Jessa Duggar Seewald Says No To Cable TV And Birth Control, But Yes To Movies And Adoption
The most recently married Duggar, Jessa Seewald, is going on tour with the Southern Women’s show. Jessa will be speaking at a number of different venues about her growing up in the Duggar family, along with sharing some information about life as a newlywed.
With the Savannah, Georgia, women’s show right around the corner, Jessa sat down with the Lowcountry Current to answer some questions about her life as a Duggar and married woman. Topics included birth control, television, and marital problems. Jessa first discussed what it was like growing up under the spotlight of the reality television series 19 Kids and Counting. Jessa claims that the family was thrust into the reality television realm due to sheer curiosity. The Duggar says that people were interested in the family because of their unusually large size.
“I think people are interested in our family because of the sheer size… In the early days of the show, it was like, ‘Oh my goodness, you have how many kids?! How does a family that size work?’ And they want to know things like, how do you do the dishes? The laundry? How does homeschooling work?”
However, as the show progressed, fans became part of the Duggar family. Jessa notes, “people have been able to go along for the journey. We’re in their living room every Tuesday night, and they really feel like they know us.” The family has allowed viewers into all aspects of their lives, including the courtships, engagements, marriages, and now pregnancies of the Duggar children. Jessa’s courtship, engagement, and marriage to Ben Seewald was covered extensively on the reality television series. Jessa says that having these moments captured on television is like having their own professional home movies.
Now that Jessa is starting her own family, she says some things are different while others stayed the same. For one, the Seewalds have chosen to follow in the Duggar family tradition of not having cable television, so they have to watch the seasons of 19 Kids and Counting when they come out on DVD. However, Jessa says she doesn’t think it is the television that is the problem, but rather how couples choose to spend their time together.
“We don’t have cable TV. My parents never had that in their home. So growing up we would get a DVD copy of the shows and watch them. I think it’s important for everybody to learn to manage their time well. It’s not so much an issue of TV in the home or not, or all those different things, but realizing what’s most important. When my husband is off work, are we going to be glued to the tube? It’s easy to lose out on good quality conversation. When couples are dating or in courtship, they should focus on talking and learning everything about each other. And that doesn’t end when you’re married. (Ben and I) try to limit watching movies — we love movies — and phone time, so we can focus on our relationship.”
When the question of pregnancy came into the pictures, Jessa pointed out that she is not using birth control and will have biological children whenever God gives them to her. However, she states clearly that the couple plans to adopt “a lot of kids” once they have been married for two years and meet Arkansas’ guidelines for adopting.
“We are open to having children biologically whenever God will give us children. We’re not doing anything to prevent that. But something that’s been on my heart for years is adopting. That’s something we’re really praying and working towards. In the state of Arkansas, you have to be married for two years before you can adopt. But as soon as those two years are up, you can be sure we’ll be looking. We really want to adopt a lot of kids.”
Jessa Seewald seems to love married life and is making it her own. Many have noticed that, though she is continuing many of the Duggar family conservative traditions, she is also making new decisions specific to her family, such as wearing pants and choosing adoption. What do you think of Jessa’s interview for the Southern Women’s show?
