'19 Kids and Counting's Jana Duggar And Jonathan Hartono Romance: Is It On?

Jana Duggar
Jana Duggar was previously featured in her family's TLC reality show '19 Kids and Counting' and has recently appeared in the spinoff 'Counting On.'  Photo: TLC

The Duggars have captivated greater America on the whole (as well as the rest of the world, to be honest), with their antics as well as close family relationships. After all, how many people do you know in the modern era have 19 children in their brood? It would certainly make for a very interesting situation, especially during family reunions as well as vacations! Jana Duggar, who is the 27-year old lass in the Duggar brood, remains the only single sister who is aged 11 and above. In other words, she should have been married off by now, based on the Duggar family expectations, but she is officially still single. However, there might be a whiff of romance in the air, as the name Jonathan Hartono has been thrown around in recent times, being her prince charming.

Apparently, Jana Duggar, who stars in the ‘Counting On’ series, crossed paths with Jonathan Hartono on a mission trip all the way back in 2010 when they hit the trails of South East Asia. Frankly speaking, going to church or joining a youth group just to find your other half as the main intention is the wrong path to take, but it is undeniable that many churches and religious organizations do see young people who grow up together, end up with one another as they navigate through the minefield of puppy love and youthful romance. A mission trip is not the best place to look for your future mate, that much is true. So don’t go calling up the church office or registering on the mission organization’s website for the next trip to Timbuktu in hopes of ending your single-dom!

Back to Jana Duggar and Jonathan Hartono. Jim Bob, Jana’s dad, was seen on camera bowling with Jonathan, and just Jonathan alone. It does sound like a one-on-one date, which would naturally lead to speculation among fans and observers alike that 51 year old Jim is currently ‘sizing up’ Jonathan to make sure that he is a good fit for his princess. It might be reading too much into the situation though, as the highly eligible bachelor is no stranger to the Duggar family, having spent a fair bit of time with them in the past.

Based on past dating histories of the other Duggar sisters, most of them began dating in their late teens or early 20s, and this means that Jana is late by all accounts. Most of the time, Jana has remained at home, playing the role of babysitter and a housekeeper. Jana did bare her heart out in a previous episode of Counting On, claiming that she was waiting for the right man to court, “There have been different guys who have come along and asked, but they haven’t been, I don’t know, the right one. It can be tempting, like, ‘Oh, I really want to be married,’ because in those moments, your siblings that are married and have little ones are going on dates and doing their thing. It’s like this weird in-between stage. I’m not a younger one, but I’m not an older, married one with kids.”

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