Although Jessa Duggar has been on television for many years, people still don't know everything about her. There are actually a lot of surprising facts about this Duggar girl and her life that many fans are only just now learning about.

For those unfamiliar with Jessa Duggar, she is one of 19 Duggar children who was raised in a very conservative Christian home. Her family takes their Christian faith to the extreme which is part of the reason her parents had so many kids. As fans and haters watched the Duggar kids grow up, we learned that the girls of the family are forbidden from wearing skirts or even kissing before their wedding days. Most of the Duggar family members don't even believe in birth control!

Most viewers of the show are familiar with the Duggar way of life and have come to terms with the way this family chooses to live. However, not everything that goes on in life is shown on a reality television show. Despite the fact that Jessa is one of the stars of her family’s spin-off show Counting On, there are a lot of surprising facts about her that are just now coming to light.

15 She Asked Fans For Wedding Gifts

According to The Hollywood Gossip, fans were not very happy when Ben and Jessa gave fans information on how to send them wedding gifts and even cash. Some fans were even complaining that TLC probably pays the family very well and that Ben and Jessa didn’t really need wedding gifts or money from fans and that they should donate to charity instead.

It’s not like Jessa was begging for fans who weren’t even invited to her wedding to fork over money or a present. It sounds like people were reaching out to her saying that they had a desire to give. Getting engaged and getting married is a super exciting time in everyone’s life and I can understand why fans would want to celebrate with her. If they love Jessa and support what she stands for, why not send a gift if you can afford to?

And, why should Jessa have to deny someone’s generosity simply because she is famous?

It seems that the backlash may have gotten to Jessa and Ben who removed the original blog post. However, I think there is a difference between asking fans for gifts and simply providing a way for those who want to give to actually give.

14 Her First Kiss Didn't Happen On Her Big Day

Before you all freak out, don’t worry! Jessa did not break any Duggar family rules as far as we know. While waiting until your wedding day to kiss your groom is the standard that Jessa’s parents hold all the kids to, there aren’t exact rules on when she has to kiss him once they are married.

Since Jessa and Ben had never kissed before, the idea of sharing that special moment together in front of their thousands of wedding guests did not seem super appealing to them. Instead, they decided to do something unconventional and not “kiss the bride” at the altar.

When the wedding ceremony ended, Ben and Jessa ran off to be in private together. They were still able to share their first kiss in private but they also waited until they were married to do it.

Leave it to Jessa to bend the social norm of her family like that. I honestly found it to be super funny and hilarious to see all the wedding guests waiting for their show and not getting one. However, first kisses are supposed to be intimate and special and I don’t think there is anything wrong with Jessa and Ben choosing to keep that for themselves. After all, they were kissing up a storm in public after the first one was out of the way.

13 She’s The Regina George Of Her Family

According to The List, Jessa Duggar has been called the Regina George of her family. Now, unless you’ve been living under a rock for over a decade, you probably know that Regina George was the infamous mean girl who ruled her school in the 2004 movie Mean Girls.

Calling someone a Regina George is not necessarily a compliment because while Regina was dominant, popular, beautiful, and the leader of her school, she was also super rude and mean to anyone she didn’t like.

While Jessa Duggar doesn’t strike as being that extreme, in the context of her family, she seems to be the beautiful, popular leader. Some fans even wrote that Jessa was a “Fundie Regina George.”

Fundie refers to a conservative Christian’s fundamentalist belief in scripture, God, and the bible. Of course, Jessa Duggar was homeschooled with all of her other siblings, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t the boss.

Some fans believe that Jessa can come off as bitter, attention-seeking, and even smug at times. Others think that Jessa is constantly trying to steal the spotlight and be the center of attention on her family’s reality show. While most of these thoughts are just opinions, it’s hard to deny that a small amount of it might be true.

12 Her First Home Birth Was Unsafe

Another common trend with the Duggar girls is their desire to have home births instead of hospital births. While this topic can be debatable for many reasons, one of the primary arguments against a home birth is that it might be dangerous.

Giving birth is a serious undertaking and everyone involved wants to prioritize the health of the mother and the baby. Jessa Duggar got pregnant right after her wedding, and by the time it came for her to give birth, she suffered through nearly 48 hours of labor and delivery, according to People.

Jessa was only 23 years old at the time and her husband Ben was just 20. After Jessa finally pushed out her 9 pounds 11-ounce baby at home, the midwife started to become concerned that she was losing too much blood. Everyone tried to stay calm, but 911 was called and Jessa was taken to the hospital and given a blood transfusion.

Luckily, her body naturally clotted and stopped losing blood by the time she got to the hospital, but since she didn’t want to feel so weak and faint for the following months, a she accepted a blood transfusion. Talk about a scary home delivery and first birth experience.

11 She Keeps On Indulging

Jessa Duggar drank? Hold your horses, why is this story not breaking the news? Out of all the crazy rules that the Duggar family has and portrays on television, they never seem to talk about certain drinks. It may be that it’s simply not an issue for them since they just don’t have it in the house.

But, as the kids get older, many of them are aware that the legal drinking age is 21. Many fans and viewers of the Duggar’s reality show may assume that their family is just naive and sheltered. However, there seems to be a lot that they don’t actually reveal on the show.

Talking to their family about whether having a drink is a sin or not may be one of those things. None of the Duggars appear to drink, but none of them have come out saying that it is wrong either.

In an interview Jessa and her sisters did with Cosmopolitan, she was asked if she had ever drank now that she was over 21. Her response was “not on purpose!” Apparently, the girls are often invited to parties and fancy events where they are served drinks. Jill and Jessa seem to have slipped up and accidentally taken a sip of champagne or something that was not fruit punch.

According to Jessa, it has a disgusting savor and is definitely an acquired taste. However, since it sounds like she only drank on accident, I doubt she will be trying to build up her taste buds for it.

10 Talking About It Doesn’t Scare Her

Although being intimate is something that is supposed to be completely avoided by every Duggar until they are married, the topic doesn’t seem to be something Jessa is shy or scared to talk about.

It is preached as a wonderful, incredible, amazing thing that is simply designed for marriage and marriage only.

Jessa was always very vocal about her desire to remain pure. However, many fans may be shocked to truly see how open and honest she was willing to get when it came to this topic. According to Cosmopolitan, Jessa claims that “anyone can just go out and [do it].” However, Jessa has other priorities when it comes to dating.

Jessa and her family members choose to take the courtship route which is basically just dating with intentions. You are trying to decide if that person will be a good life partner, a good spouse, and a good father to your future kids. It basically means that dating isn't for fun.

Dating is simply a way to find your spouse. However, Jessa didn’t like to dwell on the physical parts of her dating relationship because that was being saved for marriage. Instead, she focused her time and energy on open communication and all the other aspects of a healthy relationship.

9 Her Involvement In Politics Is Scary

Jessa Duggar has mentioned before that she goes to several political events and her entire family is pretty involved in politics.

This may be a scary thought for some people who know how conservative and extreme her family values are.

Jessa Duggar doesn’t seem to have made as much of an impact as some other members of her family. Her older brother Josh Duggar actually spent a lot of his time traveling and speaking on traditional family values, being very vocal about his views on homosexuality and gay marriage. However, he turned out to be a complete hypocrite who was actually cheating on his wife and signed up for a website that centered around cheating.

While Jessa Duggar may not be a hypocrite like her brother, her husband Ben might bring her even more into politics. According to Cafe Mom, he may be considering a career in politics.

If he were to pursue this career path, then he would be following in the footsteps of Jessa’s dad. Ben posted a video to his Instagram account, but he didn’t pledge allegiance to either political party. Instead, he questioned the statement “make America great again,” and said that only through a revival, belief in Jesus, and Christian faith can American citizens truly do that.

8 Jessa’s Baby Names Are Beyond Shocking

If you thought Jim-Bob and Michelle Duggar were crazy for naming all 19 of their kids with a J name, they have nothing on what Jessa and Ben decided to do. Since Jessa and Ben are both super conservative Christians, they look up to a lot of historical figures in the community.

They figured that it would be super meaningful to pick some of these Christians and philosophers to name their kids after. This might not seem super weird to some of you, but they didn’t go with the first name. They went with the last name.

According to TLC, Ben and Jessa’s second child is named Henry Wilberforce Seewald because “Matthew Henry was a minister and author of biblical commentaries. William Wilberforce was a philanthropist who led the movement to eradicate slavery in the British empire.”

Since Jessa and Ben admired both of those men, they used both of their last names for their second born. You might be thinking that Henry isn’t so bad. However, his older brother didn’t get so lucky. Jessa and Ben’s firstborn is named Spurgeon Elliot Seewald because Charles Spurgeon, a preacher, and Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, who were missionaries. Both had large impacts on the couple.

7 She Would Have Kept Going Until He Was 2

Breastfeeding seems to be a touchy issue these days because no mom can do it perfectly right.

Moms either use formula when they shouldn't, wean from breastfeeding too early or breastfeed for too many years. There's simply no winning.

So the best thing that a mom can do is simply do her best. Figure out what she feels comfortable with and what works best for her and go with it. When it comes to Jessa Duggar, that’s what she did but she is still receiving hate for it.

After posting a picture on her Instagram account of Spurgeon still drinking out of a bottle, she received a lot of messages claiming that he was too old for a bottle and that he could be causing major speech impediments and dental damage.

Jessa’s caption on the picture said, “That's my boy! Yes, he's 22 months old. Yes, he drinks water from a sippy cup, and yes, he still prefers to drink much of his milk/kefir from his bottle--especially before nap/bedtime. (TBH, I wish he wouldn't have weaned himself early and would've bf till 2. There, I said it.). So there ya have it. If you are experiencing anxiety over this, please share all your wisdom and perfect parenting advice in the comments section below.”

Given that Jessa was genuinely asking for advice, fans could have been kinder with their replied instead of mom-shaming her.

6 Jessa’s Desire To Adopt Keeps Being Postponed

Before Jessa and Ben were even married, they both expressed a desire to adopt babies. They clearly have a love for children and want to do their part in helping to raise kids whose biological parents couldn’t.

For couples who are expecting, adoption agencies have some guidelines that need to be followed. It is very difficult to adopt a baby if you are pregnant yourself, and you must wait for your baby to be around six months old before trying to adopt a baby.

Since Jessa and Ben are not the best at using birth control, she got pregnant with Spurgeon right away. This halted their plans for adoption because they had to wait for him to be born and grow a little bit before being able to proceed.

Then, when Spurgeon was about three months old, Jessa and Ben got pregnant again! This delayed their hopes for adoption yet another time.

According to In Touch Weekly, Jessa and Ben may have finally figured out how to prevent a pregnancy from happening so that they could pursue their desire to adopt. Apparently, they have looked into fostering children which will then lead to adopting them.

If this is the case, there is a good chance that Ben and Jessa will not be given a baby but a child that is a little bit older and in foster care. Despite what you think about the couple themselves, there is no doubt that our foster care system is broken and that taking in an older child could actually be a really helpful thing to do.

5 She Has Kissed Her Brothers

According to Jessa’s interview with Cosmopolitan, she was asked if she had ever kissed anyone before. Of course, she replied "no" because that was something she was saving for her wedding day. However, she did mention off the cuff that she had kissed her brothers when they were all little.

Now, this might sound like a totally normal family thing to do. But, it raises some red flags now that we know a little more about her family history with brothers. It’s pretty well-known at this point that Jessa’s older brother Josh is guilty of being inappropriate with many of his sisters and a babysitter. With this knowledge, it’s hard to imagine Jessa kissing her brothers without wondering if one of them was Josh.

Despite this family drama, the root of the question was centered around Jessa’s purity. She was raised to believe that the ultimate form of purity was saving just about every physical activity until her wedding day. She was only allowed to hold hands and give side hugs once she got engaged. I think the overall consensus would show that kissing your brothers when you are a little kid is usually completely innocent and sweet. Therefore, Jessa appears to have kept her purity pledge and saved her first real kiss until she was married. Although, some could argue that fact.

4 #MeToo For Jessa

As already mentioned, it was revealed years ago that Josh Duggar, the oldest Duggar child, took advantage of many of his sisters, as well as a babysitter when he was just a 14-year-old boy.

Shockingly, the Duggar family tried to cover this up from the media by sending Josh to church counseling. It was actually reported to the police as well, but since the officer in question was an offender himself, nothing was ever done about it.

This put the Duggar family in a very difficult position because of course, they loved Josh, but they believed that by 14, he should have known better.

Many fans of the show believe that Josh was acting out in the ways he did because of the family's belief that desires need to be suppressed.

Either way, it came out that Jessa and Jill were two of the sisters that were victims of Josh Duggar’s acts. According to an interview that the girls did with Megyn Kelly, everyone in the family had forgiven Josh for what he had done and did not believe that he was an offender.

Jill explained that he was a teenage boy going through puberty and that he was a little too curious. However, it’s important to point out that the girls did this interview before news broke that Josh had been cheating on his wife Anna.

3 Her Husband Ben Is Smarter Than He Seems

Often times, Ben Seewald comes across as a guy who is not all that intelligent. He seems to make weird or unfunny comments a lot and just generally presents himself as an airhead.

However, as the new episodes of Counting On aired, it became clear that Ben was a lot smarter than he looked or sounded.

Jessa mentioned that he would actually write on food products in the Duggar home and explain how unhealthy their way of eating was. It seemed like he knew a lot about nutrition and was well versed in how to eat right.

There is a good chance that Ben was simply not used to being on television. Having cameras in your face all the time, trying to answer interview questions, and keeping a smile on your face is not as easy as it looks.

Sometimes we say silly things, but that doesn’t mean we are unintelligent.

Most of us are lucky enough not to have a camera documenting it though. According to In Touch Weekly, Ben graduated from college with a political science degree. So, despite how he may present himself on camera sometimes, it is safe to say he is well-educated and a lot smarter than we give him credit for.

2 She Ate An Entire Pineapple To Induce Labor

According to Momjunction,

pineapple contains an enzyme that helps to soften a woman’s cervix and induce labor. However, this method only seems to work if the pineapple is consumed in high amounts. Eating pineapple in high amounts can also stimulate your stomach which will cause contractions in your uterus.

The key is to eat fresh pineapple and if you can, eat the entire fruit including the core since that area contains the most enzymes.

I know this may seem crazy and over the top, but when a pregnant woman is approaching 40 weeks, she will do just about anything.

Jessa faced this dilemma when it came to her firstborn son Spurgeon. She was 39 weeks and 4 days along when she posted about eating an entire pineapple in hopes of getting that baby out of there. Unfortunately for Jessa, her endeavor didn’t work, but she said the pineapple was delicious.

There is a good chance that Jessa didn’t eat the core of the pineapple so that may have been part of the reason. Or, her baby simply wasn’t ready to come out yet. When it comes to these natural ways of inducing labor, they likely won’t work unless your body agrees that the baby is ready to come out.

1 She Has A Favorite Sister

For those who watch Counting On, you may have noticed that Jessa’s sister Jinger Duggar has become a more prominent character ever since she started dating Jeremy Vuolo, who she married.

As Jinger become a regular appearance on the show, fans were able to see that Jinger and Jessa have a very special bond that is unlike Jessa’s relationship with any of her other siblings.

When Jessa was getting married, Jinger was her maid of honor and gave a beautiful speech about how much she loved her and how sad she was going to be when Jessa moved out of the house. They were truly best friends and Jessa getting married changed the sister dynamic a lot.

However, not long after that, Jinger and Jeremy started courting and before long, they were engaged. It was obvious from the very beginning that Jessa was going to be Jinger’s maid of honor. All of the other sisters knew that Jinger and Jessa had a special bond from the time they were little and they were just a little bit closer than everyone else. While Jessa has never come right out and said Jinger was her favorite sibling, it seems pretty obvious.

References: People.com, TheHollywoodgossip.com, Thelist.com, Cosmopolitan.com, Thestir.cafemom.com, TLC.com, Parents.com, Intouchweekly.com, USmagazine.com, InTouchweekly.com, Momjunction.com,