Jessa Lauren Seewald (ne Duggar; born November 4, 1992) is an American television personality. She is known for being part of the cast of TLC's reality show 19 Kids and Counting. She co-authored Growing Up Duggar: It's All About Relationships with her sisters Jana, Jill and Jinger.

Early life

Duggar was born in Tontitown, Arkansas, the fifth child of Jim Bob and Michelle (Ruark) Duggar. She has 4 older siblings, and 14 younger siblings.

Duggar was homeschooled as a child.

Career

Television

Duggar began her public life as a member of the family featured in the documentary 14 Children and Pregnant Again (2004) which talks about daily life of the family from the "time they wake up" to the "time they go to sleep". The documentary aired on the Discovery Health Channel. Another documentary, Raising 16 Children was produced on the same channel in 2006, when Duggar's sister Johannah was born. This was followed by another feature, On the Road with 16 Children about family cross-country trip.

On September 29, 2008, 19 Kids and Counting (formerly 18 Kids and Counting and 17 Kids and Counting) began as a regular series based on the Duggar family. The show's final episode aired May 19, 2015 and was formally cancelled on July 16, 2015. Another series, Jill & Jessa: Counting On, featuring Duggar and her sister Jill, premiered on December 13, 2015.

Book

With three of her sisters, Duggar co-wrote Growing up Duggar, a book published by Howard Books, in 2014. The book describes growing up in the Duggar home, social relationships, and their religious beliefs.

Personal life

Marriage and family

On September 16, 2013, a courtship between Duggar and Ben Seewald was made public via an announcement on the family's website. The couple met through their church. On August 15, 2014, the couple announced their engagement and they were married on November 1, 2014. On November 5, 2015, she gave birth to their first child, a boy named Spurgeon Elliot Seewald (named after Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon and Christian missionary Jim Elliot), weighing in at 9 lbs. 11 oz and 21 1/4" long. Upon being asked about the name, Ben Seewald stated that Spurgeon and Elliot were influential figures in their lives. on August 23 2016, Jessa and Ben announced that they were expecting their second child, due in February 2017.

Victim of sexual abuse

In a June 2015 interview on The Kelly File, Seewald identified herself as one of the girls sexually abused by her oldest brother, Josh Duggar, when he was a teenager. She described the abuse as "mild inappropriate touching", saying it occurred while she was sleeping and was "fully clothed". Seewald further stated she became aware of the abuse after her parents told her what had occurred following her brother's confession. Describing the abuse as "very wrong", she decried those referring to her brother as a "child molester or a pedophile or a rapist...that is so overboard and a lie really". Regarding the police reports describing the abuse while she was a minor being released to the media, Seewald said, "the system that was set up to protect kids...it's greatly failed."

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