COUNTING On fans reacted with shock to learn Jim Bob Duggar married Michelle when they were both teenagers.
Jim Bob, 56, and Michelle, 54, married on July 21, 1984 when she was just 17 and three days after his 19th birthday.
A fan who stumbled onto this fact shared it on a Reddit post, with many others shocked at the couple’s young age.
The fan shared an excerpt from an interview Michelle did describing their wedding.
The excerpt explained they tied the knot three months after her high school graduation and two months before her 18th birthday.
“Our wedding was sweet and simple,” the excerpt read.
It continued: “At the time, our church was still being built, so we were meeting in a gymnasium for services. We actually got married in the hallway of a building – we had to set up folding chairs as pews!
“I wanted to do as much as I could myself as a way to save money and keep the expenses reasonable.”
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Fans glossed over most of that detail to react with shock about her marriage age.
“This is so sad, so disturbing and honestly I’m surprised that she even finished high school before she got married,” wrote one fan.
Another added: “Can you imagine still being with the person you were with at 17?”
And a third wrote: “Makes sense why she has no problem with her kids getting married as teens.”
Other fans questioned whether it was legal to get married under the age of 18.
But the pair exchanged vows in Arkansas where the law states “parental consent is required for parties age 15 to 17″ in order to get married.”
JOSH’S TROUBLES
Disbelief at their ages when they got married comes as pair’s son Josh fights to stay out of jail over alleged child pornography charges.
Back in April, Josh, 33, was arrested and pleaded not guilty after being charged with two counts of receiving and possessing child pornography.
Following his arrest, The Sun revealed that Counting On had been canceled after about six years.
A source told The Sun at the time: “The decision was made by TLC earlier this week to cancel the show.
“The family was told over the phone shortly after and it’s still very hush, hush. The petition from those who boycotted Counting On was hard to ignore, and sponsors were very concerned following Josh’s arrest.”
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