How Counting On's Jana Duggar Deals With The 'Pressure' To Be In A Relationship

counting on screenshot jana duggar tlc

Spoilers ahead for the "Duggars in Quarantine" premiere of TLC's Counting On.

The expansive Duggar family came to the spotlight in 2008 at the center of what was then called 17 Kids and Counting on TLC. The show became 18 Kids and Counting and then 19 Kids and Counting before ultimately shifting to the Counting On spinoff in the wake of controversy. The family has only gotten bigger as the oldest of the kids got married and began having children of their own, but the eldest Duggar daughter has remained single. Jana Duggar is the only one of the Duggars' first nine children not to marry and have kids so far, and she has now shared how she deals with "pressure" to be in a relationship.

When asked by Us Weekly if she feels pressure to be in a relationship, Jana Duggar explained:

I think sometimes it feels a little more pressure, and I’m not that worried. I mean, yes, I long to be married and one day I think that will come, but I’m just also trying to stay busy with whatever comes along my path and just making the most of these single years and then when that time comes, then it’ll be the next season of life. I think if I sit there and I’m like, ‘Oh no, I’m not married!’ And just all worried about it, it makes things way worse. I just find the next thing to do to stay busy.

While Jana Duggar, now 30, hasn't gotten married and started her own branch of the Duggar family tree yet, she does "long" to get married. Still, she isn't worried that she hasn't found the right person just yet, and she stays busy rather than dwells on her relationship status. Rumor had it earlier in 2020 that Jana might have been in a secret relationship with another reality star, but her comments suggest that she's okay living the single life.

Of course, "the single life" as part of the Duggar family doesn't exactly mean that Jana stays out of the spotlight or is all on her own. In the "Duggars in Quarantine" episode that launched the latest season of Counting On, Jana was revealed to be quarantined with a whole lot of her family, and helping out rather than hitting the down for her social life.

That said, the trailer for the new season of Counting On revealed that footage was filmed before the stay-at-home orders began to roll out and halt TV productions across the board, so maybe Counting On will deliver some developments for Jana that don't involve helping entertain the kids while they're stuck at home.

Admittedly, there are a lot of people vying for airtime on Counting On, so Jana Duggar likely won't be in the spotlight on a weekly basis, even if she does get a whole lot more focus than sister Jill and her husband Derick Dillard after the family drama. The Season 11 opener caught viewers up with the Duggar family dealing with quarantine and then began sharing what had happened before, which included Jinger Duggar opening up about her tragic miscarriage.

The Duggar developments are only just beginning. Tune in to TLC on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET to find out the latest about the Duggars, including Jana. For more viewing options now and in the not-too-distant future, check out our summer 2020 premiere schedule!

Laura Hurley
Senior Content Producer

Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).