Anna Duggar has lived an interesting life.
She grew up in a similar (maybe even more strict) environment to the Duggar kids and met her husband, Josh, long before she married him.
Speaking of Josh, there is more to Anna than just his sexual assault scandal that has plagued the family. So, come learn these 10+ facts about Anna Duggar that fans didn’t know.
There is a lot to know about the entire Duggar clan, and Anna Duggar is no exception.
While it can be hard to learn more about them since they are pretty private people, there are still some facts about Anna Duggar people might not know!
Let’s take a look into her life!
1. She comes from a big family.
If anyone could handle marrying into a big family like the Duggars, it’s Anna.
She comes from a big family with five girls and three boys. They were once even featured on an episode of 19 Kids and Counting .
2. Her parents are even stricter than the Duggars.
She was raised by two uber-religious parents, Mike and Suzette.
“Anna and her siblings were always taught that if you follow these 10 steps or whatever, God would bless you,” a source told People .
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3. She met Josh at a Christian homeschooling convention.
This was back in 2006 when they were both teenagers.
While this was the first time that they met in person, it wasn’t the first time Anna had seen Josh.
She had seen him on an episode of 14 Children & Pregnant Again in 2004.
4. When she did finally meet him in person, she related to him right away.
“As my family watched the video, I noticed how Joshua, then age sixteen, shared the importance of guarding his heart and waiting for someone who would really love him and wasn’t going to just get carried away with their emotions.”
“I was so excited to see another family who was brought up so similar to the way our parents were training us, but never would I have dreamed what God had in store!”
But since Anna’s parents were so strict, she couldn’t even gush about him to her siblings.
“That’s not something that’s shared amongst siblings,” a source told *People*.
“They always got 15-minute, one-on-one sessions with their mom every week,” the source claimed .
“That was the time to share their feelings, but other than that they had to keep their feelings to themselves.”
5. She is not very close to some of her siblings anymore.
Growing up, Anna and her sister, Susanna, were practically attached at the hip.
But that all changed when Susanna had a child out of wedlock at 20 and was basically shunned from the family.
6. She was an entirely different person growing up.
When you think of Anna now, the words “soft-spoken” may come to mind.
So, you’ll be very surprised to know that she was actually very loud as a kid.
“She’s really fun. She was always the bossy sister, but in a fun way,” a source told *People*.
“If she and her siblings were playing a game, she would make sure they were doing it exactly by the rules. They always had a good time together.”
7. She worked with women in prison.
Since Anna’s dad went to work with prison ministry missionaries , Anna would often go with him.
This meant that she would counsel female inmates on the power of religion from a young age.
8. She got engaged on her 18th birthday.
The moment was shown on an episode of 17 Kids and Counting .
When Anna went to her birthday lunch with her parents, Josh surprised her with balloons and a proposal.
9. She has six kids…and counting.
That’s right, she has said that she wants more kids. She even has another name with the letter “M” all picked out!
Currently, she and Josh have Mackynzie, Michael, Marcus, Meredith, Mason, and Maryella.
10. She was homeschooled.
This is something that she has in common with the Duggar family. She was brought up on the Advanced Training Institute (ATI) curriculum, a biblically-based homeschooling guide, as a child.
Then, she attended an online Christian college and got her certificate in early childhood education.
11. She is now homeschooling her kids.
“That moment when I look up from tutoring with one of my children and see my daughters snuggled up together in the living [room] working on their school — it makes my heart melt!” she wrote on Instagram.
“I love how close it brings our family together. Sure, it’s hard work for any momma, but it is so worth it!”
“The days are long, but these years will fly by and I’m so thankful for the extra time homeschooling allows our family to grow together!”
12. Her dad lived a scandalous life before becoming a Christian.
While his past hasn’t been revealed, Priscilla, Anna’s sister, did write this about her father on her blog :
“God truly redeemed my dad’s life from sin and gave him a tremendous freedom from the past.”
13. She felt “betrayed” by Josh’s sexual assault scandal.
Back in 2015, it was shockingly confirmed that he had molested two of his sisters.
While this scandal was going on, another emerged. When the “infidelity” website, Ashley Madison, was hacked into, Josh was revealed to be one of its famous members.
At this time, he was forced to apologize for cheating on his wife, Anna, and for having a porn addiction.
Anna ended up sharing her feelings on the matter in a special TLC interview on Jill & Jessa: Counting On .
“Not only was it a betrayal against me, but it was also a betrayal against those that call themselves Christian because here we were as a Christian couple,” she said.
“Everyone was able to see us get married and to vow before God to be loyal to each other, and that loyalty was broken. And so, for my heart, it was just broken.”
Do you know any other interesting facts about Anna Duggar?
Or were you pleasantly surprised by all of these facts? Either way, let us know down below in the comment section!
We would love to hear from you!
