Erin & Chad are offical...

[silverspoons]

They are no longer courting, They are engaged. Kelly just the news posted tonight. Winter wedding? Doesn't Erin finish Clown college in December? I wonder what those Duggar girls are thinking?

[Hisey]

Yes, and if you look in the comments for the previous post, Kelly gives lots of info about what the kids are allowed to do and not do. For example, texts are read by siblings before being forwarded to Erin. Chaperone are present but not within earshot. Stuff like that. Kelly stops pretending it is the kids' decisions, and actually admits it is her and Gil setting up these "safeguards."

[SPHASH]

Congrats to Erin and Chad! Provided this is what they really want and aren't being pressured.

[Milly-Molly-Mandy]

Aww cute! Can't wait to see pics. They seem madly in love. Still hope they'll leave patriarchal Christianity behind when they marry like Anna Duggar's sisters (well some of them...clearly not the Shraders)

[silverspoons]

Are they going to be living in OK? I read Chad's blog awhile back and I remember he was fixing up a small or old house last year?

Maybe the distance between TN and OK will help? I still think Zack looks like he could go more fundie lite with Whit then Chad and Erin.

[Tom Slick]

Yes, and if you look in the comments for the previous post, Kelly gives lots of info about what the kids are allowed to do and not do. For example, texts are read by siblings before being forwarded to Erin. Chaperone are present but not within earshot. Stuff like that. Kelly stops pretending it is the kids' decisions, and actually admits it is her and Gil setting up these "safeguards."

Geeezzz!!!!

do their soft headed parents have to control everything?? When are these kids ever gonna be free?

Well i guess gil and kelly are controlled by gothard just like jb&m and all the rest of the wont think for themselves crowd.

Maybe just maybe after the wedding and Chad & Erin move to OK or wherever, they will say FU to the cult......lets all keep our fingers crossed.

(Also lets just hope (for the sake of argument) Chad & Erin are just playing the game till the wedding and will give the Big middle finger to gothard ATI IBLP and everybody else who is pulling the strings) lets all just hope

[scc12]

I bet Gil and Kelly make sure they put that line in their vows,(like Anna and Josh did) ,about promising to God they will let Him decide their family size.

Of course that doesn't mean they will stick to it,just that I bet they will make sure they include it.

And of course,Gothard will have his moment there,seeing as Gil is on brd of ATI.

I wonder if tlc is going to film it? I'm sure they could use the money.I hope the Duggars don't take it over though.

[bookiewookie]

It seems like Erin and Chad at least had ample time to get to know each other before getting engaged and their body language seems a lot less stilted than other fundie couples still in the courtship phase, so I think they're really in love.

Gil and Kelly's insane helicopter parenting (reading the texts of their grown kids? REALLY?) is so weird, though. I know parents instinctively want to protect their kids for as long as possible, but at some point you just have to trust that they'll be ok deciding things for themselves. Fundie parents don't seem to give their kids enough credit.

[LurkerOverThePond]

(Also lets just hope (for the sake of argument) Chad & Erin are just playing the game till the wedding and will give the Big middle finger to gothard ATI IBLP and everybody else who is pulling the strings) lets all just hope

I highly doubt they will leave ATI or even distance themselves a bit from it. Chad seems to be very involved with ATI and has been seen posing for pictures with Got Hard himself and Pecan Waller and Robert Staddon. He has also been (probably several times) on Journey to the Heart and I think he has been a leader at least on a few Journeys.

[ILoveJellybeans]

Awww thats cute. You can tell they clearly love eachother, and I hope they are very happy together.

[scc12]

I just wonder how enamored Erin is going to be once she pops out several babies in a row, and doesn't have time to curl her hair or play the piano anymore because she is too exhausted.

[singsingsing]

Gil and Kelly's parental controls are strange by normal standards, but not by fundie standards. Which is, just... I can't even imagine being in my 20s and having my parents or siblings monitor my texts. I'm sure it doesn't seem as extreme if it's all you've grown up with, but still. Fundies raise their children with such strict moral guidelines, but they still don't trust them to follow these guidelines once they become adults. They're doing their children a great disservice by monitoring their every move and basically sending them the message that they can't trust themselves - and then saying, okay, now it's time to get married and go off and be responsible for your own life, be a husband/wife, run a household, raise children. It must be a shocking transition, just like going from not being allowed to kiss, to being expected to have sexual intercourse, in one night.

[chaotic life]

Chad is the son of another ATI royalty, another board member, just like Gil. I doubt these rules are only Gil and Kelly's and I cannot imagine that Chad and Erin won't stay in ATI. Chad build his house near his family and his father is only where he is and doing what he is doing as the specific insistence of Gothard himself. As much as Josh and Anna may be the ATI new generation face to the world, Chad and Erin are the ATI face to the flock of faithful.

[bal maiden]

I remember being really squicked out by the whole side-hugs-and-no-kissing straight to sex thing when Josh and Anna got married. It must be a hell of a shock!

I've left a comment asking Kelly where they will be living. Let's see if it slips under the fundie-radar and gets answered.

[singsingsing]

Josh & Anna's engagement was probably one of the first episodes I ever saw, and at that point I knew hardly anything about the Duggars and even less about fundies. I remember thinking it was so weird that, every time a normal couple would kiss, they just side-hugged or looked at each other awkwardly.

[Justme]

Well, we knew it was coming. They do seem to be in love. A winter wedding for them, then I bet we'll see a late spring/summer wedding for Nat & Whit. Congrat's to them.

At least the Bates are letting their children find spouses. (Are you listening, Steve Maxwell???)

[soossie]

Yes, and if you look in the comments for the previous post, Kelly gives lots of info about what the kids are allowed to do and not do. For example, texts are read by siblings before being forwarded to Erin. Chaperone are present but not within earshot. Stuff like that. Kelly stops pretending it is the kids' decisions, and actually admits it is her and Gil setting up these "safeguards."

I think it is a weird way how to deal with it. That chad and Erin agree with this all :shock:

[soossie]

I hope for them that they have a happy marriage in the future!

[Carla Bruni]

I hope they're happy together, they're cute and look like they're in love. That said, like all of you, I can't imagine going from side hugs and text monitoring to sex in a matter of hours o.O

[pega127]

They are no longer courting, They are engaged. Kelly just the news posted tonight. Winter wedding? Doesn't Erin finish Clown college in December? I wonder what those Duggar girls are thinking?

The four oldest Duggar daughters are jealous; but unable to show their frustration and will act all sweet when asked about Erin's happy news.

[Jana814]

I guess congrats to Erin. & as someone else said it does seem like they got to know each other before the engagement.

[twin2]

All I want to know is if the the wedding will be lived streamed? We have not had a good real-time snarkfest of live-streamed fundie wedding in quite some time.

[AmyPennyBernadette]

I just wonder how enamored Erin is going to be once she pops out several babies in a row, and doesn't have time to curl her hair or play the piano anymore because she is too exhausted.

This. I agree with what others have said about Erin being the princess type and not in a bad way. There's nothing wrong with caring about your appearance and wanting to do something with your life besides squat out babies until your uterus explodes. Maybe she has thought about this (having come from such a large family and not being seen with her siblings as much) it'll occur to her that she doesn't HAVE to treat her uterus like a tennis ball cannon.

I also doubt that they will leave, considering they are both ATI royalty, but here's to hoping that maybe they will discover birth control is more than ok and can use a "God is leading me to be a music minister" line as an excuse for not having a lot of "blessings" :shhh: :shhh: :shhh:

[xReems]

Congratulations to the couple who are now allowed to hold hands and have full front hugs instead of those awkward side hugs.

I'm also on the boat with those who said that Erin and Chad won't be leaving ATI anytime soon. Both families are heavily invested in IBLP and I just don't see them breaking away from that. Zach and Whitney I could see becoming fundie-lite and not being heavily involved in IBLP as much compared to Chad and Erin.

I still don't understand their accountability crap. It's okay to have private conversations with one another but God forbid they text each other without chaperons to read verbatim? Are they afraid they'll end up sexting each other than talking dirty in person? It makes no sense.

[nokidsmom]

All I want to know is if the the wedding will be lived streamed? We have not had a good real-time snarkfest of live-streamed fundie wedding in quite some time.

Yup, me too. I want to see just what she does with her hair for this event.