Jana Duggar and Stephen Wissmann
Courtesy of Jana Duggar/YouTube; Courtesy of the Wissmann family/InstagramJana Duggar she couldn’t always count on finding her forever husband.
For nearly 12 years, the reality star has let the cameras document her life on TLC’s 19 Children and counting and spinoffs counting on. During the show, Duggar witnessed her sisters fall in love, leaving her wondering when her time would come.
“I’m just wondering, ‘What is it? Is that me? Do I have a problem?’ I know I’ve been praying for this for years and years and I definitely thought, ‘What the hell,’” she shared People in August 2024. “All my brothers and sisters, most of them got married in their early 20s. I’m the oldest by far. So it was discouraging at times.”
Little did Duggar know that something special was brewing with a longtime family friend Stephen Wissman.
The Duggar family has been captivating viewers with their unique courtship process since 2008 — and they’ve been keeping the tradition going strong ever since. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have 19 children: sons Joshua, John-David, Joseph, Josiah, Jedidiah, Jeremiah, Jason, Justin and Jackson and daughters Jana, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joy-Anna, Johannah, Jennifer, Jordyn-Grace and Josie. (…)
Although their romance was not love at first sight, the couple reconnected at the beginning of 2024, fell in love and had a fairytale summer wedding.
“Just seeing it happen is amazing and kind of hard to believe,” Duggar said People days before her wedding in August 2024. “It’s a dream come true.”
Keep reading to learn more about Duggar’s journey to finding love with her forever partner, Wissmann:
2011
Wissmann — who lives in Nebraska with his parents and siblings — first connected with Duggar through their families when they were teenagers.
“(The Wissmanns) would travel and sing,” Duggar recalled People in 2024. “I remember them coming to our home probably 13 or more years ago and they ended up buried here, which rarely happens in Arkansas. I remember us just playing games late into the night, solving puzzles together until the snow melted and they could travel home. I don’t really remember Stephen that well because I’m older than him so he wasn’t on my radar at all.”
2020-2022
In an interview with in 2024 PeopleDuggar revealed that she briefly dated Wissmann a few years ago before they broke up. Despite the breakup, the couple stayed in touch and “talked to each other over the years.” In March 2022. Duggar’s brother Jeremiah Duggar married Wissmann’s sister Hannah.
Jana Duggar
Courtesy of Jana Duggar/InstagramAt the beginning of 2024
In the first months of 2024, both Jana and Stephen became closer again and decided to take their relationship more seriously. It was like, ‘What are we doing? We still enjoy each other. We still have a lot of respect for each other,’ she recalled People. “I was slower at it, but over time, his character, his comeback, he still loves me no matter what. I know we have a big crazy family and we still put up with a lot of things. I mean, my God, there aren’t too many people who do that. He must really, truly care about me.”
June 2024
Although the couple never publicly commented on their courtship, they managed to secretly get engaged on June 15, 2024. A month later, fans speculated that Jana had gotten engaged when she posted a series of Instagram photos with a ring on her left hand.
Usher, Millie Bobby Brown and other celebrities went to the chapel in 2024 and got married. Usher celebrated a career milestone as well as a personal one when he married Jenn Goicoechea in Las Vegas. Us Weekly confirmed in February that the couple received their wedding license while in Sin City for Super Bowl LVIII, where Usher was performing (…)
August 2024
Two months after the engagement, the couple was able to experience theirs a dream wedding in front of 500 guests. Jana and Stephen tied the knot in a “classic, elegant” ceremony near Prairie Grove, Arkansas on Thursday, August 15 People reported. “I’ve been praying for this for years,” Duggar told the paper when officiating.
The counting on the star enjoyed the wedding with Jessa Duggar Seewald serving as her maid. Jana’s sister-in-law Abbie Duggar as well as sisters Joy-Anna Forsyth, Johannah Duggar, Jinger Duggar Vuolo and Jordyn Duggar served as bridesmaids.
“The sweetest wedding ever,” Jessa wrote through her Instagram Story after the wedding. Jinger added, “The most beautiful bride.”
January 2025
Stephen celebrated Jan’s 35th birthday by sharing a collage of photos from throughout the couple’s relationship on his social media.
“Happy birthday to the dearest and most amazing friend and wife! I love you!” he wrote via Instagram January 12. “DEFINITION OF BEAUTIFUL: Charming or extremely beautiful, with a beauty that appeals to the heart or mind as well as the eye, as a person or face, Lovely; very pleasant, of great moral or spiritual beauty.”
According to Stephen, his wife fits that word. “You have so many gifts and talents that you choose to bless others with!” he added.