Early life, family, educational background
American reality television star Justin Samuel Duggar was born in Arkansas, on 15 November 2002, making him a Scorpio. He was raised in Springdale by his mother Michelle Duggar, and his father Jim Bob Duggar, with his 13 older and five younger siblings. All of the Duggar children were home-schooled, attended annual Advanced Training Institutes conferences held in Texas, and are members of Bill Gothard’s Institute in Basic Life Principles.
In 2001 Jim Bob and Michelle administered a buddy system, in which each of their older children would be paired with a younger sibling. The older half of the buddy system would have to do tasks such as bathing, feeding and dressing their other half in the pair. In 2009, they shifted to buddy teams; each team leader was one of the oldest of four daughters. Justin was in the buddy team with his younger sister Jordyn-Grace, and their two older siblings Jeremiah and Jessa.
His siblings are Joy-Anna Forsyth, Jessa Seewald, Jinger Vuolo, Jill Dillard, Jana, Joshua, John-David, Joseph, Jedidiah, Jason, Jackson, Jennifer, Josie, Jordyn-Grace, James, Johannah, Josiah, and Jeremiah Duggar. They referred to chores as ‘jurisdictions’ – from 2011, Justin’s chore was to clean the playroom, and in 2014 it changed to cleaning out the upstairs trash.
Family’s personal life
Claire Spivey
Claire Yvonne Duggar (née Spivey) was born on 27 February 2001, making her a Pisces. Her parents are Hilary and Robert Spivey Jr.; Claire is their firstborn and first daughter. Her younger siblings are Paige, Taylor, Carson, Wyatt and Robert Spivey III, who were raised in Benbrook, Texas. She entered the public eye once she began dating Justin.
Much like the Duggar children, the Spivey children were home-schooled, attended annual Advanced Training Institutes conferences held in Texas, and are members of Bill Gothard’s Institute in Basic Life Principles.
On 9 October 2009, she was a flower girl at Brandon Smith’s wedding to Claire’s aunt, Gair-Anne Atherton, and on 19 December 2020, she was a bridesmaid for her friend Grace Wikstrom’s wedding to Kord Etbauer. Claire is an assistant nurse, and enjoys snowboarding and horse riding in her spare time.
Career
The Duggars’ reality television journey began in September 2008, when “17 Kids and Counting” premiered on TLC. The series was renamed “18 Kids and Counting” in December 2008 after Michelle gave birth to Jordyn-Grace, their 18th child, and in December 2009 it received its final title – “19 Kids and Counting” – after Josie was born.
After the show was canceled, and the final episode was released on 19 May 2015, the Duggars were seen in their new TLC reality series, “Counting On,” from 13 December 2015 to 22 September 2020 – it was canceled in June 2021. On 29 April 2021, Josh Duggar was arrested on charges of possessing child pornography, which is what sparked the show’s demise. A network spokesperson told Us Weekly, ‘TLC will not be producing additional seasons of “Counting On…” TLC feels it’s important to allow the Duggar family to address their situation privately.’
In December 2021, Josh was found guilty on two counts of receiving and possessing child pornography, and in May 2022 was sentenced to twelve and a half years in prison; according to the Bureau of Prisons, his release date is set for 12 August 2032, meaning he will spend just over ten years at FCI Seagoville prison in Texas. In Touch learned this news in July 2022. Following the finding, TLC removed all “Counting On” episodes from their website.
Justin also appeared in “14 Children and Pregnant Again” from 2004, “Raising 16 Children,” from 2006, “K1 Discovery” from 2007, “Today” between 2007 and 2013, “Duggar’s Big Family Album” from 2008, “Larry King Live” in 2008, “Duggars Make a Movie” in 2010, and “Good Morning America” in 2014.
Justin worked with Paul Caldwell as a mechanic. According to the Federal Election Commission, he’s currently working as a secretary at Spivey Construction, his father-in-law’s business in Fort Worth.
Personal life
As a child, Justin took piano lessons, possibly with Ruth Anita Anderson who taught his older siblings; he also learned to play the violin. In 2006, the family moved to Springdale, Arkansas, and did most of the building and renovations themselves as a way for the children to learn new skills. Justin and his brothers shared a dormitory-style bedroom.
On 26 September 2008, Justin was the ring bearer for Josh and Anna Keller’s wedding. The following year he was once again a ring bearer, this time it was at his parents’ vow renewal ceremony. His younger sister Josie was born prematurely in late 2009, so they moved to Little Rock, Arkansas which is near Arkansas Children’s Hospital. When she was strong enough to leave the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), the family moved back home. On 4 February 2012, he was the violinist, ring bearer, singer and carpet roller for David Waller and Priscilla Keller’s wedding. On 21 June 2014, he was a carpet roller at Derick Dillard’s wedding to Justin’s sister Jill, and on 26 May 2017, he was an usher at Austin Forsyth’s wedding to Justin’s sister Joy-Anna. On 8 September 2017 he was a groomsman at Joseph and Kendra Caldwell’s wedding, an usher on 3 November 2018 at Abbie Burnett and John-David’s wedding, and on 25 May 2019 at the wedding of family friends Evan Stewart and Carlin Bates. He was a groomsman again on 19 December 2020 when one of his friends, Kord Etbauer married Grace Wikstrom, and on 3 April 2021 at Jedidiah and Katelyn Nakatsu’s wedding.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CLDb83wjcYc/
The Duggars took family vacations to Scotland, Disneyland, London, Japan, New York City, Ireland, Niagara Falls, Japan and China. Justin and his brothers were playing with a rope in 2013, but it unfortunately snapped and hit his right eye, resulting in a blood vessel bursting behind his eye. He wore an eye patch until his eye healed.
Justin’s relationship with Claire Yvonne Spivey was announced on 21 September 2020 on an episode of “Counting On,” entitled “A Quarantine Courtship”; the pair have known each other for most of their lives, and reconnected on 26 April 2019. Claire shared that they began dating on 6 September 2019, and in the episode, Justin said, ‘God brought Claire into my life and I wasn’t really expecting it, but He brought her along right when I needed her… Claire has a lot of good qualities… I’m so blessed to have her in my life.’ Claire added, ‘I’m excited to see what the Lord holds for us in the near future.’
On 5 November 2020, the happy couple became engaged in Texas, announcing the happy news a day after Justin’s 18th birthday, ‘There is nothing comparable to finding the one you are meant to spend your life with. We know we have found that in each other. We cannot wait to be married and are looking forward to a life together of faith in Christ, love for one another, and happiness!’ Some fans believed that the rushed wedding was due to Claire’s possible pregnancy, but that was not the case.
They married in Azle at The Orchard Event Venue and Retreat on 26 February 2021, and their first kiss together was shared at the altar. Justin’s groomsmen were his brothers, James, Jackson, and John-David, as well as Claire’s brother Robby and his brother-in-law, Austin, and his best man was Jason who also sang at the wedding. They had four ring bearers, Claire’s brothers Taylor and Wyatt and Justin’s nephews Marcus and Michael, and their flower girl was Carson, Claire’s younger sister. Claire’s maid-of-honor was Hilary, her mother, and her bridesmaids were her aunt Gari-Anne Smith, her sister Paige, Justin’s sister-in-law Abbie, his sister Johannah, and one of her closest friends. Their ushers were Justin’s friends Warden Bates, and Jackson Bates. Their wedding video can be viewed on their YouTube channel. They then moved to Fort Worth, Texas to live closer to Claire’s family.
Justin and Claire enjoy flipping houses. On 18 May 2020, Jim Bob paid $35,500 for a fixer-up in Springdale, Arkansas, and on 8 December 2020, he sold it to Justin for only $1. After renovating the home, Justin posted before and after photos before promptly selling the house on 8 March 2021 at their asking price of $195,000, to a married couple.
On 9 September 2021, they bought a fixer-upper for $134,700, and on 21 January 2022, they sold the house for $199, 900 after fixing it up. On the listing, the realtor stated that the three-bedroom, two-bathroom property was ‘freshly re-done and added that there was ‘no expense spared.’ The house has a modern design and an open concept; the family and living rooms along with the kitchen have gray wood flooring with grey kitchen cabinets, subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances, marble countertops, and black hardware. There are carpets and ceiling fans in the bedrooms, gray floors, white countertops in the bathrooms, a spacious backyard with an outdoor oven, and an abundance of windows for natural light and fresh air.
Justin doesn’t post a lot on social media, preferring to keep his personal life as private as possible.
Hobbies, favorite things and interesting facts
He likes snowboarding, and spending time with his friends and family. Justin and Claire often go on dinner dates, do their Bible studies together, and travel.
His favorite:
- Animals are zebras and giraffes.
- Color is red.
- School subject is Math.
- Song is “Be Thou My Vision.”
- Biblical story is Joseph’s.
- Food is lasagna and tater tot casserole.
- Episode is “Bates vs. Duggars Smackdown.”
Appearance
Justin has dark blonde hair, brown-grey eyes, and fair skin that shows off his youth. He stands at 5ft 8ins (173cm) tall, weighs about 155lbs (71kgs), with a lean body type, and vital statistics of 44-32-40; wears a US size 9 shoe. He dresses quite elegantly. Justin appears to be fairly fit but doesn’t lift weights regularly.
Net worth and salary
As of October 2022, his net worth is estimated at $3.5 million, and the Duggar family owns about eight ‘planes. Children are expensive, and 19 is even more so, but the family has kept costs down by sticking to tight budgets, cooking at home rather than going out, and thrift shopping. Of course, the money from their reality series was a great help. Michelle spoke with Parenting.com about the family’s financial management, ‘… you live within a certain budget, and you’re much more creative about how you’re spending it. You look for a bargain, and you learn…’
