Jill Duggar announced her engagement to her boyfriend Derick Dillard last month, and during Tuesday night’s episode of 19 Kids and Counting, we got to see them meet in person for the first time.
Jim Bob Duggar, Jill’s father, first introduced Jill and Derick last year through email. “My father built a friendship with Derick before I did and that added a whole level of security,” Jill explained.
Jill and Derick immediately hit it off and started talking nearly every day through Skype and texting. “We talked a lot and started texting and emailing,” she said. “And we Skyped a lot. I got to know some of his friends and family. And then, we met in person months later. I was in love with someone I had never met in person.”
Because Derick was living in Nepal, doing missionary work, Jill made the decision to fly 36 hours to meet him.
Upon arriving in Nepal, Jill was greeted by Derick with a bouquet of flowers and a side hug. He later took Jill and Jim Bob sight seeing, and showed them some of his favorite places. “I traveled over 36 hours to meet him and we had a film crew filming and jet lag so it is a different dynamic than most people have,” she said. “But it was really special. We enjoyed the first several days getting to spend time together and getting to see things together.”
The Duggar family has strict boundaries when it comes to courting. In their new book Growing Up Duggar, the eldest daughters of Michelle and Jim Bob, explained that they do not believe in kissing or holding hands until marriage, and find a “side hug” an appropriate form of physical contact.
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