How Joy-Anna Duggar And Austin Forsyth Really Make Their Money
For seven years, the controversial Duggar family was showcased on TLC's "19 Kids and Counting." The series starred parents Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar as they raised their ever-growing household according to fundamentalist Christian values. Everything changed in 2015, when TLC announced to ABC News that it was cancelling the series in light of sexual assault allegations that emerged against the oldest child, Josh Duggar.
Later that same year, TLC began a new show, "Counting On," which would follow the Duggar children in the aftermath of the scandal. Though the show had many seasons, things weren't quite the same. When TLC released the trailer for Season 11, daughter Joy-Anna Duggar was noticeably absent.
As it turned out, Season 11 would be the last. As new charges emerged against Josh, this time relating to possession of child sexual abuse media, TLC officially announced to Deadline that they were done with the Duggars. But where do kids who grew up on TV go without a platform? Specifically, how would Joy-Anna Duggar and her husband, Austin Forsyth, pay for their own growing family?
Forsyth has a home-building business
For those who hoped to follow along with Joy-Anna Duggar and Austin Forsyth's relationship and growing family, TLC's cancellation of "Counting On" was likely devastating. However, the couple soon created a YouTube channel called FollowtheForsyths, where they continue to document their lives — this time on their own platform and on their own terms.
The channel, which currently has 152,000 subscribers, likely serves as one stream of income for the family. However, they also use their social platforms to document Forsyth's side hustle that Duggar super-fans may remember hearing about on the show. Back in 2017, patriarch Jim Bob grilled him on the success of his house-flipping business before permitting him to court his daughter (via People).
Their YouTube channel has allowed Forsyth fans to start asking the questions. In March 2020, the couple uploaded a Q&A video where someone asked, "What does Austin do for a living?" He replied, "I own and operate a small excavation business and I'm also a commercial contractor. Recently we've been doing a lot of home building." As it turns out, Forsyth doesn't do it all on his own.
The whole family has gotten in on the fun
According to Austin Forsyth's Instagram, the house building and flipping continues. In September 2020, he shared a photo of the whole family at the site of one of his renovations. So far, the couple has two children: son Gideon Forsyth and daughter Evelyn Mae Forsyth, per inTouch.
Needless to say, having two little ones around provides many opportunities for in-home renovations and building projects. In June 2020, as the couple eagerly awaited the arrival of Evelyn, they shared a video documenting upgrades to their nursery.
The pair has also begun a renovation project that they hope will lead to plenty of family fun. In February 2021, they uploaded a video called, "We bought a fixer upper RV!" Later that year, they began sharing "before" pictures. Joy-Anna Duggar took to Instagram to write, "HERE is the project we've been working on! Some of my fondest memories are from family road trips and so I cannot wait to get this remodeled and on the road!" The latest RV update came in May, where a YouTube video showed Forsyth's skills in action as he worked on flooring.