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For more than a decade, Duggar fans have been fixated on who might be courting Jana Duggar.

She is the family’s overly put-upon eldest daughter. She is 31 years old.

There was a time when she seemed to get along very well with a young cameraman who was filming her family.

That level of chemistry may have cost him his job after Jim Bob got wind of it.

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We have to emphasize that this is a rumor, though a compelling one with photographic evidence.

See, Frank Sun was part of the camera crew for the Duggar family’s reality TV career.

Though millions hope that said career is at an end, it has now spanned many years.

Frank is pictured to the right.

It’s likely that he’s one of the most good-looking men to ever set foot in the Duggar household.

He is also pictured to the left, next to Soundguy Jim, in this photo.

We mentioned that fans have pointed out photographic evidence of Frank and Jana’s alleged bond.

Well, during the family’s trip to Asia, Frank photographed Jana.

He posted the beautiful photo to his blog on Tumblr, years ago.

So, the rumor is, from what fans have pieced together, that Frank and Jana got along well.

Obviously, they would never have been left alone, as the Duggar cult does not permit that.

But sometimes, two people don’t need alone time for sparks to fly. They just naturally get along.

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But if that rumored situation were the case … it would set off alarm bells with Jim Bob.

Every aspect of the cult to which they belong is framed around absolute control.

Children are groomed and denied basic information and married off in early adulthood.

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The purpose is for them to never get an opportunity to question, well, anything.

But any brainwashing can be threatened by outside influences.

Jim Bob knew that he was taking a "risk" when he brought cameras into the house.

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He did it because he wanted money, and because he wanted to try to normalize his toxic, harmful lifestyle.

Seeing Jana seem to get along a little too well with an "outside" man would have been confirmation of his worst fears.

And, frankly, given how the fundamentalist world is often interlinked with white supremacy, the race element might have also given Jim Bob pause.

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To Jim Bob’s family, it’s 100% normal and natural for someone to approach Jim Bob about desiring a courtship.

It’s not that they need permission to date — they don’t actually date involve.

Courting is a chaperoned activity, where kissing, holding hands, and "front-hugging" are forbidden.

Jana Duggar on Counting On (TLC)

Asking Jim Bob for permission to go on closely monitored friend-dates (which is really what courting is) isn’t a mere formality.

Anyone hoping for even a chance to court and later marry one of his children must pass a religious litmus test.

Namely, they must be a fellow fundamentalist, ideally with views that closely align with Jim Bob’s own.

Photo via Instagram

So Frank Sun would never have been given permission to court Jana.

We don’t know if Jim Bob had him dismissed from the show as a response to this reported chemistry.

But that is not unrealistic to hear, and not just because Frank is a normal person who wouldn’t mesh with a cult lifestyle.

Photo via Instagram

Of course, there are other reasons for which Jim Bob might be afraid of Jana courting anyone.

Many eldest siblings, especially eldest daughters, are unjustly burdened with childcare responsibilities.

Very few know childcare burdens as extreme as Jana’s, because most parents aren’t irresponsible enough to have that many kids.

Photo via TLC

Jim Bob and Michelle rely heavily upon Jana for free childcare.

If she were to court, it could lead to marriage, and Jana would be required to obey her new husband, not her father.

Though Jim Bob controls his adult children with money to an extent, Jana would no longer be a full-time babysitter.

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Fans discussing the rumors about Jana and Frank Sun kept that in mind.

Several have openly expressed a wish that Jana would simply "run away" with Frank, or with someone else like him.

It’s odd to describe a 31-year-old as "running away" from home, but that’s how you describe someone escaping a horrible cult.