Jill Duggar and her sister Jessa recently spoke to US Weekly about what it's like growing up in the Duggar household. The very conservative, Christian family - the stars of TLC's "19 Kids and Counting" - follow a strict set of rules that forbid kissing, sex before marriage and partying, just to name a few.
Jessa, who is engaged to Ben Seewald, admitted to US Weekly that "it's a little strange to be in our early twenties and have not had sex," but she wouldn't want it any other way.
"It's how our parents did it," she said.
So what's it like growing up Duggar? Jessa and Jill, who announced she was pregnant just two months after marrying Derick Dillard, dished to US Weekly (via E! News) about the dos and don'ts of the Duggar family.
Don't hold hands with your significant other. The Duggar family likes to refer to dating as "courting." Courting is a lot stricter and forbids hand holding (at least until you are engaged) and kissing (until you reach the altar). There's also to be no "chest-to-chest" contact until the day of the wedding, E! reports. Side note: all dates are chaperoned by a parent or older sibling.
Do keep your engagement short... really short. Jill and Derick tied the knot three months after getting engaged and there's a specific reason for that.
"You may not wanna push the wedding date out too far as those natural God-given desires with too much time between engagement and marriage can make it harder to remain pure," Jill told Page Six.
Do: Michelle Duggar
"Your hubby comes home after a hard day's work, you get the baby to bed, and he is going to be looking forward to that time with you... Anyone can fix him lunch, but only one person can meet that physical need of love that he has, and you always need to be available when he calls," she said.
Don't: nude photo scandal
Don't drink, dance or party. Michelle once explained that dancing encourages "sensual" feelings, while her daughter Jessa said modern-day music often promotes "sex, drugs [and] all that type of stuff." Instead, the family listens to gospel music.
Don't even think about reading a romance novel. Sorry E.L. James, but the Duggar kids won't be reading about Christian and Ana in "Fifty Shades Of Grey." The family said the Bible warns not to "think about gratifying the pleasure of the flesh," according to E!.
Other honorable mentions: The Duggars skip out on celebrating Halloween because it's "part of a demonic realm that God wants us to stay away from," and they don't spend their summers at the beach. While they do have Duggar-approved bathing suits, the other bikini-clad ladies hanging in the sand is too much of a distraction for the boys.
"It's just too hard for the guys to try and keep their eyes averted," Michelle explained.
What do you think of the Duggar rules?
