Though many 19 Kids and Counting fans may have been shocked at the steamy photo that newlywed Jessa Duggar — or, should I say, Jessa Seewald? — kissing new husband Ben Seewald on Instagram, I'm sure their heads might explode upon hearing this rumor: According to some (very unfounded) comments on a Christian fundamentalist blog about Jessa's recent Nov. 1 wedding to Seewald, Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald may have been caught in a...compromising position when they snuck away after their wedding ceremony to share their first kiss in private. Yes, it sounds pretty high school of them — which makes sense considering they're both young, with Duggar only 22 and Seewald only 19 — but, considering the Duggar family's strict rules about modesty, it's a pretty scandalous rumor to be floating around, especially on the Internet.
ICYMI, here's the rundown (via Gawker):
One "Mary B." alleges on the blog "My Life As a Stay at Home Wife and Mother" that Jessa's sister Jinger accidentally walked in on Jessa and Ben engaged in an "act of lust" in a back room of the wedding church. Mary explains, "Multiple people were discussing that when Jinger opened the door to get Jess for the reception, she immediately closed the door with a look of shock on her face. A big group of the girls were waiting outside the room to walk with her out…and my own daughters saw as well."
According to another commenter on the aforementioned blog, who went by the name "Gloryana West,":
I did not see Jinger's face at the time but my daughter did see and she was very upset by what they had done. My daughter told me that they had been "feeling" each other, some time later after a something questioning, my daughter informed me that Jessa was caressing Ben's "area" and Ben had his hands on her breasts and buttocks. I do not know for sure if this is true, I would pray that my daughter would not lie to me. Now knowing that you too have heard what had happened, I believe my daughter may be telling the truth.I am not a fan of Jessa or Ben. I think Ben is too young for her and this may end up being a bad union, I do believe they married simply so they could sin together.
Of course, this is all just unfounded gossip, so there's no telling if anyone really did see anything — the Duggar family (unsurprisingly) hasn't commented on any of these rumors, and Jessa herself still seems fairly carefree on her Instagram. Even if there was something going on, it might not be as scandalous as these anonymous commenters are making it out to be.
Keep in mind, the Duggars, and others with similar beliefs to theirs, have strict modesty rules — it might seem to others who don't share the same outlook on modesty that the commenters' level of shock was prompted by seeing Jessa and Ben engaged in a sexual situation, but it might not actually be anything of the sort. The Duggar girls have spoken extensively about their beliefs when it comes to modesty, and shared a few key things they think about when carrying themselves:
They dress conservatively
In their book, Growing Up Duggar, Jana, Jill, Jessa, and Jinger wrote about their guidelines when they pick out clothes:
We do not dress modestly because we are ashamed of the body God has given us; quite the contrary. We realize that our body is a special gift from God and that He intends for it to be shared only with our future husband… We avoid low-cut, cleavage-showing, gaping, or bare-shouldered tops; and when needed, we wear an undershirt. We try to make it a habit to always cover the top of our shirt with our hand when we bend over. We don’t want to play the peekaboo game with our neckline.
They refrain from hand-holding until they're officially engaged
As as been extensively shown in 19 Kids and Counting, the Duggar girls refrain from any form of hand-holding until they're officially in an engagement, as a way of — in their words — holding themselves accountable for tempting thoughts about whomever they're dating. So, hand-holding before an engagement — considered way scandalous to them.
They only "side hug" their significant other until they're officially married
This is another thing that we've seen a lot in the Duggar family's reality show, and is a similar rule to the hand-holding one mentioned above: Until the couple has officially engaged vows, they refrain from hugging face-to-face. In one scene last season, when Jill was reunited with her now-husband Ben after a long absence, they "accidentally" hugged full-frontal at the airport — prompting a stern look from Jill's father Jim-Bob. So, you know, anything other than a side hug? Major scandal.
They don't share their first kiss until the wedding day
Since hand-holding and side-hugs are considered no-nos until engagement and marriage, it's really no surprise and kissing and sex are off the menu until marriage as well.
They don't spend time alone with a significant other until after they're officially married
This is likely why Jessa and Ben chose to share their first kiss in private, away from their 1000+ guests at their wedding — it was actually the first time they were truly going to be alone together, without a chaperone, after a fairly long courtship. In my opinion, the decision was actually pretty sweet, but it really is no surprise that it might get people talking, and possibly even debating what they were doing during their first moment alone together. That's a major reason why I'm not totally buying what these commenters are saying: It really was their first moment of just them together, and they were married, so it should remain private, between them.
Additionally — and perhaps most importantly — it's no secret that everyone likes to gossip, and, sometimes, stories get twisted beyond recognition after spending time in the rumor mill. It could be that nothing happened, or it could be that Jessa and Ben — a newly married couple — were breaking a modesty rule that might have been in place when they were still courting. We don't know, and, frankly, it's not really anyone's business to care other than Jessa and Ben's.
Honestly, I think there are things about this wedding that are probably more worth discussing — like the fact that Jessa's "pale pink" dress was pretty breathtaking:
Images: jessaseewald/Instagram (3)
