Jessa Duggar Mourns With Sister Joy-Anna After Miscarriage: ‘Our Hearts Are Breaking’

Hours after Joy-Anna Duggar and husband Austin Forsyth revealed Joy-Anna suffered a miscarriage, the Counting On stars received some support from their family. Jessa Duggar mourned the loss of their unborn child with them, taking to Instagram to share a heartbreaking post about her sister and brother-in-law’s loss.

“[Austin and Joy-Anna] Our hearts are breaking over your loss. Such beautiful words you’ve written in your post,” Jessa captioned a re-post of the black-and-white photo her sister had shared a few hours earlier. “Annabell will forever be in our hearts. We love you all and are praying for God’s peace and comfort during this time.”

The post received plenty of supportive comments from Counting On fans and other women who have suffered miscarriages.

“Oh no. This pain hurts like no other….I never felt such an aching, stabbing, gut-wrenching pain until our loss…my heart breaks for them. Praying for them & their family. Sending so much love,” wrote The Bachelor alum Jamie Otis.

“Not only with Jesus, but with Grandma Duggar as well! Praying for them. Praying that the God of all comfort will surround them,” one Instagram user wrote, referring to the Duggar family grandmother who died suddenly in June.

“So terribly sorry for their loss. I am praying fervently for them during their time of need,” someone else wrote.

In their original post shared late Wednesday, Joy-Anna and Forsyth revealed that they had miscarried one week ago. They wrote that they had discovered she was a baby girl and they’d even named her.

“Today marks one week since we heard these words… ‘So this is your baby’s heart (pointing to the ultrasound screen). I don’t hear a heartbeat or see any movement.’ We had gone in for our 20-week ultrasound and gender reveal. It was a baby girl,” the post began.

“Although we don’t understand why, God has given us unexplainable peace and comfort during this very difficult time. Yes, it still hurts and we have cried countless tears, but we know that we can trust the Lord. In the words of King David after the loss of his baby, “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me” (2 Sam 12:23). We don’t grieve as those who have no hope because we trust that we will see this little one again.

“We named her Annabell Elise. Annabell means “God has favored me”, and Elise means “God satisfies”. What a precious thing to know that when our daughter opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the face of Jesus.

“Please pray for continued healing, not only physically but for our hearts as well,” the post continued, ending with a prayer.

The news came over two months after Joy-Anna and Forsyth announced they were expecting their second child together.