If you’re a fan of her famous family, then you’ve no doubt heard by now that Joy-Anna Duggar is pregnant with her first child.
And you’re probably also aware that there’s been a great deal of controversy surrounding Joy-Anna’s date of conception.
The Duggars claim that Joy-Anna got pregnant on one of the first days of her honeymoon after marrying Austin Forsyth back in May.
Maybe even the day she got married.
If you believe the company line, that would put the 20-year-old at about seven months along, with a due date in February.
However, some fans believe Joy is much further along than she claims, and may be due before the end of the year.
If Joy did get pregnant out of wedlock, it’s not hard to see why the Duggars would do their best to keep it under wraps.
The family’s famous "courtship rules" make up a big part of the godly, wholesome image that’s so appealing to their most devoted fans.
This is a family that doesn’t even allow dates without chaperones, hand-holding or full-frontal hugs before a couple gets engaged.
In more than one case that we know of, one of the Duggars has only experienced his or her FIRST KISS IN LIFE after getting hitched.
Can you imagine (gasp) premarital sex?!
A premarital pregnancy wouldn’t be as devastating to that image as the Josh Duggar sex scandals, but it certainly wouldn’t do any favors.
The hypocrisy would be rather incredible, and as such, you can bet that the Joy-Anna’s parents would do everything in their power to hide it.
If it turned out she and Austin engaged in premarital sex, and Jim Bob somehow knew about it, he’d blow a gasket … but keep it quiet.
Of course, that’s easier said than done in the digital age when you market yourselves as social media celebrities for a living.
As such, many fans believe the effort to keep the truth about Joy under wraps consumes most of the Duggars time these days.
For instance, filming for next season of Counting On has been delayed, with no return date announced by the family or TLC.
There are also other signs that they say serve as obvious indications of a conspiracy, or at least a concerted effort to lay low.
The latest, observers of the Arkansas family claim, is the secrecy surrounding the gender of Joy-Anna and Austin’s baby.
According to In Touch, Joy will not share the news publicly.
Typically, pregnant Duggar women eagerly reveal online whether they’re having a boy or a girl, usually along with an ultrasound photo.
Naturally, many are convinced that the decision is yet another sign that Joy wants to keep fans at arm’s length with regard to her pregnancy.
Obviously, a sonogram would be the clearest evidence to date of Joy-Anna’s due date, and conspiracy theorists would be quick to call her out.
Heck, they wouldn’t even need to be conspiracy theorists if the image itself gave away vital details that exposed the family cover story.
Like most of the signs that Joy-Anna got pregnant earlier than she claims, it’s hardly concrete evidence, but it’s enough to fuel speculation.
Fans already suspicious that she got knocked up before getting hitched certainly haven’t had that notion dispelled, to put it mildly.
Meanwhile, doctors who have examined photos of her have confirmed that Joy-Anna appears to be further along than she says.
(It should be noted, however, that none of the physicians who have made this claim in a public forum actually examined Joy.)
In the end, the question of when exactly Joy got pregnant may never be resolved to the satisfaction of Duggar obsessives.
The baby’s birth may ultimately prove them right or wrong, but depending on when, the matter may likely be debated for years to come.
We’re sure the Duggars are thrilled.
