Entertainment

Will Lauren Swanson Be On 'Counting On'? Chances Are, We'll See Her On TLC Soon

In case you missed the big news, yet another Duggar will soon be heading down the aisle! This time around, Michelle and Jim Bob's eighth-eldest child of 19, Josiah, popped the question to long-time family friend, Lauren Swanson. (Hey, they didn't call their show, Counting On for nothing.) Now that wedding plans are officially underway, fans of the family's TLC series are probably wondering: Will Lauren Swanson be on Counting On? Chances are, we'll be seeing Josiah's fiancee on TLC soon enough.

Duggar, 21, and Swanson, 18, announced their happy news on March 5 in a video posted on TLC.com. "Lauren and I are so excited to announce that we are engaged. Lauren said yes ... and were you surprised?" Duggar told the camera while beaming at his bride-to-be. "I'm very surprised," Swanson replied. "I"m kinda speechless."

The lovebirds also shared their thoughts on the exciting milestone with People, following Duggar's proposal at her family's home in Georgia. “We are overjoyed to begin this new phase of our lives together," they told the publication. "Through the years our families’ friendship has allowed us to get to know one another as friends. I can definitely say I have found a great friend … even better than I could have hoped for or imagined."

The couple had announced they were courting on Jan. 23, E! Online reported — meaning Duggar and Swanson were only courting for six weeks before taking the next step. This is actually pretty typical for the Duggars, who view dating and relationships a bit differently than the average family. "For us, courtship means just really a good time for us to focus on different things and just learn about each other with the goal of marriage in mind. And just learning, "Hey, is this really the one that is the one?" Swanson added, "Putting god first and ourselves second."

Something else that's typical for the Duggars is having cameras follow them through their relationship milestones. In fact, every single one of the married Duggar siblings have chronicled their courtships, engagements, weddings, and pregnancies, on either 19 Kids & Counting or Counting On: Josh and Anna Duggar, Jill and Derick Dillard, Jessa and Ben Seewald, Jinger and Jeremy Vuolo, Joy-Anna and Austin Forsyth, and Joseph and Kendra Duggar. If you're feeling nostalgic, take a look back at some of the Duggar siblings' relationships over the years.

The only exception to this rule was Josiah's first courtship. If you remember, Josiah had previously courted Marjorie Jackson in 2015, as People reported. A video introducing Jackson and announcing the couple's courtship was even aired on TLC. But alas, the relationship ended four months later. "Marjorie and I had a good time together. We were just trying to follow God's lead on everything," Duggar said, reported In Touch Weekly. "She didn't feel that it was the right timing then, so we called it quits for a bit."

My guess is that cameras were rolling when Josiah asked Jackson to officially enter a courtship — and that TLC captured plenty of moments of them navigating their relationship together (with a chaperone at all times, of course,) before the split. Unfortunately though, none of this actually made it on 19 Kids & Counting before Duggar and Jackson called it quits. Because what's the point at giving an in-depth look into a failed courtship, at that point?

As far as fans know, no child of Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar has ever called off an engagement. So it's probably a safe bet that Lauren Swanson will soon be featured alongside her fiance on TLC in the coming months. If you need further proof, the bride-to-be put in a plug for the series at the end of their courtship announcement. "We're excited about sharing our journey on Counting On," she said to the camera. I don't know about you, but I, for one, can't wait to tag along!