Devoted fans of "19 Kids and Counting" were able to witness how Christian couples Derick and Jill Dillard, as well as Ben and Jessa Seewald, first met each other, fell in love, and got married. But do fans know anything about Derick and Ben before they met the Duggar sisters?
Some details of Derick and Ben's pasts are revealed in a revised edition of the book entitled "Growing Up Duggar," according to the Duggar Family Blog.
It may surprise fans to know that Jill isn't Derick's first love. "I had had a couple of girlfriends before meeting Jill, and chaperoning was new to me," confesses Derick. But because he was so enamoured by Jill, Derick didn't mind undergoing courtship to get to know his future bride better.
"Just because I had handled relationships one way in the past didn't mean I couldn't do it differently going forward," he says.
As for Ben, he admits that he was placed under a lot of pressure to learn how to provide for his future wife and family. "My dad was the one who put a fire under me. He encouraged me to take initiative and to get a job. And he did this long before I met Jessa," he says.
Ben feels grateful for his father's advice, because he is now able to step up for Jessa and their infant son Spurgeon Elliot.
Meanwhile, Jessa recalls the "special times" of her courtship with Ben. Even though their dates were chaperoned, their phone calls were not. The two enjoyed talking to each other on the phone every night, and they would discuss how their days went and what they learned from their Bible reading.
"They were private – just between the two of us," says Jessa.
