think she wanted to get from under JB’s thumb but I also think she did like/was physically attracted to Ben. 

[Nysha]

2 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

Kendra & Joe, Austin & Joy are also about 2.5 yrs a part. 

Yep, and while there have been remarks about Kendra still being a teenager, nobody is accusing Joe of trolling for high school students. There is still a bias about women being older than their husbands.

[Scarlett45]

1 minute ago, Nysha said:

Yep, and while there have been remarks about Kendra still being a teenager, nobody is accusing Joe of trolling for high school students. There is still a bias about women being older than their husbands.

The age gap isn’t even that big! It’s not as if Jessa was 32 and courting an 18/19 year old. In the real world they would’ve been in college at the same time. 

[Churchhoney]

53 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

The age gap isn’t even that big! It’s not as if Jessa was 32 and courting an 18/19 year old. In the real world they would’ve been in college at the same time. 

Plus, they're all very young for their ages. Both the Duggarlings and most of the marryers-in come from very sheltered environments. I don't think there's a whole lot of difference between a youngish 20-something and a 19 year old in their super-sheltered world. None of them have really been off the homestead or ever fended for themselves. 

I worry about Bin himself, though, because when the show eventually ends supporting that family's going to be on his head, I fear. And I don't think he's really gotten the opportunity to prepare for that particular burden. His growing-up-and-getting-training-and-job-experience period was cut very short, no matter how old or young the immediate-breeder he married was, in their world. 

[awaken]

Uh, I believe that’s a macaron, Lauren, not a macaroon!  

[madpsych78]

4 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

This doesn’t bother me- it wasn’t as if Jessa was especially worldly or emotionally mature. She had more hours of childcare duties due to being a Duggar but she wasn’t out living as an adult for 3 years and trying to “date” someone just out of high school. 

Kendra & Joe, Austin & Joy are also about 2.5 yrs a part. 

I do think she wanted to get from under JB’s thumb but I also think she did like/was physically attracted to Ben. 

I think most of the couples are in the range of 2 to 3 years apart, with the exceptions being Josh/Anna (months apart) and Jeremy/Jinger (6 years apart).

[cmr2014]

5 hours ago, Churchhoney said:

Plus, they're all very young for their ages. Both the Duggarlings and most of the marryers-in come from very sheltered environments. I don't think there's a whole lot of difference between a youngish 20-something and a 19 year old in their super-sheltered world. None of them have really been off the homestead or ever fended for themselves. 

I worry about Bin himself, though, because when the show eventually ends supporting that family's going to be on his head, I fear. And I don't think he's really gotten the opportunity to prepare for that particular burden. His growing-up-and-getting-training-and-job-experience period was cut very short, no matter how old or young the immediate-breeder he married was, in their world. 

Oddly enough, I think Ben might be okay. He's shown some actual get-up-and-go in the past.

As creepy as it sounds, he saw Jessa on television, decided to meet/marry her and made it happen. He had a couple of jobs before courting, too -- windshield repair and working in an insurance office. He has also continued his education despite what I would imagine are VERY strong headwinds against such a "waste" of time and money in Duggar-world.

[Trillium]

Lauren is pregnant

Couldn’t announce until they got their paycheck from People. 

[Lunera]

Lauren is pregnant 

https://people.com/tv/josiah-duggar-lauren-swanson-expecting-after-miscarriage/