Duggars: ‘Counting On’ Star Jana Duggar Could Be Courting

Has another Duggar found love? Rumors are swirling that Counting On star and eldest Duggar daughter, Jana, 31, might be secretly courting family friend Stephen Wissman. Jana still lives with her parents, Jim Bob and Michelle, but a picture surfaced of Jana spending Christmas with Wissman and his family. The now-deleted photo stoked speculation among Counting On fans, who have long hoped for Jana to find love. According to the Wissman family blog, Stephen has his pilot’s license, loves to work with his hands, plays the mandolin, and “enjoys helping teach Sunday School at our church.”

The Duggar family has gotten a lot of attention over the years about their strict rules for “courtship,” including no handholding or kissing, a chaperon must always be present, all calls and text communication is monitored, and parental permission is required. Jana revealed in 2020 that she “used to be a little more strict” when it came to dating but had loosened up on her requirements a bit as she’s gotten a bit older.

“I think as time has gone on, I’ve found I do love to travel more than I thought I did,” she told People. “So now, it’s more like, okay, if I really love the guy, I’ll follow him to the ends of the earth. I’ll want to go wherever he is. So far, I just haven’t found that one.” In a September episode of Counting On, Duggar admitted that most of her siblings “have gotten married really young,” so “some people are like, ‘Are you picky?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t think so.’” A friend pointed out that people might wonder, “what’s wrong with you,” and Janna replied, “Yes! And then I think, wait… ‘Oh my, is there?’”

“Maybe he’s riding in on a green turtle instead of a white horse,” she wrote with a laughing emoji in an Instagram post in 2019. “Still searching for Mr. Right. In the words of Michael Buble, ‘Just haven’t met [him] yet!’” Jana also shut down the rumor that she was dating her friend Laura DeMasie, stating that she “would like to stop that rumor. I have no interest in girls that way whatsoever.” Jana admitted to courting a bit in the past, but nothing came from it. “I have ‘courted’ or ‘dated’ a few guys, but so far, nothing has gone into a serious relationship,” she explained. “Just continuing to wait and pray for the right guy to come along.”

Her extremely conservative parents are allegedly concerned with the fact that she has not gotten married yet. “Meet a nice boy, date, get engaged, marry and start a family right away — that’s just how the Duggars do things,” a source told In Touch. “But Jana isn’t going to marry someone just to follow the family norm — and that’s refreshing.”