Joy-Anna Duggar’s Friends Defend Her Baby Bump Size Amid Premarital Sex Accusations

Since announcing her pregnancy this summer, the size of Joy-Anna Duggar’s baby bump has been questioned by fans of the family’s “Counting On” TLC series and media outlets, with some even speculating she may have had premarital sex with now husband Austin Forsyth. After confirming her due date last month, friends of Joy are speaking out again in defense of her bump size.

On Monday, the Duggar Family Blog, which is run by two friends of the religious Duggar brood, posted an updated shot of Joy and her baby bump. “Joy-Anna (Duggar) Forsyth is approximately 23 weeks pregnant with her first child,” the blog captioned a shot of her and Austin spending Veteran’s Day with his grandfather, an Army veteran.

The blog went on to share pregnancy photos of Joy’s sisters Jill Dillard and Jessa Seewald. “Joy’s baby bump is comparable to the size of Jill’s when she was at the same stage in her pregnancy with [her first son] Israel,” the blog wrote.

Joy and Austin posted the same updated bump shot to their shared Instagram account on Sunday. The couple did not address the rumors surrounding the pregnancy in the caption.

“We are so thankful for the men and women who have served to defend our freedom! Grateful we got to spend the day with my grandfather who is a Army veteran,” the pair wrote, also including a Ronald Reagan quote in their post.

Earlier this year, two doctors, both who have not treated Joy, told Radar Online that the TLC star appeared to be further along in her pregnancy than she claimed. OGBYN Dr. Sean Henry told the site the expectant Duggar looked “24-26 weeks pregnant” at a time when she was said to be about 20 weeks along. Another doctor, Dr. Stuart Fischer, stated Joy looked to be “four to five months pregnant” in her pregnancy announcement video released in August.

The Duggar Family Blog followed up on the claims, stating on their site that, “According to Joy... she is approximately 18 weeks along which puts her due date around early March.”

It’s unclear if Joy’s pregnancy will be addressed on “Counting On.” After ignoring her baby news in the fall finale, TLC has yet to renew the series for new episodes.