There's More To Jana Duggar Than Meets The Eye, And She's Not Her Parents' Pawn

Highlights

• Jana Duggar is happily single at age 34, showing that marriage isn't the only path to fulfillment.
• Jana has chosen to live on her terms, despite the pressure to find a husband typical for the Duggar family.
• Even without a husband, Jana has a fulfilling life where she is able to express her own preferences and make her own choices.

Years ago, fans created a campaign in support of a Duggar family daughter who they thought was struggling to break free from her parents' control. Whether fortunately or unfortunately — depending on how fans view the husband in the situation — Jinger Duggar eventually left home and started a life of her own. #FreeJinger didn't go away, however, and attention turned to the next sibling who fans thought needed help getting away from Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and their reportedly controlling ways.

After years of speculation, it seems like Jana Duggar has no desire to move out of her family's home, which seems to require finding a husband. But despite the complicating factors of Jana's upbringing, it's possible she has simply decided she likes her life the way it is and has chosen to live life on her own terms.

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For the Duggars, marriage timelines start early. Most of the Duggar kids get married in their early 20s, while some were only 18 (Justin Duggar), and the oldest sibling to get married to date is John-David, who was 28 when he got married.

His twin, however, never seemed keen on courting, AKA the Duggars' arranged-marriage-like dating ritual. Jana and John-David were the result of Michelle and Jim Bob's second successful pregnancy (they suffered a miscarriage between Josh and Jana/John-David), and are the second and third Duggar kids.

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Given that Jana is the oldest Duggar daughter, many household responsibilities fell to her over the years. Viewers who tuned in to 19 Kids and Counting will remember that for a long time, the Duggars had a buddy system where older siblings were responsible for their younger siblings. While the Duggars were often criticized for parentifying their older kids — and their daughters, especially — Jana seemed a natural fit for the role.

As the years passed by and Jana remained at home and single, it seemed like she was only biding time until a suitor came along. But looking back, it's possible Jana chose this life on purpose, and the lack of a marriage proposal is only one sign that she is living a life of her own making.

Jana Has Made It Clear That She Enjoys Keeping A Home

Jana is the Duggar family's go-to babysitter, by her own admission

During a Q&A with a handful of her sisters on Joy-Anna's YouTube channel, Jana was asked a question about how she shows support for her family. Jana pointed out that for her siblings who are grown with families, helping out by babysitting was one of the ways she shows support.

While Joy-Anna added that Jana is great about helping around the house too, specifically with decorating, Jana's willingness to babysit seems to suggest she enjoys doing it. That doesn't mean she hasn't had struggles, though; Jana pleaded guilty to child endangerment after a child she was watching managed to get out of the house and was found by passersby.

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Plus, during the sisters' Q&A, Jana admitted she doesn't really enjoy cooking, though that's likely still a shared responsibility in the Duggar home (it was during the family's reality TV era). When asked a question about what she would like to learn more about, Jana said she would like to learn more about 'medical things.'

She also said she doesn't really enjoy cooking, but wants to learn quick and easy meals that she might actually enjoy. Perhaps because she knows about the public's interest in her life, Jana may have held back a bit during the Q&A, as she didn't reveal details about who she cooks for or say anything about her home life.

Still, that doesn't mean she's unhappy with how her life is today — and she definitely has freedoms that the other siblings do not. Fans have theorized that Jana is living at home to protect her younger siblings, but there's just as much anecdotal evidence that it's her choice.

There Are Hints That Jana Duggar Chose Her Current Lifestyle

Jana may be "unmarried," but it might also be her choice

Many fans of the Duggars' show praise the Duggar daughters for escaping their parents' control by getting married. Although it's not an ideal situation, plenty of fans share the generally unpopular opinion that the Duggar girls had to get married to have some semblance of control over their own lives.

After all, many Duggar girls were unable to wear pants or bathing suits until they were married; Jim Bob Duggar required that his daughters wear skirts, and swimwear had to be "modest" and cover them from neck to knee. The Duggar girls also didn't have social media until they married, with most of the now-adults sharing Instagram and other accounts with their husbands.

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However, things seem to have shifted for Jana. Amid rumors that Jana has her own place to live on the Duggar property, she also opened a social media account in her own name, wears pants regularly, and has dyed her hair. Based on Jana's Instagram posts, she might even travel solo, or without Jim Bob as a chaperone. Jana's social media did fall off after Josh's conviction, which seems to have happened to some of the other siblings as well.

Yet it's clear that Jana has a life she loves, even if she also has to help out around the house and be the live-in babysitter for not just her younger siblings, but also her nieces and nephews. Odds are, since none of the Duggar girls had jobs outside the home before marrying, that Jana's life is still fully funded by her parents.

So while fans may have many theories about how Jana is "trapped," it's possible she has simply chosen to live her life instead of waiting on a potential husband to show up.

In her book, Jinger Vuolo revealed that Jana had many potential suitors, but none that she wanted to marry. Jinger also noted that it was downright creepy when strangers — including some prisoners — wrote asking to marry a Duggar daughter.

Amid jokes about her "still" being single, Jana seemed to be exercising her own power. Jinger noted that while Jim Bob offered his daughters courtship choices, she never felt pressured, which likely applied to Jana, too.

At the end of the day, the only person who decides whether Jana gets married is Jana, and she seems quite happy in her life without a husband getting in the way.

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