Who Is Joy-Anna Duggar's Husband, Austin Forsyth?
Joy-Anna Duggar found love with Austin Forsyth after spending years in the spotlight on "19 Kids and Counting." The pair had grown up together as childhood friends, and they appeared to be very much in love when they tied the knot in 2017. "We feel so happy and so excited," they told People at the time. Joy reminisced on the wedding and the moment she realized she was becoming a wife. "Leading up, it was so surreal until I was walking down the aisle and then I was like, 'Oh my goodness, it's actually here,'" she told the magazine.
The couple has welcomed two children together since saying their vows. Joy announced in October 2022 that they're expecting a third. Much of the duo's relationship and parenting journey has been documented on the "19 Kids and Counting" spin-off "Counting On," and on their YouTube channel. Although the pair share details about their lives in front of the camera, fans still have questions about their relationship. After all, there's a bit of mystery around Austin Forsyth and his long-standing involvement with the Duggar family.
Luckily, for curious fans, we've gathered a few details on the father of three. Keep reading to find out more about Austin Forsyth.
Was Austin Forsyth interested in a different Duggar girl?
It turns out that there might be more to Joy-Anna Duggar and Austin Forsyth's fairytale relationship than we see on camera. Fans speculated that Austin may have slipped up and revealed Joy-Anna wasn't the first Duggar girl he was interested in during an episode of "Counting On." In a clip of the show posted to YouTube, the home builder shared, "The first time I remember having thoughts about Joy being more than just a friend was when I was in Mississippi at flight school. I just rolled out of bed, put my feet on the ground, and thought, 'What about Joy?'"
Views took to Reddit to share why they thought Austin asked himself that question. "I have always read into his comment in this clip that he was indeed interested in another daughter originally, and then when that wasn't happening, he one day woke up and said 'what about Joy?'" one user wrote, in part. "Given the age gap it makes sense that he just thought of Joy as a kid until one day she wasn't," another shared. As previously mentioned, Austin knew the Duggar family for years before he settled down with Joy-Anna, so he likely had the opportunity to get to know her sisters. Was there another Duggar flirtation before Joy-Anna and Austin got together? We'll let you draw your own conclusion.
He juggles quite a few jobs
"Counting On" fans likely already know that Austin Forsyth builds homes for a living, but this is only one of his many skills. The reality TV star also works for Fort Rock Family Camp, which is owned by his parents. According to the company's website, it serves as a retreat center for couples and families. Austin also holds an EMT license as well as a private pilot's license. According to The U.S. Sun, the father of three obtained the license in 2020 after having already flown planes for years.
As if Austin's resume wasn't already impressive enough, he has quite a bit of volunteer work under his belt and has served his local fire department for many years. Joy-Anna Duggar accompanies her husband to work on occasion, which she once documented on Instagram Stories (via OK!).
The former "19 Kids and Counting" star appeared thrilled to help her husband out at a construction site — and she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty. "A lot of people are like 'Why do you even enjoy that?' but I really love it," she admitted. "I love getting to work with him, riding in big trucks, helping to run equipment, whatever it is. I've always loved being outside and doing things. It's kind of a highlight for me."
Austin Forsyth's YouTube channel shows a different side of his personality
Although fans can no longer keep up with Austin Forsyth and Joy-Anna Duggar's lives on "Counting On," the couple still posts vlogs on their YouTube channel, FollowtheForsyths. They have nearly 200 thousand subscribers as of this writing, so it seems that much of their loyal fanbase has already followed them over to the platform.
Viewers of the couple's YouTube channel claimed that Austin is a bit more outgoing in his videos than he was on "Counting On." They took to Reddit to discuss the differences between how he presents himself on FollowtheForsyths versus his past reality TV persona. They were shocked about a crass joke he made involving the words "butt wipe" in a Q&A video. "I have always gotten the vibe that Austin's personality is like this and he just reallyyyy plays up the goodie good Christian boy for the Counting On cameras," a user wrote in a since-deleted post (via Showbiz CheatSheet).
Regardless of what fans and critics might think, Austin clearly has a playful side to him. Joy-Anna convinced him to do her makeup for one video. "I thought this, at first, said 'butt butter,'" he said about a product. "That bronzer just, it didn't quite apply like I thought it was going to," he later added.
Austin Forsyth has a lot of hobbies
It seems that even Joy-Anna Duggar knew fans had plenty of questions about Austin Forsyth that remained unanswered. She shared a long list of facts about the reality TV star in an Instagram post to celebrate his birthday in 2019. The Instagram carousel included photos of Austin as a baby as well as a few family pics.
Some of the details Joy shared were already known by many superfans, but she did reveal a few secrets. The former "Counting On" star wrote that Austin can play the fiddle — seriously, what can't this man do? She also said he's a long range shooter, enjoys football, and has far more clothes than she does. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Joy-Anna took time to gush about Austin's dedication to being a good father and husband: "He is such a fun Dad. I am so thankful with how much he is involved in Gideon's life!" It seems that Austin has been passionate about fatherhood since the beginning. He was clearly thrilled after the couple announced they were welcoming their first child. "It's really exciting and I feel so blessed to be a dad! We are beyond thankful!" the dad told People at the time.
On his own Instagram, Austin has shown that he is an avid hiker and hunts deer. Joy has also accompanied him on these trips, and fans have mixed reactions to his elk hunting habits. The outdoorsman shared a family snow day with fans on YouTube in January 2023.
His family was featured on World's Strictest Parents
Joy-Anna Duggar and Austin Forsyth have a lot in common, considering they were both raised in strict religious households. However, we're not sure if Joy experienced quite as rigid an upbringing as Austin, whose parents appeared on CMT's "World's Strictest Parents" in 2009. Austin and his sister were featured on the show, which documented them working long hours at their family's camp. "The biblical principle of not having idle mind and idle time is really important," the Forsyths' father said on their episode. The children also didn't get much freedom during their homeschooling. The dad said that after creating boundaries for the children, "Bad behavior is gonna reap a consequence."
Viewers shared their opinions in the comment section under the YouTube clip of the episode. "This isn't a family it's a cult," one user wrote. According to In Touch, the kids were not allowed to close doors in the house. The magazine revealed that the parents also forced a Jewish guest to attend a Christian service with them during the episode. "If you want to be a part of my family and don't want to go to church, then you're not part of my family," Austin's father said on the show.
Sketchiness and strictness aside, Austin comes from a fascinating family. In a video for his and Joy's YouTube channel, he is seen tinkering with one of their vehicles in need of repairs. Explaining his DIY endeavor, Austin shared: "My great-grandad was a nuclear physicist for NASA. ... If I can't take two bolts out and replace this, we're in trouble."
Fans thought the Forysths faced marriage troubles
Duggar rumors should be taken with a grain of salt, and Joy-Anna and Austin Forsyth have dealt with some gossip. Joy denied divorce rumors in a post she shared to her Instagram Stories in 2020. Fans reposted the star's message in a Reddit thread. She had uploaded a screenshot of a DM where a fan asked about someone else's post, which claimed Joy and Austin were parting ways. "If you follow our personal Instagram pages," the mom wrote, "You'll know these rumors are FAR from true!"
Fans couldn't just mind their own business, and Austin was soon the subject of more gossip. In fall 2021, Joy-Anna posted a photo (above) of the two in front of the Pennsylvania State Capitol, followed by other photos from their trip. (They'd been attending the wedding of Nate and Esther Bates, who are part of an equally huge, Christian reality TV family.) On Reddit, users complained that Austin was wearing AirPods and should have been focused on their time together. Silly, we know! The people of the internet have too much time on their hands.
Joy and Austin like to give fans a more realistic look at their life together on YouTube. They're often busy with work and their growing family, but in fall 2022, they enjoyed a special getaway together for Joy-Anna's birthday. Austin surprised her with the location: Branson, Missouri, and its amusement park, Silver Dollar City.
What does the Duggar family think of Austin Forsyth?
You would think the Duggars would gladly welcome Austin Forsyth into the family, as he and Joy-Anna Duggar were raised on similar values. He certainly doesn't appear to be a bad boy, and it's likely that his childhood didn't allow for much of that behavior considering his family appeared on "World's Strictest Parents." However, unnamed sources allege that there was tension between Forsyth and some of the Duggars.
According to Radar, an anonymous source alleged, "There has been a lot of talk about the character of her new husband Austin. He was more of a rebel child." They went on to claim that sister-in-law Anna Duggar was even "disappointed in his character." While there may or may not be truth to these claims, Joy-Anna reportedly unfollowed Anna sometime after Josh Duggar was charged with possession of child sexual abuse material. Anna deleted her Instagram account soon after this report, per In Touch. Austin and Joy-Anna shared in a joint social media statement that they agreed with Josh's guilty verdict (via People).
In November 2022, there were signs that the rest of the Duggar family in Arkansas is carrying on. Numerous Duggar siblings, as well as parents Jim Bob and Michelle, were present for Joy-Anna and Austin's baby gender reveal party.
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