‘Counting On’: Are Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald Planning a Move?
Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald have been living in the same home since they married in 2014. The tiny house, located just off a major highway, made perfect sense when it was just the two of them. Their family, however, has grown significantly since then. With three children under five, the family home seems to be bursting at the seams. Family followers have long wondered if Jessa and Ben are going to move, and while Jessa claims she is content to stay put, at least for now, it doesn’t seem possible for much longer. Now, family critics think Jessa may have put a plan in motion to get a larger house.
Jessa Duggar’s current home is pretty small
Jessa and Ben’s home is perfectly fine, as far as starter homes go, but it is far from ideal for the growing family of five. The house, which contains two bedrooms and one bathroom, is just over 1,000 square feet. The backyard also happens to back up to a major highway, making the outdoor living space painfully loud. The noise that the family must put up with while outside was recently highlighted in a YouTube video.
For a young childless couple, the small size and the loud outdoor space might be acceptable, but Jessa and Ben are no longer a young, childless couple. Family critics strongly believe the situation will get untenable soon. Jessa’s two sons are old enough to want to spend time outside. While the couple’s youngest child, Ivy Jane, is less than a year old, she is unlikely to be the couple’s last child. At some point, Jessa and Ben will need more space.
Can Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald afford a bigger house?
Jessa and Ben will undoubtedly need a bigger home soon. Even if Ivy is their last child, they are still short a bedroom. As it stands, Jessa and Ben, reside in the home’s master bedroom, and their two sons, Spurgeon and Henry, share the smaller second bedroom. Spurgeon and Henry’s bedroom is also serving as Ben’s office space, according to Jessa’s recent home tour. There is no doubt they need more space, but can the couple afford a bigger house?
It seems unlikely. Jessa and Ben’s income is unknown, but if Derick Dillard is to be believed, they are not currently being paid for their involvement in the family’s reality TV show, Counting On. At least, they aren’t being paid in the traditional sense. The only source of income the family seems to have is the money that Jessa is making from YouTube, and the cash Ben is making as a tutor for the younger Duggar kids. An outside company doesn’t currently employ him.
Social Blade notes that Jessa is likely earning between $200 and $4,000 per month with her content, although the former figure is more likely than the latter. According to Forbes, YouTube is great for content creators who want to grow their subscriber count, but the platform often fails in terms of monetization. According to the publication, there are, reportedly, YouTubers with more than a million subscribers who only earn a few hundred dollars per month in advertising revenue, because they rely solely on in-video advertisements to bring revenue.
So, how will Jessa and Ben upgrade their lifestyle?
Family followers strongly believe Jessa and Ben are waiting for Jim Bob and Michelle to gift them with a larger home. The home they currently reside in was initially gifted to Josh Duggar and his wife Anna Duggar when they first married. The house, which is a true starter home, will likely be passed down to a younger Duggar couple if Jessa and Ben receive an upgrade. There is currently no childless Duggar couple at the moment, but rumors have been swirling that a courtship or two could be on the horizon.
In recent weeks, Jessa has taken to YouTube to share fond memories of her parents. First, she posted a 52-minute video about Jim Bob and followed it up the very next week with a 45-minute ode to her mother, Michelle. Critics have been suspicious about the motivation behind the videos, and some believe the couple may be jockeying for a better home. Jim Bob does have a pretty sizeable real estate portfolio, and the videos, likely created to spin the family narrative, may have been crafted to curry favor. That’s all hearsay, though.
Either way, it looks like Jessa and Ben will have to move at some point. Without a sudden change to their income, it seems likely that they will need the help of Jim Bob and Michelle to get that done. Fans have long suspected that Jim Bob has designed his adult children’s lives that way. In fact, the only couple that does not currently reside in a property once owned by Jim Bob and Michelle is the Dillards. Jill and Derick have reportedly been on the outs with the family for years.
