Why Jana Duggar Says It Was “Disheartening” Watching Her Siblings Getting Married First

Jana Duggar was always the bridesmaid, but she was ready to be the bride. 

The eldest daughter of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s 19 children officially tied the knot with Stephen Wissmann Aug. 15, and she reflected on watching 11 of her siblings—ten of them younger—walk down the aisle before her. 

“By far, I am the oldest,” Jana, 34, admitted to People in an interview published Aug. 15. “So it has been disheartening at times. I'm just like, ‘What is it? Is it me? Do I have a problem?’ I know I've prayed for this for years and years and definitely been like, ‘What's the matter? Why can't I just...' All of my siblings, most of them have been married in their early 20s.”

The 19 Kids and Counting alum noted that it was hard, at times, to maintain a positive outlook on finding her person. 

“I've tried to look at the positive, yet you long for that person, that someone that you can spend life with,” she added. “It has been hard, but it has been good and God's taught me a lot through it all.”

But now, Jana—whose sister Jessa Duggar Seewald, 31, was her maid of honor, while sisters Jinger Duggar Vuolo, 30, Joy-Anna Forsyth, 26, Johannah Duggar, 18, and Jordyn Duggar, 15, were her bridesmaids—admits the waiting for her husband was worth it. 

“For me, it felt like, ‘Okay, it's never coming,’” she reflected. “But now it's starting to sink in. Reality is starting to set in. And I'm like, ‘Wow, this truly is something that I've dreamed of.’ And just to see it coming about is incredible and kind of hard to believe. It's a dream come true.”

Jana and Stephen—who is one of 13 siblings and from Nebraska—initially crossed paths over a decade ago, when the now-31-year-old’s family crashed with the Duggars during a snowstorm in Arkansas. 

Years later, they dated briefly, but opted to become friends—and even became in-laws when Jana’s brother Jeremiah Duggar, 25, married Stephen’s sister Hannah Duggar née Wissmann in 2022. Then, earlier this year, they rekindled the flame. 

"It was like, 'What are we doing?” Jana recalled of the couple’s decision to resume their romance. “We still enjoy each other. We still really appreciate each other.’”

As for why Stephen checked all of Jana’s boxes?

“I had been a slower mover on it, but just over time, his character, his coming back, still loving me no matter what,” she gushed. “I know we have a big crazy family and still kind of putting up with a lot of things. I'm like, ‘My goodness, there are not too many people that do that.’ He must really, genuinely care about me.”