Back in 2014, Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald got married in one of the big, lavish weddings that Jim Bob used to enjoy throwing so much.
In the years since, the couple has mostly kept a low profile, especially in the months since Josh Duggar was convicted on child pornography charges.
(The scandal didn’t involve Jessa and Ben directly, but most of the Duggars have been steering clear of the spotlight more than usual since the verdict.)
But despite the fact that Jessa and Ben have been carefully guarding their privacy, fans believe their relationship has been showing obvious signs of strain.
In fact, some have gone so far as to suggest that the Seewalds might be considering ending their marriage.
The speculation began when fans noticed that photos of Ben are few and far between on Jessa’s Instagram page.
The mother of four tried to rectify this with a post dedicated to her husband, but she wound up just making matters worse.
“Sometimes we fail to communicate our plans and our goals, or we overbook and run ourselves ragged. We have differing opinions, and we have to talk through things and work them out,” Jessa captioned the photo above.
“We speak hastily and have to repent of our thoughtlessness. Offenses inevitably happen,” she added.
“How we deal with them, and how we respond to one another, makes all the difference in whether our relationship thrives or dies.”
Jessa tempered her criticism by joking that she “married up,” but many fans weren’t buying it.
“I don’t think Ben and Jessa are in a happy loving relationship, just doing what they have to, knowing that they can’t ever get a divorce,” one person commented on the r/DugarsSnark subreddit.
“I would guess their marriage is in its dying throes based on the ‘I married up’ post she made the other day. She’s really trying to convince herself,” another added.
Others pointed to an unusual video Jessa posted recently in which she moved her family to a new house without Ben’s knowledge.
“Ben is working today, but I didn’t have anything going on and I’m like, ‘Well, the house is finished,’” Jessa said on YouTube.
“I think it would be an awesome surprise if we went ahead and packed everything up and moved over to the house. And he just, like, shows up over there and we’re moved in.”
Again, fans were unimpressed by Jessa’s grand gesture.
“This seemed like Jessa didn’t want any of Ben’s input or interference with the move so she spun it as a ‘surprise,’” one person wrote.
“Surprises should be, ‘I made dinner for you!’ not, ‘I moved into a new house while you (preached?????)!’ There’s a difference … It’s scary how well she did that move if Ben was honestly surprised,” another chimed in.
The clip led to more divorce speculation, but as one commenter pointed out, it seems unlikely that these two will ever call it quits.
“There is ZERO chance of these two getting divorced any time soon. They are both fundie Christians with similar values and mindset,” this Redditor wrote.
“As long as Ben lets her call the shots and stays out of her way, she’s good. She has everything she ever wanted out of life right now,” they continued.
“BTW, the ‘new’ house they poured so much $ into belongs to a church. They get divorced or even separate, bye bye house.”
Yes, even if Ben and Jessa wanted to get divorced, the logistics of doing so would likely prevent them from ever even trying.
Both parties would face rejection from their families and their community if they ever even suggested such a solution.
So if the rumors of Jessa’s unhappiness are true, sadly, it seems that she’ll be forced to suffer in silence.
