The Duggar family has strict rules regarding courtship for their children, but newlyweds Jessa and Ben Seewald did not adhere to at least two of the rules before they got married.
Tuesday night's episode of "19 Kids & Counting" featured Ben's scavenger hunt marriage proposal and, surprisingly, a frontal hug and handholding between Ben and Jessa.
Jim Bob and Michelle do not allow their children to hold hands with the opposite sex until they are engaged, or give frontal hugs until they are married. The children also cannot kiss until they are married, must have chaperones while they are courting, and must carbon copy their parents in their text messages until they are engaged.
The night before the scavenger hunt, the Duggar family and Seewald gathered around together for prayer, and Michelle was surprised to see Ben and Jessa holding hands.
"Not them?" the mother of 19 asked her husband.
Jim Bob said the handholding was acceptable because there were chaperones present, and because they were praying.
The next morning the scavenger hunt began. Ben chose a series of adventures for Jessa and her female family members that culminated in his proposal in a glass chapel in the woods. After Jessa excitedly accepted, the couple engaged in a full-frontal hug – something prohibited until marriage.
Despite the faux pas, Michelle and Jim Bob expressed only joy following the proposal.
Jessa, 22, and Ben, 19, married on November 1 at First Baptist Church in Bentonville, Arkansas. While the "19 Kids & Counting" stars were allowed to kiss at the end of the ceremony, they decided to delay the moment a bit further.
"They wanted their very first kiss ever to be in private," Pastor Schadt told PEOPLE. "It was important to the both of them."
Schadt explained the couple's decision to the wedding guests, and asked Jessa's parents to kiss instead.
"So, now you've seen a Duggar kiss," Schadt quipped.
"19 Kids & Counting" airs Tuesdays at 9pm on TLC.
