A two-hour episode of Counting On airs in just a few hours. You can visit the TLC website and sign in with your TV provider to watch half of tonight's show before it airs on live TV.
Below is a preview of the girls' night out that Lauren Swanson has with Jana Duggar, Kendra Duggar, Jessa Seewald, and Joy-Anna Forsyth soon after moving to Arkansas.
Photo/video courtesy TLC
Where is Lauren from?
ReplyDeleteGeorgia
DeleteGeorgia
DeleteI think the Swansons are from Georgia.
DeleteGeorgia is what I've read before.
DeleteGeorgia
DeleteGeorgia, I think.
DeleteI heard she is from Georgia.
DeleteI had the pleasure of meeting most of the Duggars when they came to Kilsyth in Australia earlier this year.
ReplyDeleteWhat struck me then was meeting Lauren as I had no idea who she was or how she fit in back then. But she was so comfortable with all of Josiah’s siblings; basically acting as an older sister already.
Josiah and Lauren were both so incredibly friendly; my partner and I spent heaps of time talking to both of them!
I’m so happy they’ve gotten married now! They’re a true asset to one another.
What a nice opportunity! Lauren does seem to fit in really well with his family.
DeleteThanks for that witness, Anon from AU. Lauren definitely seemed much more relaxed and spontaneous when she was just chatting with "the girls" than she did in the videos released pre-season.
DeleteHowever Josiah himself has seemed a little wooden and overly rehearsed in a lot of his appearances, including the "court-posal" episode, acting like he's following a script, and not speaking from his heart. (Which to be fair is something I often sense with other Duggars, but Josiah hasn't come across like that in non-courtship related TV appearances.)
Hence the many concerned fans who have wondered if he married at least partly out of a sense of family duty. It's nice that the family already loves Lauren but not if that made Josiah feel he had to marry her or risk disappointing the family (yet again in light of the outcome of his first courtship).
It seems that when you saw them off camera, they were actually acting like a real couple, so that makes me less concerned about whether their marriage will be a success long-term.
5:36 PM: Awww, that's awesome. Thanks for sharing that, good to hear
DeleteThis was one of my least favorite court-posals. I feel like it was weird to ask her in that setting, it wasn’t romantic.
ReplyDeleteIt reminded me on Ben and Jessa’s, at a broom closet with both her parents watching.
I feel that Jeremy and Austin at least tried to make it intimate and thoughtful even though they were chaperoned. And Joe’s gesture of taking Kendra to his childhood home was nice even though it was creepy how her dad was just watching them intensely lol. Josiah’s court-postal underwhelmed me.
Those are the things that make the best stories when you've been married 25 years or so.
DeleteAsking to court isn't supposed to be a huge up do, its supposed to be the equivalent of asking someone to be your girlfriend. The bates take to extremes
DeleteI agree the "court-proposal" wasn't very romantic or personalized compared to some others, but I actually like how the Duggar "court-proposals" have been mostly low-key compared to the actual marriage proposals.
DeleteYMMV but I'm really not a fan of over-the-top "courtship proposals" that makes you wonder "how are you going to top that when you propose actual marriage"? Courtship isn't actually pre-engagement, it's not 100% guaranteed to result in marriage, as Josiah himself would know.
Don't forget that the closet proposal was for their courtship. Ben actually proposed marriage in a gorgeous setting.
DeleteI don’t mind it being low key- save the big surprises for the proposal!
Delete5:42 Maybe the courtposal was underwhelming. But I can't wait to see the engagement proposal. Josiah was really thinking about HER when they got engaged in the same spot as her parents. What a nice way to honor her family.
DeleteI totally agree. It was awkward and disappointing.
DeleteI agree Jeramy’s was more intimate and personal. Most of them seem awkward, lacking privacy. It’s not an engagement proposal yet some privacy could go a long way in enhancing these moments. No onlookers, nothing fancy, just not in front of others. Josiah could have asked to speak to her away from the table for a moment, shared a side hug and returned to the table to share the news....what if she had said no “gasp” embarrassment all around.
DeleteJeremy had a difficult time even using the "courtship" language. He seemed very above it, as he was an independent adult at the time he came around the Duggars. Most of these young men are just boys who have never left their daddy's house.
DeleteI'm excited for tonight , I met your mom recently at your Aunt Pam church, but I'm counting down for tonight show . I love all of you .
ReplyDeleteRandom question but how many episodes did they do interviews for at once??? I’m like 10 episodes behind and everyone is wearing the same outfits in all the interviews (Jessa in the navy v neck and maroon sweater, Jill in the teal shirt, Joy and Jana with scarves). It’s smart of them to have them do a bunch of interview stuff at once but I’m trying to figure out the timeline of when they actually did it!! Lol.
ReplyDeleteThey do interviews long after the event but talk as though it just happened or is currently happening. Most reality shows do this.
DeleteThey’ve worn those same outfits for the couch interviews for YEARS now lol. The only ones who changed were Jinger and Jeremy because they moved to Laredo, but ever since they moved to Laredo almost 2 years ago now they’ve worn the same outfit. The way I figure it out is that I’m some interviews the girls have different hairstyles than others.
DeleteI love this wedding Lauren seems so nice. I love seeing good wholesome people like this. God bless
ReplyDeleteIt is so important to actually watch the show. This blog is wonderful and I’m so appreciative of Ellie for doing this for us. But it’s hard to get an impression of people just by looking at still pictures of them and reading their words. When you see them on tv there are so many more nuances, in their eyes, body language, tone of voice. I was a little questioning about Josiah’s attitude but now I really appreciate Josiah so much more after watching him interact with Lauren and their family members in Counting On. He is a fine, sincere caring young man and I believe they will have a strong marriage.
ReplyDeleteSo they moved to a WHOLE new state, what about his organization in GA. What does he do for a living? So many questions????
ReplyDeleteMaybe his church transferred him, really not your business
DeleteI doubt they up and moved for Lauren and Si. I would think it was for a job since uprooting 8 children is not done on a whim!! I really like Lauren. She seems mature beyond her age and good for Si.
DeleteWho has the lawn business? Too many new fathers being introduced too fast...I can't keep track.
DeleteThe family is on a TV show that asks viewers to be interested in their business.
DeleteI guess it’s courtship and not engagement. If a guy goes all out to ask a girl to court think of the pressure for engagement. I actually am not a fan of how the Bates make such a big deal of courtship (which could break up).
ReplyDeleteAgreed on the option of breaking off a courtship. So why put a lot of pressure on the girl at that point, she could even say no to the initial will you court question and then the guy could be left deflated with a lot of props and realLy feel silly.
DeleteThank you Kymberly for acknowledging that fact about the Bates'. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE watching the Bates but I have always felt those courtship proposals were way over the top. It puts so much pressure on the couple to "stay together" even if things are not working out. Unhealthy in my opinion.
DeleteI tend to agree re the Bates but I also get the feeling their courtship proposals are mere formalities at this point. Kelton and Josie made it obvious they already felt ready for actual engagement at the time of his courtship proposal.
DeleteThe Bates approach to romance is really NOT the same as the Duggars. For Duggars, courtship is the START of a romance with the couple classified as "friends" before, and they don't admit the suitor even exists, until the courtship is officially announced.
But the Bates show "boyfriends" and "girlfriends" on TV months before an official courtship begins. Some of the kids have openly mentioned how they are "dating" before courtship. Even the parents have described the Bates approach as "dating with a purpose" at times. Yes they still use chaperones but they also don't shy away from "frontal hugs", and Zach and Whitney even kissed before marriage.
All the best to Lauren - may God bless this new marriage and all the Duggars!
ReplyDeleteThat was cute and simple of Josiah.
ReplyDeleteI am so excited for Josiah and Lauren. It’s those people who come here and stay anonymous and say nasty things that really annoy me. If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all, including those who say they like one family member more than another. You don’t know them so be nice and happy for them all.
ReplyDeleteSome of us choose to stay anonymous to protect ourselves from being attacked on other forms of social media. I am a Duggar fan and try to always be kind when I comment....it has not stopped people from arguing their point. I prefer to keep my ID private.
DeleteMany people (including me) don't like to have their names appear on comment sites. Some comments may appear nasty to you, but many are questioning some of the things the Duggars say and do as they are inconsistent with their perviously stated belifes.
DeleteI'm anonymous because I don't have a Google account and don't want to make one! Who can remember one more screen name long-in or password? I can't.
DeleteTime 1:31PM Tues 7/31/18
ReplyDeleteGood recap. I just read a headline from Daily Mail The headline was this
Counting ons Josiah Duggar 21 enjoys his first ever kiss as he weds 19 year old bride on season premire of TLC. I read LAURENS dad name Dwain Swanson said this not bad for a first kiss remarked Dwain Swanson who officated the nuptials.
"Court-posals" are needless. If you're already interested in someone or seeing them, you don't need to ask permission from a father or formally ask the other person to get more serious. Just keep getting to know each other, and a marriage proposal will either come or not. I didn't like how they said that Josiah talked to Lauren's father about this "court-posal" before he ever talked to her! Like the father runs her love life, and she has no say of her own and can't make her own decisions.
ReplyDeleteIt's respectful of the girl, her family & God to get the father's blessing when entering courtship. ❤
DeleteIf she had no say, then why would he ask her after he talked to her dad? There would be no reason for them to be nervous about asking if the other person had no choice but to say yes. It is nice that they respect the parents of the person they are interested in enough to talk to them first.
DeleteIt is customary in these families to ask the father for permission to "court" and marry a daughter. If Lauren didn't want a relationship with Josiah (or any other suitor) she is allowed to say no.
DeleteI recall similar comments about Austin and Joy, people afraid she was being coerced into the courtship in some way, but it turned out she'd been crushing on him for years.
DeleteLike it or not this has been a consistent approach to Duggar courting, and is a fairly common theme in "Christian courting" for the young man to get permission from the father first. The idea is for a more neutral, mature person to vet the suitor, as a young girl (or boy) could be led astray by hormones/infatuation.
Also from comments the Duggar girls have made, the "pre-screening" allows for them to graciously turn down a suitor indirectly (by having Jim Bob refuse on their behalf).
And hey, at least Mr. Swanson didn't make Josiah complete a 50 page questionnaire!
What if the father had said no, 1:57? Would there have even been a plate-licking scene in the restaurant? No. And Lauren would have had no power to change that. Dad would have said no, and that would have been it. Back to the house until someone suitable is found.
DeleteAnon at 10:50: While I agree with you to some extent, in that if the father refuses the daughter cannot change that. I think the point Anon at 1:57 was making is that the daughter is NOT obligated to agree to a courtship just because her father did. If she really had no say at all, then she'd be forced to enter the courtship whether she wanted it or not. While many Duggar critics have accused them of practicing arranged marriage, I don't see it that way.
DeleteI should also note that I know many young people who would never want to have an arranged marriage, but who would never dream of dating or marrying anyone their parents disapproved of. As well as someone who did and regretted it later.
I can only see clips so my chance to get to know them is less than if I could see the shows. I thought Lauren was very well-spoken for any age, let alone for a teenager. I am more impressed with her than I was just from photos. I would really like to know what she studied at college. "Even if", and I use quotation marks so I do not seem disparaging in any way, even if she did an online Bible course, that is great to see that she likes learning. I hope there are more clips so I can see more of her.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the newlyweds! Wow, Lauren sure is the whole package, gorgeous face, beautiful figure, loving heart, fun personality and love for the Lord. I truly enjoyed getting to see who Lauren really is personality wise! It was like finally getting to "know" her. Short video clips, photos and her being quoted is one thing, but seeing her interact with everyone showed what a lovely and fun person she is and its easy to see why Josiah fell in love with her! What a great addition to Counting On and the Duggar family! I look forward to watchinhg them as newlyweds! This is a good match of a couple, Marjoriie was not, I didn't care for her or what seemed to be ulterior motives dating a Duggar, red flags with that one and God knew best, so Lauren is now Mrs. Josiah Duggar. I know I will catch snide remarks for my opinion but just like yours, mine is valid and people agree to disagree as adults do. I will not be revisiting this topic so no need to clutter the comment section opinionating because I won't see it anyways. Aside from that, so nice to have the show on again!
ReplyDeleteHow do you feel about Josiah's figure though?
DeleteI can't believe you or anyone else saw enough of Marjorie to make a fair assessment. Maybe it was Josiah who was at fault for the split and the one who was all wrong??
DeleteSorry you won't be reading here to see what other "valid" opinions appear.
The OP may not be reading this but I'd caution against judging Marjorie just based on the very little we saw of her. I hope that's not considered a "snide comment".
DeleteBased on what little we saw of Marjorie, I thought she was fun and had a dynamic personality. Josiah seemed to like her enough to court her for a period of time and they had actually known each other for years. She would be Mrs. Josiah Duggar right now if she had ulterior motives and wanted to simply marry a Duggar. Also, consider what was going on at the time with the Duggar family. That is a lot of pressure for a 17 year old and on any relationship, especially, a beginning relationship. I'm happy for Marjorie for all that she has accomplished, college and publishing, since the broken courtship. That's my "valid" opinion.
DeleteI think some people unfairly judge Marjorie because they assume she left Josiah when she did, because of the bad P.R. surrounding the family at the time and because the show got cancelled. They think "if she really loved him she'd have stood by her man no matter what his brother did". And think this proves she was just in it for the sake of fame and money.
DeleteBut I got the sense that it was Marjorie's parents who stepped in and ended the relationship. Even after the courtship ended, there were rumors she was still hanging around the Duggars for a while. Obviously this ended once Lauren came into the picture, but I get the sense she did really take her time discerning if Josiah was right for her, and she decided he wasn't. Nothing wrong with that.
What a ritzy house for a minister! I was taken aback a little over that.
ReplyDeleteI don't care about a minister's house as such. What I do care about is when house, clothes, and image become more important to a minister than his job...
DeleteI believe he is only a part-time minister. He also runs a landscaping and construction business. So the question is, why the need to move to Arkansas?
DeleteDid anyone else find it sad that Jill (yes, I know the reason) was not at the "girls" dinner out/
ReplyDeleteShe always added to the fun. I miss seeing her, watching her family. I hope she IS included in all get togethers OFF CAMERA. FAMILY IS WAY MORE IMPORTANT THAN A TV SHOW.
Keep us up to date of them = please.
I do think she was probably included off camera. It would be easy enough to do.
DeleteI also wonder about attendants for future weddings. Jill, Derick and Joshua will probably never again be in the weddings so that TLC can show them. My guess is that Joseph will be best man for John-David. If Jana marries, my guess is maybe even Johanna (was she in Jana's buddy group) or Anna will be maid of honor. I would have thought Jill. It would be a bit sad. But that would not sit well with TLC.
Maybe she was there but just not filmed? I didn't see it so I'm not sure
DeleteActually, Josh has been included in Duggar weddings (others I'm sure can tell me exactly which ones), just not shown on air. Yes some fancy editing has been done to accomplish that. I think this is just a consequence of his prior actions that he has to live with.
DeleteI don't think TLC has any issues with Jill, though. Derick may or may not have been "fired" but they showed Jill at Joy Anna's side while she labored, as well as old footage of Jill interviews in the last season, I'm sure that IF Jill agreed to be shown on TV being part of a Duggar wedding, then she would be. Especially considering the fan backlash about her leaving. While I think the vast majority of viewers never want to see Josh again and think Derick made his own bed, too, it seems few people blame Jill for what her husband said and would be happy to see her back on the show.