It’s not often that all of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggars’ nine daughters are able to assemble in one place.
So when Jinger returned home from Los Angeles earlier this week, her mom and sisters made sure to celebrate the occasion by posing for their first group photos in several years.
The reaction from fans was predictably ecstatic, with many commenters noting that Michelle Duggar was wearing leggings, a sight we’ve never seen before.
But some fans fixated on a different detail in the pic, one that they believe is cause for concern.
At 13, Josie Duggar is the youngest of Jim Bob and Michelle’s offspring, and she rarely appears on the family’s social media pages.
When she does, fans tend to speculate about her health and physical development.
This time, they observed that Josie is significantly shorter than Jordyn Duggar, who is less than a year her senior.
“Crazy how much shorter Josie is in comparison to Jordyn (they’re less than a year apart),” one fan commented, according to UK tabloid The Sun.
“Possibly because she was a preemie?” another person asked.
“I think she probably has a plethora of health issues that have never been addressed,” a third chimed in.
Several commenters co-signed the notion that Josie is suffering from some sort of ailment, with several suggesting that that’s why we don’t see many photos of her.
“Yeah I mean after hearing Michelle talk so casually about her ‘little glitches’ or whatever she called them, yeah,” one person wrote.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Josie wasn’t as healthy as they all claim,” another added.
The idea that Josie might be dealing with a secret health issue is not a new one, and it gained steam earlier this year when the family posted a video in which the teen was spotted wearing some sort of harness.
Others have noted, however, that while Josie’s small stature might be a result of her premature birth, there’s no reason to believe that she’s in for a lifetime of health struggles.
“Josie could possibly catch up later in her teens since there isn’t that much difference for preemie babies. Tl;dr preemies compared to babies born on time are shorter by millimeters on average,” one person wrote.
“Siblings come in all different sizes and shapes. They grow at different rates, and have different sizes as adults.”
Jinger is reported to have an especially close relationship with Josie, but she made no specific mention of the youngest Duggar during her recent trip home.
“We had the best time in Arkansas visiting my family,” Jinger captioned her pics.
“Girl time with all of my sisters and sweet mama, meeting some new nieces and nephews, eating lots of good food, and many late night conversations.”
Sounds like a good time was had by all.
But now that Jinger is openly rebelling against her parents’ oppressive rules, you can be sure that her conversations with her teenage siblings are closely monitored.
